Sydney to Hobart

[davidc4430]

Sydney to Hobart: Could the 628-nautical-mile race be won in a day?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-31/could-the-sydney-to-hobart-be-sailed-in-a-day/9295398

i'm not into sailing.

but this race seems to be going the way of so many things, technology and money have ruined it.

think bathurst mount panorama, formula 1, kids go karting (mini bikes too). billy karts.Olympic Cycling.

the days of the local hero having any chance against the big money look to be over.

i remember the 'Great Race, Bathurst' when its was real cars of all sorts! now its relpica cars, look like something on the outside but bloomin just a mirage. not sure if theres anything real on any of them, maybe mirrors?

F1 when there were no computers, drivers had to change gears!

even the Billy Karts of today look like NASA built them!

what happened to dad and kids building a box on wheels for a bit of fun?

so will the Sydney to Hobart be done and dusted in a day? i cant see why not.

[bright.ton42]

Technology and money have ruined it?      It's always been about that.   It's a rich man's sport,  very very rich, and the best rechnology money can buy.   Can hardly be compared with go karts. 

However skill is still needed  and excellent judgement, sometimes split second.   

.   

[davidc4430]

my point regarding go karts was when i was a kid we built our own go karts. lawn mower engine and everything cos thats how it was done back then. now its thousands of dollars to buy a 'off the shelf' wizz bang go kart, then start adding more money.

my brother was state champion in mini bikes on a home made bike back in the early 70's.

who would build there own bike now? no point, those in charge wont let you race a non comercial bike.

the big manufacturers got involved, honda, yamaha ect and now you gotta buy a ready to go bike for mega $

thats the trouble, what begins as fun changes to win at all costs. it was starting when our family left the mini bike world. one wealthy man would roll up every sunday with a huge trailer with 10 different bought bikes so his son could ride every event.

dont get me wrong, he was a very nice man. owned a motorcycle shop. but what he was doing was killing the activity by out spending everyone else.

its happening on every scale from small to the large, once it gets competitive the money turns up.

[go-tazz]

But Wild Oats V11 was quicker by 26 minutes but lost on a protest that was decided after the race.

It was claimed as a clear protest and should've been lodged at the time instead of waiting till the race finished

and instead of ruling on the protest there and then they waited till after the race to see the outcome before

deciding.

So IMHO instead of imposing maybe a 10 or 15 minute penalty at the time they waited and imposed a one hour

penalty after the race to ensure that they got the winner they wanted,(it was an international jury that decided

the winner as they knew the penalty couldn't even be appealed).

Sounds a bit one sided to me,

So the race record is held by a boat that wasn't the fastest,