Almost a year after the anguish of watching his previous yacht take Sydney to Hobart handicap honours, Ray Roberts believes he finally has the boat to claim the one sailing prize missing from his collection.
Roberts is returning to the great race after five years, most of which was spent on the Asian circuit adding to the stack of trophies he won in Australia.
Just four months ago, he bought the well performed Farr 55 yacht, Living Doll, which finished seventh and second on handicap in the Hobart in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Renamed OneSails (OneSails) Racing, the boat has shown promising form in her short time under Roberts, winning the two-race Trophy-Passage Series, the last lead-up event before the Sydney to Hobart starts on Boxing Day.
A number of his accomplished crew, including veteran Michael Spies and brothers Bruce and Brad Anson, have already been part of Hobart handicap-winning campaigns.
"We can see a lot of potential in the boat," Roberts told AAP.
"This boat has done very well in previous Hobarts, so that's why I think it's got a real good chance.
"We've got the right package to win the race, now we need a bit of luck."
That precious commodity has sometimes been in short supply for Roberts, who has notched several top 10 finishes, with the fickle weather at least once denying him the victory he craves.
As fate would have it, his last boat in the race, Evolution Racing, developed into a perennial contender when he sold it to Britain's Chris Bull after it finished 17th on corrected time in 2009.
Renamed Jazz by Bull, the Cookson 50 boat finished second overall in 2010 and fourth in both 2011 and 2012.
The yacht was then sold to Darryl Hodgkinson, who rebranded her Victoire and in 2013 captured the coveted Tattersall's Cup, the race's symbol of handicap supremacy.
"It's strange, you kind of feel a little bit of anguish," Roberts said.
"You say `well done' to the guys that won it and everything must have fallen into place for them and they must have sailed the boat well.
"But then you go `wow, I wish that could have been me.'
"I've come painfully close on many many occasions, just to have it snatched away at the last minute.
"There's been a number of times when we've just lost it. It's one of those things that hangs there like the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow."
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