A New race record set at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Arriving in Hobart at 02:31.20 on Wednesday 28 December, Anthony Bell’s 100-ft Maxi Perpetual LOYAL has set a new race record of 1 day, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 20 seconds at the Rolex Sydney Hobart and in the process secured line honors in the 72nd edition of the famous offshore race.
Perpetual LOYAL’s remarkable time is 4 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds faster than the previous record set by Wild Oats XI in 2012. It is the 12th time since the inaugural race in 1945 that the record has been broken.
Perpetual LOYAL began the 628-nm race with intent, making an impressive start as the first yacht to pass Sydney Heads. Although she relinquished leadership of the race to the all-conquering Wild Oats XI during the rapid passage down the New South Wales coast of the Tasman Sea, Bell’s crew was first to take advantage of the hydraulic ram failure sustained by the race leader nearly 21 hours into the contest. "We were probably neck and neck with Wild Oats, maybe a mile away, when it happened," - explained Bell. "It was sad to see them break. We would like to have played on against them...but that’s racing."
Bell and his crew of 18 comprises a number of experienced competitors including 25-time Rolex Sydney Hobart campaigner Brad Kellett and sailors - including Pablo Arrarte and Justin Clougher – who enjoyed line honors success 2015 onboard the American yacht Comanche. This in addition to Tom Slingsby, Olympic gold medallist and Rolex World Sailor of the Year in 2010. "Going into the race, we had nothing to lose," - revealed Bell. "We came out of the blocks and raced one hell of a race. It was never part of our plans to break the race record but it’s an awesome thing to have done."
"This is a boat which goes in certain conditions and doesn’t go in others," - explained Perpetual LOYAL navigator Tom Addis, part of the Wild Oats XI crew which broke the race record in 2012. "We had to limit the damages on the first afternoon and set ourselves up for the conditions which were going to be in our favor on the second day. We had to play a different game to Scallywag and Wild Oats in where we set up for the reaching stuff. That was the key because while we didn’t lead through that, as we are not a boat that excels in getting downwind, we came out in a good position."
"Taking nearly five hours off the race record, hopefully it will take a long time to beat," - added Slingsby.
Bell, who won a close-fought contest with Wild Oats XI in 2011 on his previous LOYAL, celebrates a second Rolex Sydney Hobart line honors success, all the more special given Perpetual LOYAL was forced to retire from the last two editions of the race. During the line honors presentation held on Constitution Dock, Bell was presented with the J.H. Illingworth Trophy and a Rolex Yacht-Master II timepiece.
Perpetual LOYAL was not the only yacht to arrive in Hobart inside the previous race record time. Jim Delegat’s Volvo 70 Giacomo finished just under two hours behind the line honors winner. A little over two minutes later arrived Seng Huang Lee’s 100-ft Maxi Scallywag.
With the contest for line honors now sealed, the spotlight focuses more intensely on the race’s most treasured prize – the Tattersall’s Cup and Rolex timepiece awarded to the overall race winner on handicap. Currently leading that race is Matt Allen’s TP52 Ichi Ban. How fast she and a clutch of 50-ft yachts are able to negotiate the last stretch of the race, including the notoriously tricky passage down the Derwent River, may prove decisive.
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ROLEX AND YACHTING
Rolex has always sought to associate with activities that, like itself, were motivated by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. Naturally, Rolex gravitated toward the elite world of sailing, forming an alliance that dates back to the late 1950s. Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of some 15 major international events.
From leading offshore races, such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, through to the highest-level one-design competition at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup, as well as the brand’s support of the International Sailing Federation and its close relationships with the most prestigious yacht clubs around the world, including the New York Yacht Club (US) and the Royal Yacht Squadron (Cowes, UK), Rolex is driven by a passion for excellence and a great appreciation for yachting that furthers the strong ties that bind these two worlds in their shared pursuit of perfection.
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Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes.
