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It is going to take something special for the fleet in this year\u2019s Sydney to Hobart race to beat defending champion Celestial.<\/p>\n
But something special could be on the cards come Boxing Day, with the long-range weather forecast for the 628-nautical-mile race uncertain and team strategies up in the air less than a week out from the start of the sailing classic.<\/p>\n
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For Marc Michel, skipper of two-hander Niksen, the biggest challenge is getting out of Sydney Heads.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Louise Kennerley<\/cite><\/p>\n For Celestial owner and skipper Sam Haynes, a lot remains unclear and there are still many potential challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cThe greatest challenge for our boat, well, I think there\u2019s obviously a lot of expectation when you\u2019ve had the last two years that we have, and to be able to back that up is a massive challenge,\u201d Haynes said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the very immediate right now, I think getting the right strategy for the race is not clear, and that\u2019s something that will probably be the main focus for the next few days, is how we\u2019re going to approach the race, the weather, the oceanography, how we\u2019re going to manage the boat.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of variables right now, and that\u2019s the area of focus for us at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Contenders for overall winner (L-R) Max Klink, Sam Haynes, Marc Michel, Anthony Johnston and Simon Torvaldsen.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Louise Kennerley<\/cite><\/p>\n Despite an overall victory last year, and a second-place finish the year before, Haynes shrugged off suggestions there is a target on his back come Boxing Day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got this beautiful trophy, we\u2019ve got the watch, the honour of winning the race, that\u2019s the target,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all try and do the same thing. I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s going to set up their boat specifically to try and challenge my boat. We all know where our boats have got their strengths and weaknesses, and we work on trying to improve weaknesses and maintain your strengths at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n Celestial was the overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart last year.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>ROLEX<\/cite><\/p>\n Strategy and weather aren\u2019t even the foremost concerns for Marc Michel, the owner and skipper of two-man boat Niksen. For him, the first challenge is getting out of Sydney Heads.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our biggest challenge is just typically getting out of the Harbour,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re coming off the back lines [for the smaller, slower boats] \u2026 the water is chopped up, it\u2019s pretty frustrating.<\/p>\n \u201cSpectator fleets all moving to chase the maxis, so [it\u2019s like] a washing machine. Just be glad to get out of the heads, settle down, get into our rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, for Anthony Johnston, the owner of URM Group, his greatest concern is making sure his boat gets to the starting line in one piece.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like to push the boat, so the challenge is to get it there without breaking something,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Hobart\u2019s always got a bit of misadventure.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always a challenge, and that\u2019s why getting the boat there in one piece is always challenging … [but] it\u2019s currently well prepared and in one piece ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary.<\/i><\/b> Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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