“The name Bacchanal sort of says it. A bacchanal means either a celebrant of the god Bacchus, or a party celebrating Bacchus,” says Epstein, “getting through all the ridiculous sexual innuendo, what it means is a celebration of joy, hedonistic joy. That’s what the sailboat has meant to me. It’s just joyful.”

Bacchanal took first in its division and was sixth overall in November’s Bird Island race. A few weeks later, in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, it topped its division and came third overall. Epstein said the yacht had “exceeded” his expectations.

“It just handled like a dream,” he said. “The boat goes where you tell it to. That seems self-evident, but it isn’t always. It’s just a beautiful sailing boat ... it’s responsive, and it seems to really enjoy the water. The only anxiety I have is if I’m going to enjoy it ... my goal on this race is to have a good time.”

While international crews dominated the race between the 1960s and 2000s, especially in the competition for line honours, their supremacy has fallen back in recent races. Over the last two decades, line honours and overall winner have been taken by foreign crews just three times each.

One sailor who could break that trend is Adrian Stead, the British tactician and driver of New Zealand yacht Caro. He said that after claiming the overall winners spot at Bird Island, his crew felt ready to take on the Hobart.

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“There are some very, very good boats down here,” said Stead. “I think there’s any one of 10 boats that could win it, depending on the conditions, how they sail.”

While this will be Stead’s fifth Hobart, it’s only the third for Caro, which was ninth over the line last year and placed third overall in division one in both 2022 and 2023.

“We’ve done our preparation well, and I think we have put ourselves in the spotlight to be a contender,” Stead said. “We have a great team, we’re ready for whatever the weather throws at us. We’re here to perform.”

Caro was shipped to Australia for last year’s Hobart after competing in the Celtic Sea’s Fastnet Race. It remained in the country to compete this year, but after arrival in Hobart it will return to Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, to compete in the Admiral’s Cup and the British IRC Championships under the banner of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.