The annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race began on December 26 and followed the river Derwent in Australia for anywhere between less than two days and more than a week. This year, the first yacht to cross the finish line was Law Connect, which beat Andoo Comanche by only 51 seconds. However, the overall winner was the Tasmanian boat Alive after factoring in the handicap. None of that seemed to matter, because the warmest accolades went to the Sylph VI, which was the final yacht to reach the end. Because it had a cat.
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Oli the cat was the star crew member of the Sylph VI, and when it finally crossed the finish line his fans were there to declare the yacht the winner in the “feline division.” One woman gifted Oli a bag of treats and a letter from her own cat. The crew of another yacht provided a personalized cat carrier so that Oli could join participants at the traditional gathering at the pub after the race (disregarding the fact that the winners got there days earlier). Bob Williams, skipper of the Sylph VI, became emotional on seeing a crowd greet the final boat to finish the race.
“I don’t know why, I think it’s about the cat, actually,” he said. “I think it’s quite amazing how people have taken a shine to Oli, it’s not something I expected. For me, Oli is part of my crew, part of the boat.”
Coming in 85th in the race is no reason for shame, as 18 of the yachts entered did not complete the race. A good time was had by all. -via Metafilter
Source: neatorama