After 12 years trying Wollongong yacht owner Noel Cornish and his local crew are Sydney Hobart winners.
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The IMB Bank chairman and former BlueScope Steel boss achieved his best ever result winning IRC Division 2 and placing 14th overall in St Jude.
“This is my best result. I have never had a first in a division before and I am thrilled,” he said.
“It is something you try to achieve in an iconic race like this. You are never sure you are going to live long enough to make it. It is an absolute thrill for all of us in the crew. Many of us have been together doing this for a long time and year after year. They are elated”.
The achievement has Mr Cornish motivated to keep trying to achieve his dream of winning the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall and he may even consider investing in a larger yacht to give himself a better chance.
He has sailed St Jude in the world renowned yacht race 10 times now and has vowed to keep making his annual Boxing Day blue water pilgrimage south for many years to come.
Mr Cornish said this was the highlight of his yacht racing career to date but he hopes it isn’t the greatest.
“We always strive to think about winning it overall,” he said.
“That certainly is a dream to even imagine you might be able to do that. But we always enter the race with the aim of trying to win it. It is not just to participate. We want to be competitive. Winning our division is nice and we came 14th overall in the IRC up at the front end of the fleet. And I think we believe with a bit of good fortune, and you need that in blue water racing, it might be possible. So we just keep striving to try and do that”.
Asked if he would invest in a larger maxi yacht to try and achieve that ultimate goal he said “it is possible”. “You never say never about those sorts of things so it is possible”.
Among those on board last week was Illawarra Yacht Club’s Mish Ivaneza who has been sailing with Mr Cornish for many years.
“He has been sailing with me for a number of years on and off and it was really nice to have him as part of the crew,” he said.
But there were also two first timers on board and Mr Cornish said they probably had the perception that it was easy after such a smooth sailing journey.
“They have sailed with me all year but this was their first Hobart. They really enjoyed it. This was a relatively easy race for a Sydney to Hobart. It was really good”.
Mr Cornish has sailed in all kinds of conditions in his 12 Sydney Hobarts and has only ever had one withdrawal.
He said he was living in the USA and missed the worst year when a number of sailors died.
Mr Cornish and most his crew have been celebrating their win and will have a couple of rest and relaxation days in Hobart before flying home.
Three of the crew members and four others will cruise back to Sydney from January 2.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
