Morpeth man Andrew Pettica battles in Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Jan 15 2010 by Alastair Craig, The Journal

SAILING deadly waters off Australia were a long way from boating at Druridge Bay for Andrew Pettica.

The office worker, who grew up near the Northumberland coast, swapped his desk for the deck to take part in the world’s most dangerous yachting contest.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is notorious for the danger waters of the Bass Strait streaming between the Australian mainland and Tasmania, claiming the lives of six sailors in 1998 alone.

But the 31-year-old thrill seeker from Morpeth was determined to live out his dream and finish what competitors call “the Holy Grail” of boat races.

Andrew was a leading crew member for the Sailing Services Bet247 team onboard Broomstick which led the 2009 event until high seas halted their progress.

His 66-ft yacht left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day for the 630-mile crossing along with 95 rival boats.

“It was an awesome experience,” said Andrew, who now lives in Sydney, New South Wales.

“I can understand why it has a reputation for being one of the toughest yacht races anywhere. The sea is daunting on the crossing over but we had a great crew and managed to finish, which many people don’t.

“The boat is quite an old design, and has water-ballast – you pump in two tons of sea water to tanks on the high side to help flatten the boat out, and pump it to the other side when you tack (turn).

“Obviously having the water ballast on the wrong side can be quite dangerous – which happened now and again but we diligently pumped it back to where it belonged.

“There were some hairy moments as you would expect but the weather was not as bad as it has been in recent years.

“We managed to keep going and finish in 22nd place from over 90 boats that crossed the line, which is very good.”

Andrew was up at 6am on Christmas Day on a test-run to check Broomstick’s main sail, just hours before the starting gun was fired.

“You have to be very committed to be on a yachting team but it’s a fantastic experience,” he said.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend Boxing Day than at sea with friends testing your skills against some of the best yachtsmen and women in the world.”

Over the past 64 years, the “Sydney Hobart” has become an icon of Australia’s summer sporting calendar.

It ranks in public interest with the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Australian Open tennis tournament, the Australian Grand Prix, in Melbourne’s Albert Park, and the Ashes cricket tests between Australia and England.

No yachting event attracts more interest other than the America’s Cup.