Joca Signorini redo för Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

På annandag jul går starten för den 80:e upplagan av Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, en av världens mest legendariska havskappseglingar. I årets startfält finns Joca Signorini, bosatt i Stockholm och med en meritlista som rymmer OS deltagande, Volvo Ocean Race seger och segling på några av världens mest prestigefyllda båtar. Inför starten har vi pratat med Joca om förberedelserna, utmaningarna och förväntningarna ombord på 88 fotaren Lucky, en av favoriterna i årets race.

Intervjun följs av en guide till starten och hur du kan se den live – den 26 december går starten klockan 03:00 svensk tid och livesändningen med länk hittar du längre ner i artikeln.

Who is Joca?

I started sailing in Rio de Janeiro when I was about seven years old and fell completely in love with boats and the sport. From age ten, I was racing Optimist dinghies, dreaming of making it to the Olympics. Growing up in Rio gave me the incredible opportunity to sail almost every day at my club, ICRJ (Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club), which had many races throughout the year and some truly inspiring sailors.

That dream eventually came true – I competed in the Olympics in Athens 2004 in the Finn class.

After the Olympics, Brazil entered its first and, until now, only Volvo Ocean Race team in 2005/06 with Brasil 1. I was part of the crew, skippered by Torben Grael. We finished third overall and won a leg – quite an achievement for a relatively inexperienced team with a boat built in Brazil. That success led to Torben being invited to skipper Ericsson 4 in the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race, and he brought me along. We won that race.

In 2007, we were living and training in Lanzarote, and that's when my strong connection to Sweden and Swedish sailors began. There were many Swedes in the team because of the sister boat, Ericsson 3. I also met my wife, who was working in the team's communications department. We decided together that Stockholm would be our base, and we've been here ever since – though I continued racing in the Volvo Ocean Race until the 2014/15 edition.

What makes the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race so special?

The Sydney Hobart is, together with the Fastnet, one of the biggest offshore races in the world. I think it gets a lot of attention partly because it takes place around Christmas, but also because of its history. Both races have had very tough and tragic editions – the 1998 Hobart race was particularly traumatic and brought a lot of media attention.

But beyond that, the atmosphere in Sydney Harbour is fantastic. The start is absolutely incredible, and the race itself can be extremely challenging in terms of weather conditions. The final miles to the finish in Hobart can be very dramatic too – many times there's been a "restart" close to the finish line with incredible comebacks.

What boat are you sailing on, and what is your role on board?

I'm sailing on Lucky, an 88-foot racing boat designed by Juan K, who also designed most of the Volvo 70s. Lucky was previously known as Rambler 88. My role on board is Watch Captain and helmsman.

We broke the record in the Sydney-Auckland race this past October, which really showed the boat's potential. Back in 2015, when the boat was still called Rambler 88, some of us – including me – sailed the Sydney Hobart. We finished third on the line and were leading on the water for quite some time.

Can you describe the atmosphere and challenges at the start?

The start inside Sydney Harbour is incredibly intense. There's not much space for so many big boats, so it gets quite aggressive and tactical right from the beginning. The crowds, the boats, the energy – it's unlike any other race start.

Are there other challenging passages along the 600 nm course?

The entire race can be very demanding depending on the weather. You're sailing down the southeast coast of Australia and then crossing Bass Strait to Tasmania, which is known for rough conditions. The final approach to Hobart, up the Derwent River, can also be tricky and dramatic – especially when boats are closely matched.

What kind of weather and wind conditions are you expecting for this year's race?

The weather forecast for this edition is showing quite a bit of upwind sailing at the beginning of the race – some models are predicting winds up to 30 knots at times. That should make for an intense start.

Once we reach Bass Strait, the wind is expected to drop off, and we'll have to navigate through a transition zone with light winds. After that, the wind should shift to the northeast, giving us nicer sailing as we approach Tasman Island.

This transition could actually give us an opportunity. We're hoping to sail well in the upwind conditions early on, where our boat should perform strongly. Fingers crossed!

What are your goals, and how do you think Lucky will perform?

There are several 100-footers in the fleet this year – Comanche, LawConnect, Palm Beach, Scallywag, and a couple more. Comanche is the clear favorite for line honors. We're slightly smaller than these boats, but in certain conditions, we can be very competitive against them all.

Our goal is to stay as close as possible to the 100-footers and see if weather opportunities open up for us. A top-three finish on the line would be an excellent result. We'll be pushing hard to stay with Comanche and LawConnect, which have won the last two editions on line honors.

We could also have a good result in the IRC handicap division, though the forecast for this year's race seems to favor some of the smaller boats – TP52s or 70-footers.

Vi önskar Joca, Lucky och alla andra seglare på Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race stort lycka till, och vill ni inte gå upp tidigt på Annandag Jul kan ni se den spektakulära starten i efterhand på Youtube.

Philip Schröderheim, KSSS Informationskommitté

Foto: Tim Wright

 

Guide till starten av Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Starten av Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race är ett av seglingsvärldens mest spektakulära ögonblick. Den går inne i Sydney Harbour, där hela fältet startar samtidigt i olika startled, omgivna av följebåtar, publikbåtar och fullsatta kajer.

Datum: 26 december
Starttid: 13:00 lokal tid i Sydney, vilket motsvarar 03:00 svensk tid
Livesändning: Starten sänds live på YouTube. Länk hittar du längre ner.

Efter starten seglar fältet söderut längs Australiens östkust, vidare över Bass Strait och mot målgången i Hobart på Tasmanien, totalt cirka 600 nautiska mil. Förhållandena kan variera kraftigt och racet är känt för att snabbt skifta från taktisk närsegling till ren uthållighetskamp.

Ett tips är att följa de första timmarna extra noga. Det är ofta här positioner sätts och avgörande vägval tas.