Rough Crossing – Smooth Result
Sydney sailor Andrew Pryer was a member of the 24-man crew aboard the maxi-yacht Lahana which won third place overall in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race.
Andrew Pryer on dry land
Lahana
The 39-yr-old told J-Wire that this was the roughest crossing he had made in the eleven races in which he has sailed. “And that includes 1998, the year in which six sailors lost their lives.”
Pryer described this year’s voyage. “87 boats set sail for Hobart and 16 retired from the race. Although we encountered shocking weather in 1998, it was not sustained. This year we hit a southerly four hours into the race and it stayed with us for 40 hours. It was extremely uncomfortable and I experienced sea sickness for only the second time in my life. The 40 knot winds in Bass Strait created waves of 4- 6 meters. We knew the wind would have to turn to the north west so our skipper took us 150 miles out to sea to meet the wind change. This gave us a huge advantange over the yachts closer to shore getting 3rd place line honours for Lahana.”
Pryer was a crew member on Yendys which won the race in 1999.
