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sydney to hobart H\tiger


becjm

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Talk about Mad dogs and Englishmen try this- Kerli Corlette and Rod Waterhouse sailing to Hobart on a Hobie Tiger.

The team left Pittwater on Tuesday and by late Thursday morning were ghosting out of Batemans Bay after a bit of shut eye.

On Friday and Friday night they made the Bass Strait crossing in what was supposed to be ideal winds from a northly direction. Friday night was very lonely as they encountered 35 knots from the south with 5m seas. They pulled in to St Helens on the NE of Tasmania late Saturday morning looking for a long sleep.

They are off again with a change of crew. Rod and Jason Waterhouse are now on board 10 nm north of Maria Island (at 9pm) Sunday night on the last leg to Hobart on Sunday evening. They have 8 kts of wind dropping through the night but still from a northerly direction- that’s what the weather forecasts say but it will be different out there and bloody dark.

Stay posted

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tiger.jpg

MICHELLE PAINE

March 18, 2008 12:00am

THEY just spent six days in a tiny boat and it may as well have leaked, because Rod Waterhouse was never dry during a dramatic trip from Sydney.

Last night Mr Waterhouse, 49, and his son Jason, 16, sailed into Hobart on their 18-foot Hobie Tiger catamaran.

Mr Waterhouse and Kerli Corlette left Sydney Harbour last Tuesday.

Mr Corlette made way for Jason, a world champion sailor, at St Helens.

Mr Waterhouse said it was probably the first time Bass Strait had been crossed in such a vessel.

"I tried to do this in the mid-80s, we had a back-up power boat but that didn't work and we called the trip off half-way. It was always a regret," Mr Waterhouse said.

"This time we had our own backup, we had our own security, a satellite phone and back-up system."

Mr Waterhouse and his family have done many years of offshore and long-distance racing but it all paled next to Bass Strait.

"Bass Strait is very difficult. It's intimidating on a small boat. It's cold, there's no escape, you can't get out of

the cold. And we kept trying to lose speed," he said.

"We were very careful not to put it over."

One of the biggest challenges was slowing down the quick Hobie as it soared down the huge waves of Bass Strait.

The cat is capable of 25 knots.

"The first leg was close to 400 miles without a break; four days without a break. You get tired, there's no respite, but that's part of the challenge," Mr Waterhouse said.

The only stop before St Helens was Batemans Bay.

That is pretty amazing stuff, just goes to show how tuff hobie tiger /f18's really are.

After the last 3 days at sea, not something I would want to take on in a hurry!

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Well done.

The great thing about this is they just did it because they wanted to.

No bullshit agenda like "raising awareness of the three legged Platypus" or something to secure sponsorship.

(They may or may not be sponsored but they don't appear to be pushing their own barrow too heavily.)

I know most endevours require money these days and therefore sponsors and therefore a cause to raise publicity. It's just that few people seem to go out and do these things with little fanfare purely because they want to do it.

Those that do should be congratulated.

Another good example is Lachie(?) sailing Sydney to Brisbane in the caper cat.

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Congratulations to Rod, Jason, Kerli and all the crew on an outstanding personal and individual achievement.

Certainly an achievement that many sailors would dream of completing and we congratulate you wholeheartedly.

Scott Machon

Secretary

Great Lakes Sailing Club

Forster

"In Pursuit of Pleasure with Wind"

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