Hobart dash goes boom crash
HOBART yachtsman Stephen McCullum’s goal of sailing Kialoa II home faster than her winning Sydney-Hobart line honours time in 1971 has gone boom — because that’s what broke and ended the challenge.
“Rowdy” McCullum is part of the NSW yacht’s SydneyHobart campaign this year and the crew had hoped to deliver owners Patrick and Keith Broughton a slick result.
The maxi ketch was on track to better its 46-year-old time when one of its booms broke off Tasmania’s East Coast on Thursday. Having two masts and therefore two booms enabled Kialoa II to keep racing but at a subdued speed.
In his 23rd Sydney-Hobart, (he won line honours aboard Tasmania in 1994), McCullum wanted to make this one a beauty.
“It’s a magical boat,” he said of Kialoa II. “Paddy and Keith recently purchased the boat and did the Fastnet. They’ve sailed it out from England to Sydney for the Hobart.
“You’ve got to have a fair bit of respect for the boat. It has very heavy old gear. It still has its traps and dangers. It’s a very nice boat to sail. It’s a Spark- man & Stevens [design], so very smooth through the water.
“It was built in 1964 and won the Sydney-Hobart for Jim Kilroy in ’71. That’s the time we were trying to beat — 2 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes.”
Kialoa II finished the race just after 6.30pm yesterday.
Oskana was the first Tasmanian yacht home at 2.59pm on Thursday. The other, Magic Miles, is due early today.