Sydney to Hobart start on an Axopar 28

There’s no better way to spend boxing day than popping champagne, watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart race, then relaxing and eating left over Christmas prawns in Little Manly. When you have your own Axopar 28 T-Top it is as easy as stepping aboard and taking off…

Here’s how our day panned out…

The day started in Pittwater where we stepped off the jetty onto the Axopar 28 T-Top. Immediately we picked up speed in order to get out beyond the heads. The offshore waves were rougher than I’ve ever experienced but the Axopar never fails to amaze me when it comes to stability. We chopped through the waves and were in the Harbour in no time at all.

When we arrived it wasn’t long before Maritime and Police vessels instructed us of the bouys we must stay within. With Peter at the helm we darted through the other boats to get ourselves a prime position for the start.

“POP!” we opened a bottle of Moet as the horn echoed across the sea.

As soon as the sailors began to fly, mayhem inside the lines began, as the boats scrambled to be the first beyond the heads. The combination of a very experienced skipper and an agile boat enabled us to slither through the crowd and be one of the first outside the heads giving us first class seats to see the leading yachts.

First beyond the heads was “Black Jack” flying well ahead of the rest. We attempted to keep our distance but were pushed close to this incredibly large yacht.

As we dropped back, by shear luck we landed ourselves directly beside the world famous “Wild Oats” this years winner. We were given over a minute to bask in her glory staring with sore necks at her insane sails.

Before long the backup and media teams sped in stealing our location and it was time to turn around.

Due to the amount of boats that ventured into one area at a time the water was more turbulent than ever and we were heading in the OPPOSITE direction!

It is hard to describe the crazy boost of adrenaline your encounter as you bounce through waves over twice a vessels size at high speed while also avoiding thousands of other yachts, I cannot imagine what Peter was feeling…

The Axopar is known for being an extremely dry boat and I can vouch for this whole heartedly, no other 28 boat would’ve avoided the tremendous waves the way the Axopar did, however I have a confession.

The highlight of our day was watching a wave triple our size dive in slow motion directly through the screen and on top of the entire crew. Don’t worry we all could not stop laughing!

Hungry and in need of a swim we sped off to the nearby Little Manly Beach to anchor, take a dip and feast on left over Christmas food.

A day so perfect it couldn’t be flawed. We all walked away smiling ear to ear.

Written by Marnie Ebeling

There are so so many activities to do on board an Axopar… Including getting seriously close to some of the fastest sailing boats as they begin their journey to Hobart. As you’ll see their are many other Axopar owners with the same idea as our own… We spotted loads on the water with us.

The Axopar 28 is the perfect boat to duck in and out of the larger power boats and was fast and stable enough to chase down the leader Black Jack and famous Wild Oats… *We do not recommend doing this if you do not have experience at the wheel…*

LATEST FROM THEBLOG

Axopar 29 Performance Review

Axopar 29 Performance Review

Joe Fox from Eyachts took the Axopar 29 for a test run, sharing his insights on its offshore performance, handling, speed, efficiency and hull design.

read more