17 December 2009

Bruce Gould notching up his 40th Sydney Hobart

By Peter Campbell

Long-serving Squadron General and Sailing Committee member Bruce Gould will be sailing in his 40th Sydney Hobart Race when this year’s race gets under way on Boxing Day.

Sailing as watch captain aboard fellow RSYS member Geoff Hill’s MKL49 Strewth, Bruce will join nine other members of the ’40 Hobarts Club’ who have sailed in 40 or more Hobarts since its inception in 1945.

A survivor of the foundering of the classic timber cutter Winston Churchill in the tragic race of 1998, Bruce has sailed in nine of the ten Hobarts since then.

He was rescued after spending 30 hours with crew mates in a life raft after Winston Churchill sank.  Three other crew members in another raft were lost at sea.

Commenting last year on the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, after completing his 39th Hobart, Bruce said: “I can’t stop racing. If I did, I’d just sit around and be haunted by the thoughts of what happened with the guys. And besides, I think I should do this in memory of my mates. I’m sure they wouldn’t want me to stop.”

In the lead-up to the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the former America’s Cup yachtsman told ‘Offshore Yachting’ magazine:  “I still enjoy sailing and the challenges that a Hobart can deliver. The friendship and companionship you make out of sailing is one of the main reasons I still participate at my age!

“Whilst we may be rivals on the race track and competing for divisional success, it’s great to enjoy a laugh and a beer with your mates once the race is completed,” he added.

While he ocean races on other people’s yachts, Bruce is the proud owner of the famous former line honours winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, the classic timber yawl Margaret Rintoul, which led the fleet home in 1950 and 1951.

Among the other ocean racing yachtsmen in the ’40 Hobarts Club’ is Squadron member Syd Fischer, who is racing to Hobart for the 41st time as skipper of his current Ragamuffin, a TP52.

Other Squadron members racing their yachts to Hobart include Ed Psaltis (AFR Midnight Rambler),  Paul Clitheroe (Balance), Andrew Dally (Bear Necessity) and Andrew Wenham (SES Inch by Winch) while Roger Hickman will be aboard the West Australian yacht Limit.

View Official Website of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race