Experienced Sydney to Hobart sailor Andrew Miller was already keen to partner his son, Harry, in his first attempt at the race.
Now, after changes to include two-handed crews in the race for the Tattersall Cup overall handicap prize, the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club duo are eyeing a special debut on Boxing Day aboard Andrew's Jeanneau 36, Uprising Brightside Marine.
Two-handed crews debuted in the race last year but they were not included in the overall IRC handicap. This year they will be and two NCYC two-handed crews, Uprising Brightside Marine and Joe de Kock's KD4, will take up the challenge.
"There's 18 or 19 boats in that [two-handed division] and we think the boat is quite competitive in IRC [handicap]," Andrew said.
"It was always a bit controversial starting the two-handed in the Sydney to Hobart last year. The boat that won the two-handed last year would have come third in the overall. This time it is included in the overall, so you could possibly win the Tattersall's Cup, which is the real trophy in the race.
"The Cabbage Tree Island race winner [Mistral] was a two-handed boat, a small, 34-footer, so it's quite possible. I think in the light to moderate stuff, sometimes the two-handed boats have a bit of an advantage because they don't carry as many people, water, food and weight. But it was something I wanted to do with Harry anyway, and he's up for it and is pretty good."
Andrew, a marine surveyor, has sailed in more than 15 Sydney to Hobarts, including finishing the tragic 1998 race aboard Foxtel Titan Ford and winning the 1993 IMS division with Cuckoo's Nest in brutal conditions.
He had no doubt Harry, who became eligible to compete this year at age 18, was ready for the 628-nautical mile test. An apprentice shipwright at De Kock's Midcoast Boatyard and Marine at Wickham, Harry was NCYC youth sailor of the year in 2019.
"About three or four months ago, we did a two-handed race out of Newcastle and did quite well, so we thought why not give it a crack," Andrew said. "He's been sailing since he was about six and he's right into it. I've had the boat for 10 years now, so he and I have done a lot of sailing on it."
Harry was undaunted by the challenge.
"I thought for my first Hobart, I may as well do it with Dad, if he's keen," Harry said.
"We always wanted to do a trip on the boat and we were talking about going to New Zealand, but then they started doing the two-handed in the Sydney to Hobart, so we thought it was a good opportunity.
"I've done a fair bit of long distance sailing. I did the Southport race this year on another boat and I was fine in that. And I've done a few offshore, long distance deliveries as well."
Andrew said: "We've got to know the boat pretty well, we've been doing a lot of fine tuning, and we've been working on it for three months pretty much non-stop. Every spare moment we've had, we've been working on the boat because there's so much to do and organise.
"We talk about it a lot. We've done a lot of planning and preparation. Our biggest enemy in two-handed is obviously fatigue and we have to work out systems of how we can eat and drink. At the moment, we're going to run a two-hour watch schedule but if the weather gets bad, we might make it one hour.
"We've just got to manage fatigue more than anything else, because that's when you start making mistakes.
"You don't know what to expect so you've got to be prepared for everything, but I suppose that's the beauty of it."
Andrew said the pair had received great support from Insulation Industries, Midcoast Boatyard, Uprising Bakery and Mark and Helen Clare in getting ready for the race.
"We've had a lot of support from the locals," he said.
"People have lent us a life raft, radios and even a sat phone with a SIM card."
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