Little boat, big ambition

IF it floats, Sean Langman has probably raced it.

But for all of his forays on the water, Langman, 54, keeps coming back to his one true love — his 84-year-old gaffrigged cutter, Maluka.

Forget line honours, he is a purest, who sails at his best when he is challenged by Mother Nature aboard the 29foot Ranger-designed Huon pine masterpiece in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

“It is more than a race to me,” Langman said.

“It really portrays a lot of who I am, and me searching for who I am.

“My roots in the sport come from a boat like Maluka.

“In the ’ 60s my dad had a gaffer because they were cheap, and because we had no money, we made the best of what we had.

“And the original roots of this race were a bunch of blokes who sailed to Hobart and made the best of what they had.”

Bought by Langman in 2005, Maluka will be the smallest yacht in this year’s Sydney to Hobart yacht race but it will not be the slowest — not if Langman has his way.

The Sydney businessman with ties to southern Tasmania — he owns the Kermandie Hotel and Marina — will sail the pants off Maluka to claim some handicap silverware.

“When I got to Hobart the first time in Maluka I was asked me what I was going to do next, and I answered, ‘go down the dock and meet some new friends’,” he said.

“When you compare it with professional golf or tennis, in what other sport does the humble weekend sailor get to go to a briefing and the odd cocktail party and stand next to some of the best sportspeople in the world. And to race against them, and sometimes beat them. That is what makes the Hobart race unique.”

And Langman does still wants a handicap win: “This is far more challenging, but the reward is much higher than any other boat I have sailed.”