STORY - "Aurora at Sea"

Skipper of Aurora Jim Holley is modest about his yachting exploits. He shouldn’t be. He has completed 20 Sydney to Hobart races, the last ten as owner and skipper of Aurora. Aurora is the only yacht to have started and completed the last ten races. It was placed 12th in the perilous 1998 event and 9th in 2006.

Jim’s wife Mary is also an experienced all weather ocean sailor. She has completed 11 Sydney to Hobarts in the important and demanding roles of tactician and navigator. Jim says, “She is the best Sydney to Hobarter. She will be providing toasted sandwiches in 70 knot winds while other boats are having troubles.”

Jim and Mary are both Novocastrians. Jim hails from West Wallsend where he attended St Patrick’s Primary. Before retiring 18 months ago he was a surgeon with rooms at Hamilton where Mary was the practice manager.

Like many locals, Jim started sailing with VJ dinghies on Lake Macquarie. “After a while I was too busy with family and work to find time to sail. As our five children grew up I returned to sailing, this time with yachts. Navigation was now a necessary skill so I decided to teach myself. I thought ‘It is a scientific process and surgery is scientific so I should be able to manage it.’” He obviously did because he has not only always found his way but also often found the best and fastest way to his destination.

On an early trip to Lord Howe Island, Jim could not use his sextant because of cloud cover. He explains, “It was a very dark night and there were no lights on Lord Howe Island so I had to use dead reckoning. We missed the small unlit target by four miles in the middle of the night. That’s only about half the length of the island. As day dawned we were six miles past the island but could see it clearly so all was well.”

Naturally, while researching an Aurora feature, the reason for naming the yacht Aurora arose. Jim’s explanation is simpler than anticipated. “Aurora starts with the letter A so when the regular skeds are called in alphabetical order, we are one of the first to be called. It saves waiting. Also, when sailing in the southern ocean it is sometimes possible to see the Aurora Australis.”

Fear is not in Jim’s lexicon. Despite his 20 crossings of the treacherous Bass Strait he says he has never been afraid, adding, “Yachts rarely sink. Even when they are disabled and badly battered they usually stay afloat.” When it was suggested that maybe he had experienced fear in the notorious 1998 race, he again said, “No. I had full confidence in the boat. There are three things that give us confidence. Firstly, we maintain the boat thoroughly. Every year we strip it down, check it all over and replace everything that is worn. Secondly, we always set the correct sails. Thirdly and most importantly, we have an excellent and well trained crew, each of whom has a 100% work ethic on the boat. We drill in tough conditions until we can reef a sail in 30 seconds and set storm sails quickly.”

Jim’s most successful Sydney-Hobart race was the 2006 event. Aurora achieved ninth place in the prestigious handicap section even after going to the assistance of another yacht in distress. Koomooloo, an old wooden vessel, was taking water and in danger of sinking. It sent out a mayday call at 9.30am on day two of the race. At that time, Jim had Aurora, assisted by a favourable current, doing an unbelievable 10 knots with the wind on the nose. Immediately Jim brought Aurora onto a heading that would allow him to assist Koomooloo if necessary. Eventually Koomooloo’s crew was taken off by the British yacht Adventure and Jim set sail again for Hobart. Mary’s meticulous log enabled the race committee to credit Aurora with the time lost while standing by Koomooloo.

In the last Sydney-Hobart race, Aurora was over the line early at the start. Because they were listening on the wrong radio frequency, they did not hear the recall so continued to Hobart, blissfully unaware that they had broken the start. On arrival at Constitution Dock in Hobart, Jim was greeted by the Commodore, resplendent in his regalia. Jim thought “This is nice; he probably wants to congratulate us.” To Jim’s surprise, the Commodore said, “You were over at the start.” Aurora was not disqualified but did receive a penalty which meant it was placed last in the race.

In retirement Jim has gone back to gardening, reads extensively, attends the opera and spends time with family. He continues his daily routine of cycling to the beach to surf but no longer at 6 am as he did while still working. When asked if he intends to sail in any more Sydney-Hobarts he replied “Is the sun coming up tomorrow? And besides Aurora is the only yacht that can only equal or do better than its 2007 result!”

Chris Welbourne

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