Gloves off! (Or is that actually gloves on?)
by John Curnow, Sail-World.com AUS Editor 18 Nov 10:00 NZDT
Line Honours for LawConnect in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
Well now... Isn't that actually a really good point. Normally, you'd say it was gloves off, time to get physical in a bare-knuckle street fighter sense. Then again, it might be more like tape the hands and fingers up, then get the big, padded mitts on, for this is superheavyweight title fight is bound to be of even more interest than ever before.
So, ye olde Hobart looms again. You know. Boxing Day spectacular, turn right, travel a ways, and then maybe a bit more, turn right once more, blast across a wee stretch that's usually got plenty of fetch, aim for the opening on the other side, wander up a river, and you're done. Simple, hey? Well, lots of boats and their crews have made it look like the required lucidity in the complexity is available for all. Not sure I know of a Hobart veteran who is not just as versed in the dichotomous position equally, however...
Last year we were treated to arguably one of the greatest Hobarts. 628 nauticals down the way, and it all got played out in the last few hundred metres. You could not have scripted it better. In some ways it was terribly fitting, for in the last decade the relative merits of each of the supermaxis interpretations of how 30.48m LOA can be applied have closed; markedly!
Pencil v Aircraft carrier. Striking mass versus bulbs of Unobtanium. Yes. Unless your eyes are painted on, it was plain to see. Sail tech, mass reductions, changes to hull form, prodders as long as the Nullarbor Plain may all speak to Grandpa's axe, but quite possibly the thing that laid the noose around the contenders and then drew them in was crew work.
Here was the thing. Just after LawConnect won in such glorious fashion I spoke with Chris Nicholson to congratulate the crew. Typically, we talked about a lot of things. Laughed about a lot more things, and then I left him to get on with the celebrations. One item popped up in the conversation, however. It was his first win.
Like wow. Three World Championships in the Five-Oh. Another three in the 49er. Six laps of the planet on board three classes of Volvo - 60, 70, and 65OD - including two seconds on Camper and Puma and third place on Amer Sports One, and you were Watch leader or Skipper on all of them. Then something like eight Hobarts under your belt before you get the big one. OK. That sets the scene.
So how did it feel then as contrasted with now, given we're the best part of 12 months later and you're on board the very same playing Nigel for the day? Sounds like a very good place to start, so we called up and asked...
"You've still kind of got to kick yourself to remind it is all real. To have beaten Comanche in that race, which was pretty much an ideal race for them with a lot of straight lining (reaching), and we hung in there, really, really well. Furthermore, I remember thinking after the race that there are not that many races you do in your life where you make that few mistakes," offered Nicholson.
"I think we won the race on the New South Wales and Victorian coasts, where we hung in with Comanche the whole way. Before we got into the river (Derwent), we'd gone the entire trip crossing or catching them in the nighttime, and we're right there with them. Then they got away from us when they entered the Derwent. Obviously, we closed it down at the end. In the end, it's all the things we we're doing through the night and under the storms, and how we managed those."
Now there was a lot of grit and determination for sure, but LawConnect, very much in spite of her Owner's clearly public, and distinctly disparaging references. Naturally they were tongue-in-cheek in that laconic Aussie way, as LawConnect been doing good things in the lead up with Cabbage Tree Island and the Big Boat Challenge.
"We knew that in certain conditions we were there, or thereabouts. Also, you keep showing up, and you keep improving. You don't sail the 100s that much, so over time having the same core group really started to rack up the knowledge and appreciation for what LawConnect could do. We always knew we were sailing the boat better year to year to year, and then there were all the small improvements on the boat over a few years. It's quite a different maxi to how it was sort of five, ten years ago in terms of how it sailed and how it performs," said Nicholson with reference to the opening comments.
In terms of how it all sits now, Nicholson said, "Yes. There is immense pride. However, the overarching feeling is that it was just really good to go against the bookies!"
"I really enjoy the crew. It is just a fun boat to work on, to sail on, and to race on. Overall we are fairly young, and the younger people have come on, got more experience, and we have developed pretty nicely as a squad as a result of a super-good culture."
Let's face it. Speedboat (as LawConnect was when built) was never really meant to do what she's doing now. At the time, unfair remarks talked about that's what you get when you press 143% on the photocopier with Volvo 70 plans in the feeder. Being decidedly portly was not a great advantage either. Designed to reach around the world had its advantages, but uphill was not historically seen as a sweet spot, despite wonderful form stability and near 100' LWL.
A diet. The world's longest prodder (ever), along with a set of Doyle sails to suit, and LawConnect has categorically proven that she's still competitive, which is immense.
Speaking of Juan Kouyoumdjian's design, Nicholson said, "I kind of quite like the shape of it for a Hobart. Not too much rocker, and the beam's about right; a bit skinnier than Comanche, and a bit wider than Oats and Black Jack, and so I reckon it seems about right, to me. It is older and a bit heavier than what we'd like, but we've worked hard on reliability."
The latter is a telling tale, for the crew regularly bounce LawConnect off the rev limiter, and the near zero rocker means she can be desperately uncomfortable in a seaway doing 14 knots or whatever with strapped sheets. Smashing is always hard on a boat, and even more so on a supermaxi, where it is all multiples when it comes to Larry (load).
Now the wardrobe does not have 'silly sails', as Nicholson calls the experimental variety. Having a heavily experienced crew provides for real knowledge as to what will work and what won't. Accordingly, they feel they haven't made mistakes or wasted time chasing something that wasn't there. If it is vindication to get Speedboat finally going as to her name, then do consider the utterly vast array of knowledge on board from Volvos and other ocean campaigns where they were at the forefront of triple-head designs, and just as crucially the extraction of performance thereof! Trim, trim, trim...
The large prodder (engineered by Brett Ellis) means you can have J1s, J2s and J3s in as staysails, and with that sort of horsepower you somewhat negate the mass discussion. Separation rules the day. Having six tonnes of water available on the rail means you'll hold onto it right up range, as well. Like we said, 'did someone say, Larry?' It's a bit like going past 3.5bar on boost. Requires a good management process, and a strong fortitude.
Tack, and sheet loads can mean you need to contemplate global bending, as well. Probably best not to look at the prodder when you are the centreline, either. Still, the upshot of it all is that from light airs to heavy, nose on to running away, LawConnect is no laughing matter. Stand up and pay attention time.
So much so that Nicholson actually said, "We're good upwind. I'd sign up today for 20 knots uphill all the way to Hobart. Top end of J1, full water, and the thing's a weapon! Bit unpleasant, however." That'd be the no rocker aspect - read slam, slam, slam.
"This year we're going to have a furling sort of J0 that'll hopefully get us away from where we have been in the past, tight reaching around with the J1, which is a hank on sail, and it's just a nightmare to deal with. Hopefully we'll be in the furling world for that and then have staysails it, which will be really sweet. The intention is to have it as our little jump on top of where we were last year."
This will run from say about 60% of the way out the prodder, with the light air zero and A2 only allowed the full run of that particular track... No surprises there. It's all good until it breaks, after all.
Clearly there is a good vibe inside the team, and yes, they like the Underdog thing, but having now won the John H Illingworth Challenge Cup, that's going to get a bit hard. Bit like standing in the spotlights and not ready to do the song and dance act...
At any rate, never fear. The team have elected to put the gloves on! "At the end of the day, no matter what, we pretty much ring the neck on this boat. Hard! We get everything we can out of the boat. Yes, we've got to be cautious of damage, obviously, but the thing I can say is that we are good at getting the most out of us, and the boat. It can be scary at times, as you know you're never far breaking it, but over the years we have reduced runner and tack loads as we try to manage it all that much better."
There may well be no 'I' in team, except on LawConnect where they know that 'I' looks like a bullet, and Number One is exactly where they want to be and work closely and precisely together to get the job done. "I think it takes years to get a crew to that sort of place in a 100-footer," added Nicholson. "I imagine Oats had this feeling at certain stages along their very successful runs, as well."
Other than that, look for LawConnect to be well placed the exit from the Harbour. All those manoeuvres can get the BP up, that's for sure, but it also shows how much the crew is switched on. Looking good is not easy, and is a direct result of great skills.
The Skiffie is still inside the wiser head, as Nicholson reflected, "I reckon I appreciate it more now. In the past I would have just, yep, that was fun. The racing was cool. Now you ponder and say wow, not many people get to do this. On top of that, you're doing it with a great crew and awesome culture. It's a pretty nice place to be."
The one thing you won't hear LawConnect talk about is the record. "It's just a distraction. Never pops up. You know, if conditions presented themselves that a race record was on, it still wouldn't matter. If conditions allow for it, we'll make sure the boat's sailed accordingly that it would be delivered, but the weather is not in our control. Our place of concentration is with Comanche."
"Naturally, I want to say thanks to Christian (Beck). He always likes to take the back seat, but he's super intelligent, and he knows how to win. He provides us with a set-up to get the best we can out of it, and, you know, he definitely likes to lead going out the Harbour. That's the one sort of pressure point that he sort of imposes a little bit on me. No stress."
"He certainly doesn't encourage us to look after the asset. People have been working on this boat all year, and then we just kind of break it down during the Hobart. It kind of just gets us over the line and bingo, hopefully we've had a win."
In closing, Nicholson added, "I also really like his perspective on how to drive returns for his business out of this."
OK. There it is. There is so much more on the group's websites for you. Simply use the search field, or 'edition' pull-down menu up the top on the right of the masthead to find it all. Please enjoy your yachting, stay safe, and thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com
John Curnow
Sail-World.com AUS Editor