Skipper’s new course
WHEN Sydney-based sailor Gordon Ketelbey blacked out and drove off a cliff near his Middle Harbour home in February, the skipper was given a stark reminder of mortality.
It was after that life-changing moment that Ketelbey decided to buy a TP52, one of two newly Australianowned TP52s that will lock horns in the Rating Series at the 2019 Festival of Sails over the Australia Day long weekend at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
While Ketelbey suffered only facial injuries in the accident, which plunged him 27 metres off a cliff towards the ocean and left his LandCruiser a crumpled wreck, it proved the inspiration behind his new purchase.
“It was a fairly nasty incident and an interesting point to reflect on my mortality,” the skipper admitted.
“There’s a point in your life when you think, ‘You’re 65 with some pennies in the bank and one of these days you’ll be 70 and not wanting to be bouncing around on a TP52’.”
Zen — the boat — is still in the shed at Gosford undergoing hurried modifications to prepare for its first Bass Strait crossing.
The boat started life as Synergy then it was Sled then Sorcha and was a typical Super Series Med trim — light and stripped out.
“It’s currently undergoing an astronomically expensive refit for Hobart,” Ketelbey said.
It will be up against Ambition, owned by Melbourne-based Chris Dare — the former owner of the Corby 49 Flirt — who has returned to big boat sailing with his two teenagers and a majority crew aged 17-27.
Ambition, which debuted on Port Phillip two weekends ago, is configured for distance races rather than around the buoys match-ups against the newer generation TPs like Marcus Blackmore’s Hamilton Island Race Week winner Hooligan and Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban, a proven allrounder with a Rolex Sydney Hobart o overall victory in 2017 and follow-up f first in division at this year’s A Australian Yachting Championships.
Ultimately, Dare has the 50th anniversary Transpac next July as his bucket-list item and Ketelbey is considering the same option.
“The Festival of Sails is a great regatta and the passage race a bit of fun,” Dare said. “It’s always a nice balance between competitive sailing and catching up with people after Christmas. I haven’t done one for nine or 10 years as I’ve usually been driving kids around the country to youth regattas at that time.”
Entries are climbing steadily, with 68 boats registered so far. Organisers anticipate another fleet of close to 300 boats in 2019 and complementing the three-day onwater program over the Australia Day holiday long weekend will be well-planned onshore activities.
The Notice of Race and online entry is available at https:// festivalofsails.com.au/notice-of-race. Online entries close Friday
January 11, 2019.
Sailor Gordon Ketelbey is headed to Geelong with a new lease on life — and a new boat — after a horrific accident