Roberts chasing a double, by Jiminy

IN last year’s Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster yacht race two boats, Cadibarra 8 and Lord Jiminy, raced bow-for-bow up the River Derwent to the finish.

Melbourne yachtsman Paul Roberts was skippering Cadibarra 8 and in the end took line honours, also making a clean sweep of handicap categories.

On the eve of the start of this year’s Westcoaster, Cadibarra 8 lies dormant in a marina berth in Port Phillip while Roberts is sailing aboard Lord Jiminy and again is favourite to win the race.

Described by Ocean Racing Club of Victoria officials as “a rocket ship”, Lord Jiminy, a state of the art Class 40 racer, is one of 21 yachts contesting the 480 nautical mile race across Bass Strait and down Tasmania’s rugged and largely uninhabited West Coast.

Lord Jiminy is competing in the twohanded division of the Westcoaster, sailed by Chris Barlow and Roberts.

The team next March will sail the yacht in the two-handed, 5500 nautical mile race from Melbourne to Osaka in Japan.

Sixteen of the 21 yachts in the Westcoaster are entered for the Melbourne to Osaka race, with the long race from Melbourne to Hobart their qualifier for the Osaka event.

While Lord Jiminy is favourite to lead the fleet, and the double-handed division, to Hobart, favourite among the fully crewed yachts is the Archambault 40, skippered by Peter Davison.