| SYDNEY-(29-11-2002) The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is making every effort to assist a Dutch couple, who have sailed 17,000 nautical miles to Australia in their cruising yacht qualify for next month’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and become the first boat from the Netherlands to compete in the ocean classic.
The 43-foot yacht, Quiddity, this week measured below the standard required by the International Measurement System (IMS) stability index for a Category 1 long ocean race, but race organisers are providing extra lead for internal ballast and a new inclination test and re-measurement of the boat early Sunday morning.
“Under the Ocean Racing Council’s strict global rules for a race such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart, each yacht competing must have a stability index of 115 degrees,” Race Committee chairman Tim Cox said today.
“Quiddity’s index from her first IMS measurement was below the requirement, but we hope that by adding internal lead ballast the boat will reach the required standard.
“A director of the CYCA has donated between 300 and 400 kg of lead ingots which will be placed within the hull at positions specified by the designer of the yacht and the club has allocated staff to assist the owner/skipper Peter Hoving and his partner, Josette Verkerk to secure the lead.
“We have also organised with the Yachting Association of New South Wales’ chief measurer to carry out a further measurement and inclination at 6am on Sunday,” Cox added.
“We will be the first Dutch boat ever to sail in your bluewater classic, and it is one of the world’s greatest ocean races….so we must go,” owner/skipper Peter Hoving said today, as he thanked the CYCA for its support. “We cruised for nine months and 17,000 nautical miles to reach Australia and as we will be here over Christmas and New Year, we felt we had to race to Hobart.
“We understand the problem of the stability index as Quiddity, a Grand Soleil 43, was designed for cruising and cruising boats have certain characteristics that are difficult to achieve in the IMS computer assessment of stability.”
While, the extra lead ballast is being placed in the yacht today and a new inclination test is scheduled for Sunday, but Peter and Josette will not know until early in the week whether Quiddity will finally meet the stability index and race in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
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