Withdrawals of Oskana and Fork in the Road combined with the late arrival of Alive have caused quite a shake-up for this year's Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race.
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Peter Cretan, whose Marten 49 Tilt is a strong contender, said it is a difficult race to call.
"Oskana would have been almost impossible to beat, and we are disappointed that Fork isn't sailing as there is a great rivalry and great friendship between the crews," he said.
Cretan expects Launceston-based boat, AdvantEdge, an Inglis 47 skippered by Andrew Jones, to be quick on the water, while the Victorian entry Dream, a Pacific 50 skippered by Robert Green, will be pushing hard to get to Hobart first after finishing second across the line in 2019.
"AdvantEdge is an unknown quantity for us as we didn't race them last year, but I expect them to give us a good run, and we will definitely have to earn our victory to beat Dream," he said.
AdvantEdge has undergone a massive makeover for this year's race with the Jones family working around the clock to have the boat ready to sail.
Tilt will be sailing with a pared down but highly experienced crew of 10 that has sailed a lot of miles together.
"We don't have a dedicated navigator, but we have an on-board brains-trust of senior sailors who will be calling the shots during what we know is a very tactical race, along with some enthusiastic younger sailors," Cretan said.
He considers Tilt to be most competitive sailing upwind but will be keeping a close eye on downwind flyers including RAD (Brent McKay) and Jazz Player (John Dryden).
Other boats to watch during the race include the classic beauty and Admiral's Cup winner, Windrose, skippered by Ashok Mani, and the newly-christened Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300, Hip-Nautic, being raced two-handed by Jean-Pierre Ravant and Richard Boult.
Windrose was designed in 1959 by Rhode Island naval architects Sparkman and Stephens for Jakob Isbrandtsen, then Rear Commodore of the Storm Trysail Club in the US, for the explicit purpose of winning the Admiral's Cup. Isbrandtsen (1922-2018) captained Windrose and sailed her to victory under the New York Yacht Club burgee in 1961, making history as the first Admiral's Cup win for America.
We have an on-board brains-trust of senior sailors who will be calling the shots during what we know is a very tactical race
- Peter Cretan
Ashok Mani, the current owner of Windrose, rescued the 48-foot yacht from Langkawi six years ago, and after meticulous restoration, sailed her in the 2019 Sydney to Hobart under the Tamar Yacht Club burgee.
Windrose has sparked significant international attention across the L2H social media channels, attracting a large following from European countries, who are keen to track her progress in the race.
Entrants will be competing across AMS, PHS, IRC and ORCi handicap categories.
The early weather forecast sees the fleet starting the race in light and variable winds, with a cold front pushing through the racecourse later in the day bringing with it strong north-west to south-westerly winds.
Winds are forecast to become lighter and variable with patchy north to north-westerly winds along the coast on Monday, while another change is forecast to move through during the afternoon and evening of Tuesday.
The 285-nautical mile race starts at Inspection Head at Beauty Point on Sunday with the expected finish in Hobart brought forward to Monday following Alive's late entry.
