Well, the first bullet-point was easily explained — Wednesday 15 November was the ‘wish us lucky’ day, sponsoring lunch and refreshments for the WAGS fleet on the eve of Mister Lucky’s coastal passage south to Sydney to begin Hobart preparations. The frosty ‘gold coin donation’ beverages went down a treat as Rohan — or, rather, Mister Lucky (he refers to the boat as almost a sentient being with a persona of its own) — used the occasion to launch his (their) latest, Rolex Sydney Hobart–themed, fundraising initiative. With sails emblazoned with the Endeavour Foundation logo, it’s clear that this charity partner has a place close to the heart of Rohan (and the boat’s owner Mark Hipgrave, of whom more in a moment), with $80,000 raised through philanthropic gifts alone, and an estimated $180,000 in the past 18 months. The goal is to raise an additional $20,000 before the starter’s gun on Boxing Day. So point two is the call-out to sponsor the boat per Nautical Mile sailed in the Hobart race, with the closest guess of the actual track mileage on crossing the finishing line to win a year’s membership to the sports club of their choice. Yellowbrick tracking is expected to help inform punters’ calculations — but wait, there’s more. Races within the big race Sure to complicate things for the trackers will be the multiple onionskin-layers of competitiveness afoot in the Hobart — and the fire in Rohan’s eyes flickers brighter as he explains that “we’ll be one of three Sun Fast 3600s in this year’s Hobart, with Wyuna (previously named Kraken II), fully crewed, and Maverick, with Rod and Tyson Smallman as a double-handed crew.” In the last Melbourne—Osaka race, the trio (all double-handed) secured top-five positions between them so, on their first reunion this Christmas, a ‘re-match’ down the coast and across Bass Strait is all but inevitable. Set that aside (if you can) and there’s the Southern Cross Cup, a team-based trophy open to three boats from any club, state, or country, entered in the IRC category. At least one boat must be fully crewed, while another must be two-handed, and one rated less than 1.3 on IRC. So, in representing Queensland, together with a Maritimo 54 (Schumacher 54) and Maritimo 52 (Tp52), Rohan, Mark and Mister Lucky will also be aiming for the lowest aggregate of each boat’s race score in the overall IRC category, using the low point system. In the 2022 Sydney Hobart, Mister Lucky achieved an impressive top 10 finish in the two-handed ORCi category, setting the stage for what promises to be an even more remarkable 2023 race, with Mark being back sharing the duties … some Yellowbrick apps are going to get a flogging, one suspects! Which brings us back to … Mister Lucky gets her original crew back for the 2023 Hobart, welcoming back Mark Hipgrave to the helm after — as Rohan deftly describes it — “a sabbatical in the 2021–22 race season.” It’s been a big year already, with Mark victorious (in IRC) on the Trans–Tasman Solo, after both lads conquered the challenging Two-Handed 2023 Round North Island (SAANZ RNI) New Zealand race. (Mister Lucky was the first ever double-handed boat from Australia to compete in this event.) A second-place in the 2022 Brisbane to Hamilton Island (B2H) two-handed race was backed up in this year’s Brisbane to Keppel Bay Marina with a surprise second placing on IRC, as the weather conditions certainly favoured the lighter double-handed fleet. Mainsheet 2023 Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook 58 Sailor of the Year
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