Rolex Sydney Hobart: 60 entries

The fleet for the 68th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in December reached the milestone 50 with the entry of Bob 'Robbo' Robertson's Queensland yacht, Lunchtime Legend. And just hours later, entries had already reached 60.

Robertson is coming off a win in the Magnetic Island Race Week series and second in both the Hamilton Island regatta and Airlie Beach Race Week.

The veteran yachtsman built and launched his Beneteau 40 in time for the 2011 Hobart, and scoring a highly creditable third in IRC Division 4 in the company of pacesetters of the calibre of Roger Hickman's Wild Rose, David Rees' Whistler and Andrew Saies' 2009 victor, Two True.

In this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart, Lunchtime Legend will be leaner and meaner with a younger crew, who are fired up, Robertson says, with the Australian successes at the London Olympics.

This year there are entries from Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the first from Lithuania, Ambersail, a Volvo 60 skippered by Simonas Steponavieius, with major regattas under her belt, including the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland, RORC Caribbean 600, Transatlantic, Rolex Fastnet and Rolex Middle Sea Races.

Bengal7, a Humphreys 54 launched in 2010, will be the first Japanese entry in the race since 1997 and will be skippered by Yoichi Ito.

Geoff Hill' Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, which won line honours in the 2012 Rolex China Sea Race, will represent Hong Kong.

The New Zealand entry is Rikki, a Reichel Pugh 42 owned by Ray Haslar.

Other notable entries so far are last year's overall winner Loki (Stephen Ainsworth) and a sentimental favourite, the three-time winner Love and War, made famous by the late Peter Kurts and now sailed by his son, Simon.

As usual, the boat to beat for line honours this year will be Bob Oatley's super maxi Wild Oats XI, skippered by Mark Richards. It was beaten into second place last year by Anthony Bell's Investec Loyal, which won by a margin of only three minutes and eight seconds, the fourth closest finish in the history of the race.

Applications for Entry in the Rolex Sydney Hobart 2012 close on Thursday 1 November 2012 at 1700hrs AEDT.

For more, visit www.rolexsydneyhobart.com.