Vertigo crew confirmed for the 81st Rolex Sydney Hobart

Vertigo crew confirmed for Rolex Sydney Hobart © Vertigo

Many yacht owners competing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race don't finalise their crew until days out from the start. But not Timothy Olding, owner of the Summit 35 Vertigo, representing the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.

The Tasmanian-born sailor, who has called Victoria home since the 1980s, had seven of his eight crew members locked in for the 81st edition by January.

"I put the word out in January, 'So, who wants to come?' And pretty much had seven out of eight commit straight away, then I tied up the eighth person a few weeks ago," Olding said.

"One of the most stressful things about offshore sailing is getting a good team together, and I'm really pleased with the people we've got on board.

"They all know the boat, they all know each other, and they all get on famously."

Vertigo Sailing - photo © Salty Dingo

Olding was one of the first sailors to enter the 628 nautical mile race, organised by the CYCA with finishing partner RYCT, when registrations opened on Tuesday 26 May.

The race will fulfil a boyhood dream for Olding, who has competed in five Sydney Hobarts but never as an owner-skipper. It will also be a last hurrah for Olding and his mainly Victorian crewmates (navigator Stuart Addison is from Hobart) as he is moving back to Hobart next year, with plans to eventually retire there.

"I really wanted to finish with a bang with all my sailing friends in Melbourne and get this under the belt as a skipper for the first time," he said.

Olding's 25-year-old daughter Clare will join him as 2IC for her first Sydney Hobart. A science and engineering student, Clare is no stranger to offshore sailing. Since Olding bought Vertigo in 2017, she has accumulated thousands of offshore miles, including five or so Melbourne to Devonport races (195 nautical miles) and a couple of Melbourne to Hobart Westcoasters (435 nautical miles).

Recently, Clare skippered Vertigo in the Apollo Bay Race (52 nautical miles), her first time taking charge of the boat during a race, while her father recovered from surgery. She brought the yacht home third on AMS Overall and second in both Division 2 AMS and PHS. Olding said he can't wait for Clare to add the Sydney Hobart to her growing offshore résumé.

"Doing this race [Sydney Hobart] with my kid is pretty special," he said.

In the meantime, Olding is putting in the work over winter to make sure Vertigo is in top shape when the offshore season arrives.

"We don't want to get halfway down the course and have to pull out because a wire or a block broke," Olding said. "We want to make sure we have a solid boat so we get there."

How to enter

Registration for the most anticipated race on the international offshore sailing calendar is open until 1700 hours, Friday 23 October. More information here.