DREAM COME TRUE
‘I think the Sydney to Hobart is one of those races you tick off your bucket list.’ PAUL BUCHHOLZ
GEELONG sailor Peter Kirman will tick off a bucket-list item when he races in the Sydney to Hobart Yatch Race on board Extasea.
The 56-year-old has been sailing since he was a kid, so to finally achieve a lifelong goal on Boxing Day will be a dream come true for the veteran Royal Geelong Yacht Club member.
“It’s one of those things you keep saying you’re going to do next year, but next year it never happens,” Kirman said.
“I haven’t done a lot of ocean racing but have done a lot of ocean sailing.
“I’ve been a member here for a long time, so I have known a couple in the crew for a long time. At the start of the season I let them know I’d love to be part of the crew.”
The opportunity is courtesy of skipper and yatch owner Paul Buchholz, who first raced in the Sydney to Hobart in 1976 on board Pilgrim. The Geelong dentist has been able to race in the feature event more than half a dozen times, such is the lure of the Sydney to Hobart.
“I can’t remember how many times I’ve done it now; it might even be more than that,” Buchholz said.
“We finished 32nd last year (in our division) so we’re hoping to get a bit better than that over the line this year.
“The weather forecast at the moment doesn’t favour our boat; we like to go up wind but at this stage it looks like a reach down the coast, so it will be a quick one.”
Buchholz said it was a thrill to add new members to the crew, some of whom are now like family.
“There’s always an opportunity to bring people on board,” he said.
“We’ve got a pretty steady crew. We have a couple of Queenslanders coming down to race with us; they’ve been doing that for the last four or five years.
“I think the Sydney to Hobart is one of those races you tick off your bucket list in regards to round-the-world races.”
And Kirman said he couldn’t wait to be on board when Extasea departs Sydney Harbour.
“The biggest thing is going to be the start, because the start of the Sydney to Hobart just gets an enormous number of spectators around the Sydney Harbour,” he said. “The start will be amazing. “Then the sail, I’ve done that sort of distance in the past. It’s just part of the process.
“Getting to Hobart and just witnessing the regatta village they’ve got set up down in Hobart will be pretty amazing.”