They are taking things very seriously aboard the IY 12.98 Fuoriserie.
The new Australian team joining the Italia Yachts Family has set its sights on a goal that makes every offshore sailor’s heart beat faster: the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
It’s a challenge you can’t improvise, especially when it’s one of the four great ocean classics , the Rolex Fastnet, Rolex Giraglia, Rolex Middle Sea Race and, of course, the queen that starts every 26 December from one of the world’s most iconic bays.
To be ready, the team chose a first outing with the taste of a full dress rehearsal: the Bird Island Race, 83 miles starting and finishing in Sydney, among a fierce fleet of about fifty boats that complete the course in anything from five to twenty hours.
A perfect playground to measure ambition and muscle. Even if just a test, the story from aboard already has the flavour of a major offshore challenge. “We went from 5 to 35 knots of wind,” says Josh Hayes of Performance Cruising Yacht,“A calm start inside the bay, and then, just outside, three-metre waves and 35-knot gusts. Within minutes we were in the middle of a storm, with thunder, lightning and heavy wind. But that’s exactly what we wanted: to officially start our training program, test the boat, find the best trim, and measure ourselves against a very competitive fleet. We estimate we finished around mid-fleet.”
Supported by Sydney by Sail, IY 12.98 Fuoriserie showed steady nerves and very promising potential. The images of her charge through waves and storm clouds speak for themselves: a taste of that epic tension only true offshore sailing can deliver, and that the Sydney Hobart demands.
