JPMorgan Regatta News - Super Skandia Cracks On Power For Hobart
By Peter Campbell

30 November 2003

Victorian yachtsman Grant Wharington has emphasised exactly why his new ocean racer, the 98-footer Skandia, is already a hot favourite for line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Sailing in her first ocean racing series, Australia’s newest and biggest super maxi, spreadeagled the fleet in all four races of Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s 27th annual Short Ocean Racing Championship, sponsored again by JPMorgan.

Built at the cutting edge of yacht design, engineering and construction, equipment and sail power, Skandia left her rivals in her wake, taking line honours in the first race by five minutes from George Snow’s 79-footer Brindabella and Sean Langman’s extended Open 60, Grundig.

In race two she not only won line honours by more than six minutes from Grundig, but also almost won the race on handicap, placing just seven seconds behind the Swan 48 cruiser/racer Loki (Stephen Ainsworth) on corrected time.

As the regatta progressed Skandia improved her crew work and sail selection, winning the final race by more than seven minutes from Grundig and taking IRC first place on corrected time, by just two seconds from Loki which went on to win the IRC division, with Skandia second.

Skandia looks awesome, to say the least, long and lean but not as mean-looking as Alfa Romeo. The hull is a pale blue and white in a wave styling and in relation to her 30m LOA, her rig does not look as tall as last year’s champion.

It is a double spreader rig as against the five spreader rig on more recently built super maxis and has a larger fore triangle.

Designed by innovative Victorian Don Jones and built at Mornington by Mal Hart, Skandia is all carbon fibre construction, her hull, her mast and her Doyle Fraser D4 “black” sails, with many state of the art features, including electric winches and a huge canting (swinging) keel that was clearly visible in the sea today.

The canting keel was clearly visible as she heeled to windward, most of hger crew of 18 packing the weather rail.

Skandia reached Sydney late Friday evening after a slow delivery voyage from Melbourne, giving the 18-man crew less than six hours sleep before they were back on deck, preparing for the JPMorgan Regatta.

Back at the Cruising Yachting Club of Australia after the final race today, skipper Wharington said: “We had a fantastic day…we were more settled and the crew work was better…we had no spinnaker moments.”

Wharington added he was now looking forward to competing in the Canon Big Challenge (12 December), the Rolex Trophy Series (13-15 December) and, of course, his ultimate objective, the Rolex 59th Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (26 December).

“We were underpowered in the JPMorgan Regatta, using old spinnakers, but we will have the new ones in time for the Canon Big Boat Challenge and they will 100 square metres bigger than those we used today,” he added.

The JPMorgan Regatta IMS and IRC results were dominated by yachts entered in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with Loki winning IRC from Skandia and Syd Fischer’s Farr 50, Ragamuffin, winning the IMS Division.