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Rolex Sydney Hobart: Super maxis survive in tough conditions

• January 6, 2022

Hong Kong’s SHK Scallywag was among three 100ft super maxis who led the charge in the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with over half the entries unable to finish. Words: Bruce Maxwell. Photos: Rolex / Andrea Francolini.

SHK Scallywag with one reef had more control in increasingly strong southerlies, and drew away from rivals Black Jack and LawConnect

Hong Kong super maxi yacht SHK Scallywag led the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet imperiously out of Sydney Harbour, attracting primetime media coverage, then settled into a “battle of the giants” with two other 100ft super maxis, Black Jack and LawConnect .

Round one clearly went to SHK Scallywag ’s skipper, David Witt, who opted to start, in a building southerly breeze, with one reef in the yacht’s mainsail, which gave him more control and a slight edge in speed.

All three maxis bunched at the leeward end of the first of four starting lines for the 88-strong fleet, and Witt’s tactic paid off. TV cameras constantly zoomed in on SHK Scallywag ’s prominent Hong Kong – Asia’s World City bow artwork as the yacht drew inexorably ahead of her rivals, and led by several boat lengths at the first turning mark inside Sydney Heads. SHK stands for Sun Hung Kai, the long-established financial services and wealth management company of which Scallywag ’s owner Lee Seng Huang is Executive Director.

Skipper David Witt led around the first two marks

In Australia, however, the Malaysia-born businessman, who went to Sydney University, is better known for his role as Executive Director of Mulpha, which owns upmarket residential resorts such as Sanctuary Cove and Hayman Island, and has a portfolio of luxury hotels and other developments. Lee bought the former Dovell-designed Ragamuffin 100 from Syd Fischer in 2016, and as a much-modified Scallywag , she has since acquired copious trophies in Asia and the South Pacific.

Pitted again him was another property magnate, Peter Harburg, with his Reichel-Pugh 100 Black Jack . Well-known in Queensland real estate circles and for his series of ultra-competitive Black Jacks , named in honour of the F1 car racing driver Sir Jack Brabham, Harburg in 2021 chose to enter as a Monaco resident and member of the Yacht Club de Monaco.

Like Lee, he did not actually sail aboard – although both owners and especially Harburg have done so in past events – leaving regular skipper Mark Bradford to oversee a determined Black Jack campaign on the water, after previously winning most East Australian yacht racing accolades except Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours.

Scallywag in the lead, but in the open Pacific, her J2 furler came dangerously adrift

Third in this high-stakes yachting troika was Sydney software guru Christian Beck, sailing his fourth Rolex Sydney Hobart as owner-skipper with sailing masters Tony Mutter and Chris Nicholson. Navigator Brad Kellett, a veteran of 28 editions, was his most experienced crew.

Beck had purchased the former Perpetual Loyal from Anthony Bell in 2017 and renamed the revolutionary Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed 100-footer InfoTrack . This time she was sailing as LawConnect , with an easily readable injunction, at the start, for viewers to contact their local lawyer. Another ongoing innovation is to give some of Beck’s employees a unique opportunity to sail aboard.

“I seriously don’t want to do that first day and night again. Ever!” said Beck when he finally stepped off the yacht in Hobart, so maybe his IT staff were not thanking him quite so profusely as in years past.

Short, steep seas lasted for two nights, and forced half the fleet to withdraw

None of the three owners, nor the skippers, had taken line honours in a Rolex Sydney Hobart before, thus it was game on as the yachts, which included 17 two-handers sailing for the first time, left the

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutters Bay on Boxing Day, 26 December, for their respective harbour starting lines.

The 2020 event was cancelled altogether due to Covid, and this 76th one saw two related withdrawals. Many mandatory test results had not been received when the starting gun sounded, but the Tasmanian Government allowed sailors to at least set off, with their status pending.

It was not ideal, and the weather forecast of strong southerlies for the first two days was even more ominous for anyone who has beaten into such wind-over-current seas before.

Black Jack was entered by Queenslander Peter Harburg under Yacht Club de Monaco’s flag

For Asia-based readers, Deacons solicitor Bill Turnbull won the Rolex Sydney Hobart sailing for Hong Kong in Ceil 111 in 1973. Exactly 40 years ago we had a crack at the five-race Southern Cross Cup, entering a Hong Kong team centred on Keith Jacobs’ Bimblegumbie , plus Bill Steele’s chartered Battle Star and my co-chartered Impetuous , but had only modest results in “the Hobart”.

Later Karl Kwok became the first Chinese owner-skipper to win the Rolex Sydney Hobart, with mate Gavin Brady, in his Farr 49 Beau Geste , in that memorable year 1997, when China resumed control of Hong Kong. Beau Geste with Warwick Miller’s Exile and sailmaker Neil Pryde’s Hi Fidelity finally won the Southern Cross Cup that year.

This time, there was no chance that the 628nm race record of 1 day 9 hours 15 minutes 24 seconds set by the French-designed, American-built 100-footer Comanche in 2017 in heavy downwind surfing conditions, would be beaten.

After one of the toughest races in recent decades, Black Jack edges across a relatively calm Storm Bay to take line honours

The southerlies kicked in with a vengeance, gusting 30 knots to begin. Scallywag rounded the second ocean mark still handily ahead, but then off famous Bondi Beach, with the bow pointing more towards Hobart, the J2 furling forestay came adrift, and its heavy black furler scythed alarmingly backwards and forwards across the yacht at head height as crew fought in breaking seas to stabilise it and the still-attached sail.

Scallywag had to head north before they could contain it, and get a storm jib up on an inner forestay. LawConnect and Black Jack sailed past, taking over the lead. It was the first of many trials and tribulations.

Said Witt later: “The crew did an amazing job. We probably don’t deserve to have a 100-footer arrive here in Hobart, given the condition that the boat ended up in after that first night.

Breakages took their toll on LawConnect, as well as Scallywag

“We broke the J2 tack again , and those two times cost us 20 miles. Then we lost all the electronics, and had to sail three quarters of the race with no instruments. In a yacht this size, that’s a pretty difficult thing to do. The last straw was the PLC – Programable Logic Controller – shutting down, so we couldn’t turn the winches. At one stage we were trying to hand-wind the top of the winches.”

Black Jack and LawConnect had their share of problems too, and as winds eased a little off the Tasmanian Coast, SHK Scallywag surprisingly fought back into second place. But Black Jack ’s 10-15nm lead at this stage proved decisive in negotiating Storm Bay and the tricky tidal Derwent River to reach Hobart. She crossed the line at 1.37am on December 29 to claim the JH Illingworth Challenge Cup – Illingworth won the first Rolex Sydney Hobart in Rani in 1944 – with an elapsed time of 2 days 12 hours 37 minutes 17 seconds.

LawConnect and SHK Scallywag crept in at dawn, three hours later, with Christian Beck’s boat 19 minutes ahead. Thus the line honours order was officially 1 Monaco, 2 Australia, 3 Hong Kong, although this international result somewhat belies the chaos caused by covid-induced inabilities to travel in the lead-up and running of the 76th race.

Scallywag finished third, 19 minutes behind LawConnect

Witt in particular was hard hit. He and wife Kim came down with Covid in the Philippines, and at other times he was unable to commute from home in Hong Kong to Australia where the boat was located. By the time this leading trio finished, nearly half the fleet had retired with equipment malfunctions, breakages and personal injuries accounting for most of the casualties. Among them was sometime Thailand and Tasmanian resident Phil Turner’s Reichel-Pugh 66 Alive .

Fourth across the line was the Botin 80 Stefan Racing , skippered by co-owner Grant Wharington, which used to be one of Karl Kwok’s Beau Gestes , and fifth came the Judel-Vrolijk 62 Whisper owned by David Griffith. This yacht was formerly called Chinese Whisper , a phrase denoting soft speaking in English, maybe in the fond hope that crew would refrain from shouting at each other.

An impressive 87 female crew entered the race. They included Lin Jiang Hui, hailing originally from the Min River in Sichuan, sailing double-handed with Jean-Charles Ledun, but this duo pulled out early, reportedly due to a hand injury.

TP52 Celestial rounds the ‘organ pipes’ at Cape Raoul after the incident in which she was unreachable by radio for 90 minutes

The debut of the Two-Handed Class caused some controversy over their permitted use of automatic pilots, and they were not eligible for the overall Tattersall Cup, the premier handicap trophy of the Rolex Sydney Hobart, although the CYCA has undertaken to review their status in time for the December 2022 event.

Handicap honours eventually went to former CYCA Commodore Matt Allen in his TP52 Ichi Ban – Number One in Japanese – and as he also won in 2017 and 2019, this elevated him to the august ranks of a triple champion.

The only others were boat builders Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen in Freya , a 39-foot wooden cutter, in 1963-64-65, and property developer Peter Kurts and his son Simon in the classic also-wooden Sparkman & Stephens 47 Love & War in 1974-78 and 2006.

Allen is well-known in Southeast Asia and East Asia, having raced in the region after crewing on another Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, the legendary Lou Abrahams’ Challenge , as a 17-year-old in 1983, and he sails with Irish pro Gordon Maguire, who helmed in high-profile Asian yacht campaigns years ago.

Hard on her heels was TP52 Ichi Ban, the eventual handicap winner and the third yacht to win three times on handicap

His victory this year came after a protest against rival TP52 owner and CYCA director Sam Haynes in Celestial , which would otherwise have won.

The Race Committee also protested Celestial . The issue was that a Celestial crew’s personal emergency beacon had been activated, one of 13 such cases in the rough first two days of the race. Other yachts confirmed by radio – some taking 25 minutes to respond – that alarms had been set off accidentally as crew were thrown about the boats, below and above deck, and everyone was still aboard.

Celestial , however, couldn’t be contacted, despite a race requirement that a listening watch be kept at all times. Emergency air-sea rescue services, which did such a phenomenal job in the disastrous 1998 Rolex Sydney Hobart, when miraculously only six yachtsmen lost their lives, were on standby.

Ichi Ban , the nearest yacht, sailing seven miles away, was asked to contact Celestial by VHF, but attempts went unanswered. She then launched a white flare, followed some time later by a red distress flare, to try to attract attention, finally succeeding in making contact.

The complex protest between the Race Committee and Celestial, and by Ichi Ban claiming time redress, lasted over four hours

In Hobart the sailing judges heard that Celestial had a noisy engine running to power electrics, and the navigator was trying to use a hand-held VHF feed on deck. The crew were exhausted after battling heavy seas, and they had been out of contact for only 90 minutes.

The panel comprised David Tillett (AUS), Rosemary Collins (AUS), John Doerr (GBR), Russel Green (NZL), Jamie Sutherland (NZL) and Philippe Mazard (FRA).

It was decided that a time penalty of 40 minutes would be imposed in lieu of disqualification for breaching the rule, and Ichi Ban was awarded a three-minute time deduction for her own efforts, which had distracted from racing the yacht. The panel later, on January 1, rejected a Request to Reopen hearings by Celestial .

“To win with Ichi Ban a third time is unbelievable”, said Allen. “It is always better, ideally, not to go into the protest room to decide matters. I’ve been involved in protests probably no more than six times in my lifetime.

Ichi Ban owner-skipper Matt Allen with a specially engraved Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht Master, presented by Benoit Falletti of Rolex Australia

“But obviously the Race Committee also protested. Sailing has many rules to it, and they are important to abide by, especially the ones related to safety.”

Ten of the 17 starters in the inaugural Two-Handed Division made it to Hobart. Line honours went to the Tasmanian duo of Rob Gough and John Saul sailing Sidewinder , a 12m French design well set up for heavy ocean racing. Winner under several handicap systems, however, was the J99 Disko Trooper named after the lead character in Rudyard Kipling’s Captains Courageous , one Disko Troop.

A couple of Laser sailors, Jules Hall and Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten, were aboard, and they were sponsored by Scholten’s company Contender Sailcloth. Also with a podium finish was Crux , an S&S 34 crewed by Carlos Aydos and Peter Grayson.

Kialoa 11 , one of the legendary American Jim Kilroy’s early steeds, took part in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, and last boat home was the 71-year-old Halvorsen 36 Solveig , which crossed the finish line at 08:42:11 on the morning of January 1. www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

Y focus on carbon: Custom Tripp 90 by YYachts Specialising in luxury carbon sailing yachts from 70-100ft, Germany’s YYachts has launched its custom-built Tripp 90, which features an exterior by Bill Tripp and a richly detailed interior by Winch Design – and will be followed by the Y9 model in 2022. By John Higginson.

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ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE: TENACITY CONQUERS ALL

Hobart, 31 December 2023 –  The 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will go down in history as a relentlessly demanding test of determination, as well as physical and mental resilience. The record will highlight a tooth and nail fight to the finish for Line Honours, and a Tasmanian boat joining the select few to have achieved two overall wins in the event’s near eight decades. Organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, Rolex has partnered the iconic offshore challenge since 2002.

For both the overall winner, Philip Turner’s 66 ft (20-metre) Alive , and the 100 ft (30.5 m) line honours victor, Christian Beck’s LawConnect, tactical skill and awareness was a major factor alongside sheer endurance. This was especially so in the River Derwent, on the final approach to Hobart, where the fates of many fatigued crews were finally decided. The unwavering tenacity of offshore sailors and their capacity  to summon their deepest reserves all the way to the finish, has been a common theme throughout Rolex’s near 70-year relationship with yachting. A fleet of 103 yachts had signed up for the renowned 628-nautical mile undertaking, ranging from fully professional maxi racers to more Corinthian crews, and including some 18 two-handed boats. Departing Sydney Harbour on 26 December under mainly sunny skies and accompanied by the usual throng of enthusiastic onlookers, an uncertain and unsettled weather outlook ramped up the already high stakes of this notorious course. The presence of low pressure over the New South Wales coast and the ominous threat of troughs was fair warning of what was to follow. Rapidly developing thunderstorms, lightning, intense rain squalls and winds erratic in strength and direction enveloped the fleet during the first 24 hours of racing. A south westerly then moved in, leaving the bulk of the yachts heading across Bass Strait and down the coast of Tasmania in upwind conditions that would turn very heavy, with a total of 16 crews forced to retire over the course of the race.

Line Honours Although four yachts were initially tipped as contenders, the battle to be first across the line in Hobart came down to a two-horse race between 100-footers LawConnect and Andoo Comanche , with LawConnect just managing to steal ahead in the final nerve-wracking seconds, after almost two full days of stalking their opponents.

“To win line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is a dream come true, especially against Comanche because it’s such a good boat, and in a circumstance where the lead changed so much. It was an incredibly exciting experience all around.”

LawConnect ’s triumph was in fact clinched by the narrowest of margins, with the two boats just 51 seconds apart on the finish line. The second closest finish in the race’s history. The drama had commenced early for the Juan Kouyoumdjian design, as Beck explained:

“We had a great start and were first at the first mark. But when we went to furl our big masthead zero, the furling line broke and so we couldn't wrap up this massive sail. And we're coming straight towards the zone where all the spectator boats were and we couldn't tack...”

The 21-strong crew, which included four Corinthian sailors, managed to avert disaster and recovered quickly to set up a veritable match race with the defending line honours champion Andoo Comanche . Entering the Derwent three miles behind Comanche, Beck looked set to add to his tally of three second-place finishes and perennial bridesmaid status. However the river is no place for the faint of heart and often rewards those that hold their nerve and take their chances. While Beck feared the race was lost, his afterguard of Tony Mutter and Chris Nicholson – two of the southern hemisphere’s finest and most experienced ocean racing sailors – had other ideas. Working with the equally talented American navigator, Chris Lewis, they reeled in Comanche, setting up an enthralling and memorable finish as the two colossi traded tacks, gybes and ultimately the lead. Beck was quick to admit that the win was very much down to the steely resolve of his capable crewmates, whose belief and motivation was inspirational for the rest of the crew:

“The determination was from Tony Mutter and Chris Nicholson, they never give up no matter how bad it gets. They are the ones that got us over the line.”

Overall Winner Overall winner Alive previously claimed the Tattersall Cup in 2018, and had come tantalising close in 2019. In a serendipitous turn of events, their success this year marks the 75th anniversary of the first Tasmanian boat to secure two wins in the Rolex Sydney Hobart. George Gibson’s Westward famously achieved consecutive victories in 1947 and 1948. Long-time skipper, Duncan Hine, was also part of the winning 2018 crew.

“Tasmanian boats have a long history in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, and to be one of those Tasmanian boats to have won, and now won it twice, is phenomenal.”

“Starting with a collection of people who have memories over the 10 or 15 races they’ve done, our navigator Adrienne Cahalan was on her 31st, you’ve got a lot of stored knowledge. Everyone in this race, all the guys could not have done any more, you didn’t even have to ask, everyone was on it.”

Gaining an all-important advantage over the main body, Alive swept towards the finish hard on the tail of the slightly bigger URM Group, with whom she had been sparring for two days. History has proved time and again that anything can happen on the Derwent , and it was arguably a close relationship with the fickle river that swung it for Alive , which represents the Derwent Sailing Squadron, by just 20 minutes on corrected time.

“In the end the Derwent is kind to people that know it, a little home advantage,” explained Hine, who also has a fair idea of the human qualities the race calls for: “Endurance, focus, and then endurance again.”

Like Cahalan, and Beck, and the hosts of sailors who return to complete this tour-de-force year after year despite the adversity and punishing roster, it seems the pain is already a distant memory and Hine is looking to future editions of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

“It’s a tough race and you can’t even really dream you could win it twice, so now I’m starting to think maybe we’ve got a third in us.” he admitted with a smile.

Former Australian yachtswoman of the year Adrienne Cahalan, navigator on Alive and now a three-time overall winner, arriving tired, cold and wet into Hobart’s Constitution Dock, did not underestimate the ingredients required for success.

“A lot has got to come together to win this race, that’s why it is so hard. The weather patterns have to be right, your equipment, your team. You get such a broad range of conditions, you have to know how hard to push or not push, and we pushed hard in this race through rough conditions.”

Having just beaten more than 100 other competitors to raise the coveted Tattersall Cup, Cahalan was clear on what an immense achievement this was.

“The Tattersall Cup is very hard to win. It took me 15 years to win it the first time. It's a really hard race because so much has to come together. So when you do win it, it does take a lot. It's something that everybody wants to do, but owners have spent years and years and never got over the line.”

Internationally renowned as one of the most arduous rites of passage in ocean sailing, a historic offshore challenge that has captivated professional and Corinthian sailors alike since 1945, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race represents a cornerstone of Rolex’s association with world-class yachting endeavours. On a course so challenging that finishing is considered an achievement in itself, the pursuit of excellence, precision, and team spirit shine through, echoing the Swiss watchmaker’s enduring ethos.

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Giles Pearman

Virginie Chevailler

ROLEX AND YACHTING Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. The Swiss watchmaker naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and the brand’s enduring partnership now encompasses the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas, as well as towering figures in the sport, including ground-breaking round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester and the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, Sir Ben Ainslie. Today, Rolex is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events – from leading offshore races such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting SailGP global championship in which national teams race identical supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world’s most famous harbours. Rolex’s partnerships  with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Ocean Racing Club, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Royal Malta Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron, among others, are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

WATCH | 2023 SOLAS Big Boat Challenge (Raymarine Australian Maxi Championship)

• 05 Dec, 2023 03:01:00 PM

Watch a replay of the live stream of the final race in the 2023 Raymarine Australian Maxi Championship, the much-loved SOLAS Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour. Nine of the best performance racing yachts go head-to-head to determine who will be crowned champion Maxi and Mini Maxi for 2023.

Congratulations to all the divisional winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

PHOTOS | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

PHOTOS | Day 5 Morning - Tasman Island and Storm Bay

PHOTOS | Day 5 and Day 6 finishers

PHOTOS | Official Presentation of Tattersall Cup and Rolex Timepiece to the Overall Winner

2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - A Race for the Ages

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Rolex Daily Video Summary

VIDEO | Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

VIDEO | Race Update - 31 December Morning

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 10

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 9

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 8

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 7

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 6

Official rolex sydney hobart merchandise.

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

From casual to technical clothing, there is something for all occasions. Be quick as stock is limited!

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The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Has a Boat-Size Absence

Wild Oats XI, a crowd favorite that is one of the most successful yachts in the event’s history, will not compete this year pending repairs and rethinking.

By Kimball Livingston

When the hundred-foot Maxi yachts hit the starting line for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, one absence will loom as a powerful presence.

There will be no Wild Oats XI, and Wild Oats XI is more than a boat.

Speculation is inevitable when a crowd favorite is missing. The report from the boat’s skipper, Mark Richards, is straightforward, but it won’t put an end to wondering. Of the boat and its owners, Richards said: “We had a structural failure in the bow and are having that addressed. The Oatley family are re-evaluating how to progress forward in our sport and they have just decided to have a break this year while they work it out.”

That resonates because in this race, Wild Oats XI has taken line honors (first boat to cross the finish line) nine times, set records three times and, beyond that, won the hearts of Australians.

“Kids 6, 7, 8 years old know the name,” Richards said.

No one dares use the past tense in speaking of Wild Oats XI, but questions arise when a boat that is synonymous with the Sydney Hobart, and that has been rush-repaired in the past to make a race, is absent.

Last year, the boat finished fourth at the Sydney Hobart after a sail ripped underway. It was in August of this year during a race in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands that the hull failure occurred.

In 2005, Bob Oatley commissioned the build of Wild Oats XI and set the standard — the boat swept all honors in its first Sydney Hobart race, only two weeks after launch. The boat would win line honors seven more times before Oatley’s death in 2016. His son Sandy, also passionate about sailing, carried on.

“I’d love to get one more crack,” Richards said. “I guess we’ll know more next year.”

Steve Quigley got his first crack as a crewman in 2012 and felt “daunted” joining the famously accomplished crew. Then, “We were first over the finish line, we set another course record, and we won our division on handicap,” he said. “I should have retired from racing then and there, but it wasn’t until I went walking around Hobart in my team shirt, with strangers asking for autographs, that I understood that Wild Oats XI had become the people’s boat.”

What next? Richards said, “The boat is still very capable.”

Quigley, a naval architect, was part of a team responsible for a bold 2015 redesign that bought the boat some time. In Quigley’s recollection, “I was the one in the meeting who had to tell Bob, ‘You may have the fastest Maxi in the world, but if you want to keep it that way, let’s chop it in half,’” he said.

Then they chopped it twice.

To respect the 100-foot maximum limit for the Sydney Hobart race, length was removed from the stern and added in a new bow section that accommodated bigger sails. Wild Oats XI.2 proved effective across the wind range, and success continued as the boat won line honors again in 2018.

Imagining a 2024 race, Quigley said, “Given the right combination of wind strength and direction, we could find a window to win, but the newer boats have a wider window.”

Design DNA in 2023 is different from 2005. Boats are now wider, yielding stability to carry taller masts and more sail. The maximum width of Wild Oats XI, 17 feet, is 45 percent less than LawConnect, winner of the most recent lead-up regatta series and yet not the newest or widest.

Sandy Oatley did not respond to a request for comment. More than one member of his crew spoke of the team as a “family,” so any decision is charged with emotion: Do you throw money at an unlikely Wild Oats XI.3, or would it satisfy if the boat slipped into the role of sentimental favorite and long shot?

The citizens of Hobart cheer for all, but it doesn’t hurt to arrive on Wild Oats XI. Andrew Henderson, part of the crew since 2005 and a 25-race veteran, said: “Anyone who can get a boat to Hobart deserves respect. The town offers the warmest reception in Australia. All of us understand how special that is.”

This year, however, after many years racing, he said, “I’m spending Christmas with the kids.”

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51 seconds apart after 628 nautical miles: LawConnect edges Comanche in Sydney to Hobart race

Comanche heads down Sydney Harbour during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Skallywag, left, and Comanche sail close during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

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HOBART, Australia (AP) — LawConnect won line honors in the 78th edition of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday, holding off defending champion Andoo Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis.

The pair of 100-foot yachts had dueled for much of the race and were well ahead of the rest of the fleet of 103 yachts that started the race on Tuesday in Sydney harbor.

LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche’s time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982.

Both yachts performed several late jibes as they attempted to secure the lead.

“I can’t believe that result. Honestly, it is a dream come true,” LawConnect’s skipper and owner Christian Beck said. “They took the lead pretty close to the line and we thought there was no way we could get it back.

“A wind gust came around. It was a complete surprise. There were guys who couldn’t watch. It was very nerve wracking.”

Comanche holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won the race in 2017.

“It is pretty painful, we’ve got an amazing boat that should have won,” Comanche skipper and owner John Winning Jr. said of Thursday’s result. “The other guys sailed their guts out and left nothing on the table. They beat us with an underdog boat, those guys deserve all the praise they get.”

“It was one of the most epic finishes in probably any sailing race I know. In the last three minutes I think the lead changed three times.”

Comanche and LawConnect were clear front-runners from just out of Sydney harbor. The pair began the trip down the New South Wales south coast at a fast clip but fell off the race record pace. The finish was at Constitution Dock in Hobart, the capital of the island state of Tasmania.

The highest-profile retirement of 11 race withdrawals was SHK Scallywag, one of four 100-foot super maxis which sustained a broken bow sprit and withdrew on the first evening of the race.

LawConnect was the first yacht out of the harbor.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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