Against the more fancied Wild Oats XI, Investec Loyal took line honours in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race after a dramatic protest momentarily halted celebrations on Wednesday night.
But while yesterday’s news reports informed us of the result that we were told we’d be ”anxiously” awaiting, most Australian sporting fans could hardly give a toss. So why is this?
The invention of sailing is one of mankind’s greatest and oldest achievements. It was a way to travel and explore new territory, but more commonly it aided fishing endeavours. These hard-working sailors were not of wealthy means.
But when the ‘party king’ Charles II was returned to the throne from the Netherlands he brought with him to the rest of Europe a passion for recreational sailing, and it soon became a popular sport among the elite.
These days we may associate older, wealthier, boat shoe and polo shirt-wearing types with the sport, however this is a myth.
From your modest coastal crabbers and surfies, to your luxury car salesmen and winemakers, the demographic of sailors is just as broad-ranging as it used to be.
The rich lot may own the maxis in the Rolex-sponsored Sydney to Hobart, but rest-assured the smaller boats are never far behind them.
For the smaller entourage, it becomes more about the journey than the race in the 1,170km route down the coast through the famously challenging Tasman Sea.
Though I won’t be entering the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race anytime soon, I’m not a complete stranger to it all.
When I was younger I used to rise every Boxing Day and with my pair of binoculars eagerly await the fleet of sails we could see from Maroubra Beach. They were always beautiful to watch.
A bit later I attended sailing camps which taught me the basics of the sport. I also learnt to appreciate the finer points involved and met some of the sailing community that ranged from teenagers to old-timers.
But not everyone has the same understanding about sailing and the Sydney to Hobart.
On television or radio, as many whinged earlier this week, the Sydney to Hobart can be accused of being ”boring” to watch to the untrained eye, much like golf or cricket.
But let me tell you, sailing is a lot of fun and an intriguing sport if you know what’s going on.
Leaning off the side of the boat, being splashed with a face full of sea water while the skipper calls the tacks and jibes and you dodge the boom; sailing is something I’d encourage everyone to try at least once in their life.
Even the smallest vessels can reach some fantastic speeds, and knowing its coming from wind-power and wind-power alone is a great feeling and one that you’ll never get in any speedboat.
Still, while there are some appreciators of the race, an overwhelming consensus about the Sydney to Hobart this year much like the year before, was that ”it’s boring”, ”it’s too technical”, ”it’s not a sport”, ”I don’t care”, and ”why should I?”.
Some suggestions to improve the race’s popularity included a call for more boats to sink or for there to be a limit on money spent.
Fellow Roar expert Athas Zafiris requested a new route from Suez to Zanzibar which would bring the added value of a Somalian pirate or two, and maybe even another Gold Logie nomination for Karl Stefanovic.
If the waves of indifference continue the Sydney to Hobart may soon struggle to keep it’s place as a prestigious Australian sporting event.
So if you could sit down with the organisers of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, what would you suggest to make it more appealing to the masses?
For me, I’d start by gathering all the skippers for a special rendition of The Lonely Island’s ”I’m on a boat”. But that’s just me.
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