Sport has always been a big part of his Martin Walker’s family’s life. He’s been sailing since his schoolboy days and his rugby-playing brother, Lloyd, represented Australia in a decorated stint with the Wallabies. But Walker’s familial affinity with the ocean predates its sporting accomplishments by some way.
“I know my tribe, the Yuin nation are saltwater people, they lived along the coast down south,” said the history-making sailor who on Boxing Day will surf Tribal Warrior, the first Indigenous-flagged entrant to compete in the 628 nautical-mile Sydney to Hobart. For Walker, it’s been a long build-up.
“I’ve been sailing since I was nine, my entire family has sailed, although I don’t think my brother Lloyd would be in for the big seas of the Bass Strait,” said the bowman, who will spend a lot of time at the front of the yacht from Boxing Day.
The majority of the sailors competing with Tribal Warrior are Indigenous ranging in age from 40 to a 64, and there has been plenty of community support for those embarking on the blue-water classic for the first time.
“The team is looking forward to representing their mob as the first official Indigenous entrant,” said Walker. “The spinnaker is the Aboriginal flag and while the majority of the crew is from New South Wales we are still representing the Torres Strait.”
The significance of being the first to achieve the milestone is not lost on Walker or his crew. “I think it is pride, I don’t really feel the pressure, we have a lot of followers all around Australia but when we went down to Yarra Bay sailing club, the La Perouse community spoke a lot about how proud they are of us going down. A few of us started choking up then.”
Like Walker, Jack Macartney has sailed most of his life. The 2019 edition will be his ninth crack at the famous skirmish to Hobart, and nerves are just as big a part of the lead-up now as they were in his first race to Constitution Dock.
“The Boxing Day excitement is still strong for me,” said the Australian sailor, who’ll be aboard one of eight international raiders - Hong Kong entrant Scallywag. “I love this time of the year, the build-up, the constant checking of the weather and the focus it draws. I find a lot of peace offshore and particularly when I think about my wife Dai and son Rio while out there in the sea, this is the great race so it’s a privilege to be able to compete in these beautiful waters and be part of such a world-class event.”
The 100-footer has often been in the wake of fellow supermaxis Comanche and Wild Oats XI, who between them have won eleven of the past fourteen line honours on offer. This year there’s only one objective for Scallywag, having recently won a Volvo Ocean Race stage and the Transatlantic crown. And that’s glory in Hobart.
“We’re here to win,” said Macartney who will trim the mainsheet and steer one of five supermaxis vying for line honours when they rope up in Tasmania. “We have had an awesome year sailing in various places around the world. Our team is in great form, everything operates like clockwork, the boat is fast, our sail program is organised. Without a doubt we are in the best shape for the Hobart and I expect us to be in with a real chance of success.”
Photographer Andrea Francolini will have the best seat in the house for his 19th Sydney to Hobart – a sporting event he describes as “breathtaking”.
“Even though I am there for work I always manage to put the camera down for five-to-10 seconds and look at it rather than photograph it. I mean come on: there are 12 helicopters over the harbour and I am in one of them,” said the award-winning photographer with 200 magazine covers to his name.
A lot has changed, technologically speaking, since snapping his first event at the start of the millennium, but Francolini feels the magic is still there.
“I clearly remember the first Hobart I covered from a boat was incredible,” he said. “The cannon went off and the boats made their way to the heads. Once we reached Watsons Bay and South Head there were thousands of people cheering and you could clearly hear them from the boat. That blew me away. Better than being in a soccer stadium in Italy.”
Last year’s dramatic finish, which saw the top four line-honours contenders finish within an hour of each other, was the most memorable finale in Francolini’s memory, but it is the 1pm Boxing Day start of this year’s event garnering the most pre-race attention.
Organisers, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, cancelled this month’s Big Boat race due to visibility concerns caused by smoke haze from the bushfires. But the Bureau of Meteorology has said it is unlikely the start will be impacted by poor visibility. It’s welcome news for the 157 enrolled yachts, and the thousands more spectators, who will line the shoreline for the milestone 75th edition of this famous ocean race.