On the wall in the members-only Coasters Retreat bar at the Cruising Yacht Club in Sydney hangs a Huon pine map of Tasmania — and on it are the names of sailors who have completed 25 Sydney Hobart yacht races.
Those skilled, or perhaps crazy enough, to have achieved the feat are known as ‘”Hobart Heroes” — and this year, all going well, Dave Watson will have his name added to the honour board.
“There’s some great sailing names on that board. Quite a few Tasmanians. My father’s name is up there, so I’ll be particularly proud to get my name up there as well,” he says.
Completing 25 races is no mean feat, and the Hobart Heroes club is an exclusive one.
But there’s another tier of exclusivity that only eight people have ever ascended to — 50 combined races between a father and son.
When the cannon blasts to herald Dave Watson’s arrival to Hobart on board the Victorian yacht Chutzpah this year, he’ll enter that club too — a moment he’s long dreamed of.
“Some of my earliest childhood memories are watching the finish of the race, watching dad finish on various boats. It was back in those memories where I dreamed of doing the race one day and following his footsteps” he says.
Dave’s father Bill was a revered yachtsman.
He was part of three line honours winning crews, aboard a menagerie of boats of different shapes and sizes across many years of sailing.
No sooner had Dave turned 17, he was competing in his first Sydney Hobart, in the same crew as his dad.
The spectacular 50th edition of the race in 1994 would be Dave’s debut and the start of a tradition that would continue for decades.
“I’ll never forget Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day that year, you could just about walk across the harbour on all the boats,” he says.
“We also had one of my cousins aboard which was lovely and made it a family affair. Dad was always big on the spirit and taught a few lessons on the spirit of the race. He enjoyed the adventure of doing the race.
“He was great at making people realise it’s not all about walking around the docks with a fancy shirt on, and that everyone that finished the race regardless of result should feel very proud.”
A laundry list of sailing yarns have been born out of years of making the mad dash to Hobart, but it’s one memory that immediately springs to mind when pressed on which one best sums up their relationship.
The year was 1998, and tragedy would befall that year’s edition of the race courtesy of a freak storm that produced 80 knot wind gusts that smashed the fleet.
Six people died, and 55 more had to be plucked out of the spray in what became Australia’s largest ever peacetime rescue mission.
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The Watsons were amongst the lucky crews who were able to navigate the storm and eventually find safe harbour in Hobart.
“It was so comforting knowing I was on a boat with him. I never felt threatened. I was on the bow at one stage, trying to get the sails off because it was blowing so hard, and having a moment looking at the waves thinking ‘gee, I’ve never seen anything like this before’,” he says.
“I looked at the back of the boat and there he was with a big smile on his face holding onto the wheel and I was instantly calmed.
“I thought ‘if he’s happy with this situation, then things will be pretty good’.”
Bill Watson passed away nine years ago, but since then Dave has been racking up races, and edging closer to the combined 50.
As Chutzpah rounds Tasman Island this year, the place in which Bill’s ashes were scattered after his death, thoughts will turn to the old man and how the sport of sailing is woven through the Watson family, helping mould its members.
“We spent many years as a family cruising the coastline of Tasmania and Tasman Island is iconic. You can’t help but be in awe of it,” he says.
“It was a special place for him, and we thought it fitting to take him on his last race. We had my brother-in-law on the boat, a lot of the crew had sailed with him. He’d have been chuffed as we dropped him off at Tasman Island.”
“And now it’s an even more special place for me.”
Tasman Island also heralds the final stretch of the race, and if things are going to plan for Chutzpah, there will be bigger fish to fry.
Dogged by the reputation of a sailing bridesmaid, Chutzpah has come agonisingly close to overall victory in previous editions but has been pipped on multiple occasions.
It’s hoped that changes this year, and Dave and the crew can help deliver a Tattersalls Cup (prize for the overall winner on handicap) to skipper Bruce Taylor, the legendary yachtsman who has dedicated a large chunk of his life to the great race.
“I’m sure if we ever do get our hands on that Tattersalls Cup, there will be no prouder and no better winner. We’d like to think that one day we can do it for him, because he certainly deserves it,” he says.
Regardless of where the 40-footer finishes this year, the Watsons will sail into Sydney Hobart folklore, and into a club reserved for only the most storied old salts.
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