John sailed the Sydney to Hobart yacht race with his father. Now he’s passing on the tradition to his sons

To John Townley, this year’s Sydney to Hobart race means so much more than just a chance to see his new boat in action.

This year, 35 years after he first sailed the race with his father, as a 16-year-old, he is now taking his two sons, 20-year-old Max and 18-year-old Matthew.

“I always hoped I would be able to take them on a race, the way my father did, and pass on everything I learned from that,” he said.

“I think it is paramount boys have a healthy relationship with their fathers, or any elders in their community. It’s one of the most important relationships we have, and enables them to be good people who treat people well.”

It is the 78th edition of the race, which is due to start at 1pm on Boxing Day, with 103 yachts expected to compete.

Townley, who is a commercial pilot for Jetstar, has raced the Sydney to Hobart five times.

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“It has been nearly 25 years since my last race, and I am really excited about it this year. I’ve talked to my sons about my experiences sailing and they’ve been listening for years, but finally they can get some first-hand experience.

“It was a memorable thing from my past and I am just extremely excited to share it now with my boys.”

Townley will be racing alongside some of his longtime friends – Sam Ibbott, who is also bringing his son, and Simon Wilcox.

He bought his new boat, a Buizen 48, in Sydney about six months ago, and intended to take it home to Hobart on his own.

But seeing an opportunity, he hatched a plan to enter it into the race, to honour his father’s legacy, and to teach his sons some life lessons.

“I only got into sailing because of my father’s interest. In fact, he was in the middle of a race when I was born, and they had to get a rescue boat out to him so he could get to the hospital.

“But I am stoked to pass on the resilience I learned from racing,” Townley continued.

“What I learned was to just get on with the job at hand, no matter how bad it gets. Life isn’t always easy, and you need to find the strength and character to get you through the tough times.

“Boys need to feel listened to, and granted responsibility, and I think that builds the confidence needed in life.”

Just like his father in his first race, Matthew is the youngest person in the race this year, and said he felt ready to sail offshore alongside his father.

“Its definitely special, doing this with my dad and my brother. And with our crew, I’m not too nervous about it, I am excited to see how it goes.”

Matthew believes sailing is a part of his family and took a keen interest in it from a young age.

“Our whole family life revolves around water and water activities, including surfing and sailing, and it’s been a big part of my dad’s life and he passed that on to me,” he said. “My whole passion for sailing comes from him.”

And while the crew don’t expect to be competitive this year, Matthew said he was keen to eventually join a competitive team and win the race.

“Winning is definitely something I’d want to do in the future, or to even join a competitive team. I am not sure how we will place this year but we will be trying to beat some boats.”

The boat was originally called Manutai, which means ocean bird, but is now called Hansen Tasmania, due to their sponsorship agreement with Hansen Orchards.

The second in command, Sam Ibbott, is bringing his son, Archer, along as well.

“This is much more in the spirit of the race, in that the first race was a cruise between friends, and they turned that into a race, which is sort of what we are doing,” he said.

“We’re taking the professionalism back out of it. We are all competent sailors, but we don’t have a big budget. We’re going on a family boat to try and share the experience.”

Ibbott said families doing the race together was not rare in the Sydney to Hobart, because it built stronger bonds and connections between parents and their children.

“The reason people do it is because some of these bonds forged in adversity can be quite strong.

“It’s a bit different to the day-to-day living, of asking your children to pick up socks or whatnot. It’s an opportunity to treat them as equals, as adults.”

He said the family dynamics on a boat made for a unique experience, and that he hoped his son and the other young men on the boat would benefit from the shared experience.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in this instance it could be a crew.

“Just like in everyday life, we are trying to raise our children together. This is an opportunity to see some role models in action. We are all part of our village.”