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2:15 AM Fri 26 Dec 2008 GMT
The Bureau of Meteorology's Michael Logan has told Rolex Sydney Hobart skippers at this morning's final weather briefing that the downwind sprint predicted by the long range forecast has held, with the race starting in strengthening northerlies and a big westerly in Bass Strait on Sunday night.
Saturday has emerged as the key day for determining the outright winner, and whether there will be a race record in the 64th edition of Australia's premier ocean classic.
On Saturday a front will push lighter westerlies through Bass Strait while the northerlies along the southern New South Wales coast will either lighten, or possibly even shift to the south west as a result of the Bass Strait change. That change is also forecast to produce a light southerly off the Tasmanian east coast.
Even when a strong westerly front kicks in across Bass Strait on Sunday night, producing strong wind warnings in that area, there will still be patches of light wind in the lee of the east Tasmanian coast.
Picking the right time to gybe, and deciding whether to hug the coast or head out to sea before the Saturday fronts, as well as picking the right angle into Tasman Island could well be the difference between Hobart glory and a just pleasant 628 nautical mile passage south.
Who'd be a tactician?
The race for the Tattersall's Cup looks wide open, with the timing of the westerly fronts the key to which division will turn out to be the most favoured. This is one of the most heavily contested races in recent years for the handicap prize.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet of 100 will be split across two start lines off Nielsen Park, Sydney Harbour, for the 1pm blast of cannon fire thanks to official starter Lou Abrahams who retired from the ocean classic last year after equalling the record - 44 races, which is about to be surpassed by Tony Cable on Getaway-Sailing.com
by Rolex Sydney Hobart media
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