Rivalry aplenty in L2H

DERWENT Sailing Squadron race director Ron Bugg is delighted with the number of entries in this year’s Launceston to Hobart (L2H) race and anticipates plenty of rivalry on the water in Tasmania’s longest offshore yacht race.

“We have three Victorian entries, four from Launceston, and 14 southern entries.

“Last year’s line honours winner Gary Smith, sailing The Fork in the Road, is an early contender for his eighth line honours win, but I expect veteran sailor Ken Gourlay, sailing his radical Pogo 40, Green, will be pushing Smith all the way to Hobart,” said Bugg.

Family ties dominate the 2019 L2H with 13 of 21 entries featuring families, some for the first time.

The 285-nautical mile race starts at Inspection Head at Beauty Point on December 27 and tracks down the Tamar River to Low Head, before hitting Banks Strait. The fleet then sails down Tasmania’s East Coast and around Freycinet Peninsula, across to Mercury Passage, then south to Tasman Island and on to Hobart.

Victorian entries include Robert Green’s 50-footer, Dream, and Steve Nutter’s S&S 34, Morning Lassie, the sistership to previous winner Solandra.

The third Victorian entry is former Hobart sailor Tim Olding, from the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, sailing Vertigo, a Summit 35.

Vertigo is a contender for handicap honours but will have to sail well to outclass the 2018 handicap winner Lawless from Port Dalrymple Yacht Club, skippered by Launceston’s Stephen McElwee.

To review all race entries, results and follow the live trackers, go to www.l2hdssinc.org.au