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Is there an iconic Australian sports event that throws up such a combination of the weird, wacky and wonderful as the Sydney to Hobart yacht race?
It seems like everyone who has ever attempted the classic ocean race has a story to tell and many have little to do with the actual racing.
In an event renowned for the gruelling physical toll it extracts, competitors can find relief and even luxury in very different ways.
Distinguished British navigator Michael Broughton, who is aboard Jazz in this year’s race, has sailed in Admiral’s Cup campaigns and the Round the Word Race.
You would be hard pressed to guess the defining memory that stands out of his Sydney to Hobart experiences.
“Last year the 100-foot Rapture had a big owners suite on board,” Broughton recalled.
“I managed to have a hot fresh water bath in the middle of Bass Strait, so that’s my claim to fame in Hobart history.”
Playing the role of cook on a Hobart-bound boat can be a thankless task, as famed navigator Lindsay May can attest to after performing that duty in the notorious 1998 race.
“It took two hours to produce toasted sandwiches for the entire crew,” May told AAP, as he prepared to renew his Sydney to Hobart acquaintance with legendary maxi Brindabella.
“After all that happened, they said `that was fantastic, we’ll have another round’, so it was a four-hour exercise to feed and water the crew.”
If you are unlucky enough to be among the stragglers in the fleet and still at sea when the New Year dawns and fireworks illuminate the Hobart skyline, there is really only one thing you can do.
“You just open a bottle of champagne,” said Ian Miller, who heads to Tasmania this year on Young Ones, having already welcomed a New Year in at sea on a previous trek south in another boat.