Sydney to Hobart in a 4.2m inflatable with 50hp
Sydney adventurer Nathan Rykers pulled off one of the most remarkable solo voyages of recent times in a 4m rubber duckyHow about the Sydney to Hobart in a 4.2m inflatable with a 50hp outboard? If someone said that to you, you might consider them certifiable. But Nathan Rykers is no ordinary boater and his incredible self-belief, preparedness and equipment has got him over the line.
While most of us watched those supermaxis manned by professional crews race down the coast at record speeds in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart, Rykers was driving his inflatable Zapcat on a monumental ocean challenge that would last three testing days.
After many months of careful planning, trials and safety analysis, Rykers set off to follow the fleet from Sydney to Hobart in his 4.2m (13.8ft) Zapcat powered by a trusty Tohatsu M50D2 two-stroke outboard.
"My Tohatsu 50hp didn't miss a beat during my voyage from Botany-Sydney-Eden-Flinders Island-Hobart," Rykers told Lakeside Marine, the local distributors of Tohatsu outboards.
"Even after three days/nights of continuous heavy sea spray, 30ft waves, 45 knot winds, two complete submersions and 1331km (719nm) of unrelenting wave pounding, she didn't miss a beat," he said.
For the many of us who spend time on the open ocean, it’s almost unfathomable to think Rykers drove this 4m tiller-steered boat all that way.
Your trust editor, who has raced in a Sydney to Hobart, finds it’s even more incredible given the wild, remote, boiling ocean along this 1300km-plus route.
Rykers was understandably emotional when the TV cameras focuses on his weather-beaten face upon arrival in Hobart. He looked like he had endured a lot. But he was jubilant and told his family he always believed in himself and their trust.
One for the record books before we kiss goodbye to the trusty two-stroke outboards like the Tohatsu M50D2 — new emissions regulations come into effect later this year and all new carbie two-stroke outboard imports will cease and then be banned for sale in 2019.
After July 1, 2019, any carbie outboards in stock at dealers or importers must be destroyed or re-exported.
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