Another Chapter enters its most exciting chapter yet !

 

Tommy Dickens might have turned down some offers in his young life, but when the 23-year-old from the UK was given the chance to sail in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, he grabbed it with both hands.

Dickens also took a cheeky punt that secured a spot for his dad, James, on the Beneteau 44.7 Another Chapter, for the epic race.

An experienced offshore sailor, the English sailor had not considered sailing the Sydney Hobart anytime soon, until he met one of the owners of Another Chapter, Greg Clinnick, in Malta in October 2023.

At the time, Dickens was working on the Volvo Open 70, Green Dragon, which Clinnick and several mates from the Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC) in Victoria, had chartered for the Rolex Middle Sea Race (the 606 nautical mile race starts and finishes in Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta).

The crew got on like a house on fire, which encouraged Clinnick to invite four of them to Australia to compete in the 2024 Sydney Hobart.

"Greg said, 'We've got a boat that we do the Sydney Hobart on most years, do you want to come and join?'," Dickens said.

"That's an opportunity of a lifetime as a guy from England. You don't get that offer many times, so I couldn't say no."

Cathal Mahon, 24, from Ireland, Mateusz Byrski, 32, from Poland and Elsa Swetenham from Jersey, Channel Islands will also aboard alongside an experienced Victorian cohort, including RBYC Commodore Peter Demura.

Clinnick also gave the thumbs up to having Tommy's dad, James Dickens, join the crew of 10.

James, an adventurer, doesn't have any offshore race experience, so the Sydney Hobart could be a baptism of fire for the 56-year-old. He usually sails for leisure on a yacht in the Solent, a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain.

James said he felt "apprehensive" about the race but looked forward to sharing the once in a lifetime experience with his son.

The action-packed race starts on Boxing Day is an experience Dickens looks forward to sharing with his dad.

"It's pretty iconic," Dickens said of the race. "And with Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House in the background - it doesn't get much better."