In a tale of endurance mirroring its fictional namesake, the yacht Millennium Falcon has completed a marathon and troubled journey to become the final finisher in the 80th Sydney to Hobart race.
A Rusty Freighter's Real-World Counterpart
Skippered by 71-year-old part-time ophthalmologist Robert Griffits, the 39-foot vessel drifted into Constitution Dock in Hobart at 10.22am on Thursday. The crew of six had spent a gruelling 141 hours at sea, facing a cascade of failures that forced them to rely on ingenuity and sheer determination.
Griffits, who bought the boat in 2020 without knowing its sci-fi significance, now sees the parallel. "I've only ever seen one Star Wars episode," he admitted. "The original Millennium Falcon was a bit of a rusted-out freighter that was held together by chewing gum." His yacht's journey proved equally makeshift.
Battling Failures with Buckets and Mobile Phones
The adventure was fraught with breakdowns. Critical navigation equipment failed, forcing the crew to use their mobile phones to find their way in the latter stages. When the electronic bilge pump gave up, they resorted to hand pumps and buckets to scoop out water. Even the interior furniture wasn't spared, with a table used for holding on to breaking its legs during the violent weather.
Their challenges began even before the Boxing Day start, with urgent motor repairs. Griffits quipped, "We've had a lot of trouble with our hyperdrive," in a nod to the Star Wars craft's famously unreliable propulsion system.
Tossed in the Storm After the Fleet Finished
The crew's most brutal test came on Tuesday night, when a southerly change hit long after the bulk of the 128-boat fleet had finished. "We were getting tossed around a lot. You get thrown from side to side," Griffits recounted. "The deck spent a fair bit of time underwater, so you find places that aren't quite as watertight as you once imagined."
Seasickness was rampant, limiting cooking to boiling water for tea, coffee, and instant noodles. Their final time of 5 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds was more than three days slower than the line honours winner, the supermaxi Master Lock Comanche.
A Hard-Earned Wooden Spoon
Upon finishing, Griffits was presented with the traditional wooden spoon for last place, marking his first successful completion of the race after several previous attempts. Of the 128 yachts that started, 34 were forced to retire, making the Falcon's finish an achievement in itself.
The race saw history made elsewhere, with overall honours claimed for the first time by a female skipper after yacht Min River took top spot when the frontrunner was penalised. Yet the story of the tenacious Millennium Falcon, a world away from the megabucks supermaxis, captures the raw, unpredictable spirit of ocean racing.
