Lone NZer aims to upstage the Aussies

Sydney
Konica Minolta skipper Stewart Thwaites admits it would be great to beat the Aussies, but plays down the trans-Tasman rivalry in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which begins on Sunday.
"Most of the crews do tend to be mixed up; there are a lot of Kiwis on the Aussie boats, and there is a bit of that rivalry but mostly it's about racing the other maxis and trying to do better," he said this week.
"Beating the Aussies is a bonus, but hey, we haven't done it yet."
The 30-metre Konica Minolta is the only New Zealand yacht in the 120-strong field, but there is an international flavour to its make-up with England, United States, Finland and Australia represented on the crew.
There are about 18 New Zealanders on board, including Gavin Brady, who was principal helmsman for Larry Ellison's America's Cup yacht, Oracle.
Formerly Zana, Konica Minolta, named now after its Australian sponsor, is the bookies' favourite for the gruelling race on the basis of its improved performances this year against Skandia, which won line honours over the Kiwi yacht by just 14 minutes in last year's race.
Thwaites had the better of Skandia in a regatta off Hamilton Island earlier this year and triumphed in the Rolex series before winning the Big Boat Challenge sailed in Sydney waters last weekend.
It has beaten the Grant Wharington-skipped Skandia eight times out of their past nine contests.
"And the one we missed we gave it to them by dropping the kite in the water at mark rounding," Thwaites said.
Last year's effort was a creditable one, considering that Zana, named after Thwaites' 14-year-old daughter, was only launched in November and some of the crew hadn't even seen it before race eve.
Since that experience, Thwaites, the boat's owner, has worked on making it faster.
He has introduced a bowsprit and water ballast to stabilise the boat. It allows water to be pumped in or out to optimise performance.
"We have no spinnaker pole, but a big prod out the front so we have got more area for our gennakers.
"From a rating point of view, by getting rid of the spinnaker pole and using the prod, we are able to use our full water ballast and that makes a big difference to our speed."
He has boosted the crew with the addition of Brady, who has brought Ian Gordon with him from the United States to oversee the grinders and Oracle navigator Steve Hayles, while Team New Zealand strategist Erle Williams is also on board.
Konica Minolta will be attempting to be the first New Zealand yacht to win line honours since New Zealand Endeavour in 1992.
And line honours is the key aim for Thwaites. He was IRC handicap winner with Starlight Express two years ago, but the handicap prize this time around is only a secondary goal.
"It's definitely about line honours and we're going for it flat out. If we win on handicap as well that's a bonus," Thwaites said.
He would join esteemed company. The last sailor to win the double was the late Sir Peter Blake, with the maxi New Zealand, in 1980.
The former Hawera High School student only took up yachting when a friend, John Moody, asked him eight years ago if he would become involved in the purchase of a yacht.
It's been a crash-course since then. Sunday will be his fifth start in the Sydney-Hobart event.
He finds competitive sailing "a good alternative stress to working".
And there will be plenty of stress in the event which can take anything from just over a day to five-days plus to complete, as he attempts to keep the yacht at full speed around the clock while coping with changes in the weather and coastal currents.
It's not just a two-supermaxi race either. Ludde Ingvall has been talking up his chances of doing the line honours-handicap double aboard the 90-foot Nicorette.
"We have the fastest boat in the fleet," Ingvall said this week. "We have the design, the team and the experience."
Thwaites said he ignores that sort of talk and just concentrates on his own job, but it is clear he has respect for Nicorette, whom he calls the "great unknown" and the other main chance besides Skandia, AAPT.
Despite the dominance over Skandia this year, he is not exuding confidence.
"You can never go into it, thinking 'hey I am going to win the race'. You are thinking 'have I prepared properly, have I got the right crew, have we got the right boat and you go through what can go wrong.
'The guys are feeling good about we have achieved recently, but they all know it's back to zero and this is the real race."
Back in New Zealand on business after winning the Rolex regatta at the weekend, he senses a heightened interest from home in the race after last year's performance.
And while the trans-Tasman rivalry might not be as intense as a Bledisloe Cup test, he is mindful that he is representing New Zealand.
The Sydney-Hobart is the last race in the Rolex series, with double points up for grabs.
Konica Minolta has teamed up with Australian yacht Yendys for the series, the latter joining as a representative of Wellington's Royal Port Nicholson Yacht because of its high quota of New Zealand crew.
The pair carry a good lead going into Sunday's race.
Thwaites is not thinking about what he might do beyond the Sydney-Hobart.
"For me it is the ultimate race to win. It is a magical race." ? NZPA