So when first-time entrant Peter Ottesen, of Ainslie, heard someone say ''I hear the weather is going to be another '98'', he made sure he double-checked all of his safety gear.

''But we don't believe it, no one is going to make those predictions now,'' Ottesen said.

''The boats are much better and the crews are much better, but I guess we have to plan for the worst.

''Everything is about safety now ... we'll be sailing within reason anyway, we're not going to push too hard.

''When you first hear someone talk about '98 it's a bit of a shock like, 'gee, I hope it's not like that'.

''It would be a hard slog because those conditions test boats, they test the resolve and physical capacity of the crew, but no one's thinking about '98 yet, it would be silly to start looking at forecasts now, it's too far away.''

Ottesen will be one of six Canberrans on board the eight-man Namadgi when it sails out of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day.

The crew finished a week of intense preparation in Pittwater last Friday night and will return to Sydney this weekend to finalise plans before relocating to Rushcutters Bay for the race.

Ottesen has been sailing since he was 11, but this will be his first time in the great ocean race.

He will be one of four rookie Sydney to Hobart sailors on Namadgi and will be stationed on the foredeck.

Among the others are Greg Haughey, 60, of Hackett and Sam DeLorenzo, 53, of Griffith.

Haughey is the newest member of the Canberra Ocean Racing Club. Haughey started sailing dinghies as a teenager and joined the CORC in 2008 when he helped sail Namadgi from Vanuatu to Mackay.

De Lorenzo, a Canberra property developer, will take on the important role of ship's cook for the trip to Hobart.

He spoiled the crew with some Italian antipasto during last week's stint on Pittwater.

The Canberra-based crew members will return to the capital briefly on Christmas Day to visit family before the start of the race.

For more on this story see today's Canberra Times.