sydney to hobart yacht race highlights

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Two super maxis continue to lead the Sydney to Hobart race as storms hit fleet

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)

Sail boats enter open water after 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)

Competitors race to the start line to begin 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. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

Boats compete 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)

LawConnect, left, leads the fleet 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)

Competitors race past spectator boasts as they begin 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. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

Competitors sail through Sydney Harbour to begin 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. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

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SYDNEY (AP) — The Sydney to Hobart fleet was reduced to 98 boats after overall honors contender Maritimo 52 was one of two retirements on a stormy first night of racing.

Rival super maxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect remained neck-and-neck in the early hours of Wednesday as the fleet began to pass Eden on the New South Wales south coast before heading into Bass Strait.

The two favorites for line honors were some 40 miles (65 kilometers) ahead of the nearest challengers.

Race officials confirmed Maritimo had retired overnight with rigging damage, while 50-footer Sticky pulled out with electrical issues. The retirements came after line honors contender SHK Scallywag was among the three boats of the 103 starters to pull out on the first evening after the start Tuesday in Sydney harbor.

“We’re shattered, actually,” said Maritimo crew member Peter Jones. “We were trying to work a million ways around it, but at best we were going to be at 50%.”

Jones reported a southwesterly front had come through with three hours of heavy rain and high winds.

“There was as much lightning as we’d ever seen,” Jones said.

LawConnect was the first out of the harbor. The finish line of the 628-nautical mile (720-mile, 1,170-kilometer) race is at Constitution Dock in the state capital of Hobart.

The line honors record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds was set by Comanche in 2017, after Comanche also won last year’s race . In 2022, Comanche finished at Constitution Dock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds — the second-fastest time behind its 2017 race record.

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2023 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Final Day Results and Overall Winner Revealed

The 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race concluded with 71 boats finished, leaving 14 racing and 18 retirements, including the octogenarian David Henry's campaign due to rig damage. Tasmanian entry, Alive, skippered by Duncan Hine, secured its second victory in five years as the overall winner of the race.

The conclusion of the prestigious Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the victory of the Tasmanian entry, Alive, signifies the culmination of efforts and perseverance in the challenging race, impacting the participants and sailing community.

• 71 boats finished the race
• 14 boats are still racing
• 18 retirements occurred
• 71 boats finished, 14 are still racing, and 18 retired
• Alive, skippered by Duncan Hine, was declared the overall winner
• Octogenarian David Henry's campaign ended due to rig damage

Teams and participants will likely evaluate their performance and strategies in preparation for future races, drawing inspiration from the outcomes of the 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The culmination of the 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the victory of Alive highlights the resilience and determination of the participants, inspiring future endeavors in the sailing community.

The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Latest updates and live boat cam coverage

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Sydney to Hobart yacht race — how to watch and what to look for

From its beginning in 1945, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race remains one of the pinnacles for sailing competitors.

Dismissed by some as "rich people and their toy boats", the race is actually a gruelling test of skill, teamwork and boat design — with the weather thrown into the mix. 

If you know what to look for, the S2H can be an enjoyable experience, so here are some tips as to getting the best out of it.

When does it start?

Around 90 boats ranging from 100ft Super Maxis to smaller 30 footers will be ready to go at 1pm AEDT on Sydney Harbour, Boxing Day.

Even though the race fleet will be fewer in numbers due to COVID (more on that later), there will still be a gazillion sails — competitors, officials, media and spectators — running around the water ahead of the firing of the starting cannon.

Once the race is on, it's a bolt to The Heads and into the open water of the South Pacific.

The fleet then begins to make its way down the east coast of Australia to Hobart.

How can I watch it?

The Seven Network, through 7Mate, will broadcast the start of the race live around Australia. Their coverage starts at 12:30pm (AEDT).

ABC TV will also be following the fleet down the eastern seaboard and provide all the in-race news footage that is used by the various Australian and International news networks.

For those who can't get to watch the live broadcast of the start of the race on the Seven Network across Australia, Seven West Media will webcast the program.

You can also watch a webcast of the live broadcast on the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race website .

If you are in Sydney and on the water, sponsor Rolex advises "if you only plan on watching the start, and don't wish to follow the fleet, then stick to the western side of the harbour".

Good vantage points for spectator boats include "Taylors Bay, Chowder Bay, Obelisk Bay and North Head on the west and Rose Bay, Watsons Bay, Camp Cove and South Head to the east".

Rolex says the harbour will be "very crowded and traffic can be chaotic, so stay alert, follow the advice of race officials and remember to keep well clear of the exclusion zone between 12pm and 2pm".

Rolex also notes the "Clearview glass boat is the only public spectator vessel permitted within the Sydney Harbour exclusion zone".

How can I follow the boats online?

The race sponsor Rolex has a tracker on their website , which plots the course of yachts as they move south.

The position of yachts is transmitted by a GPS device on each vessel. You can follow your favourite boats easily by clicking on the heart symbol.

As the race goes on, you can see the course charted by crews and marvel at how each team plots and schemes their way to the finish.

Unless of course the boat's GPS device gets switched off, rendering it invisible to spectators and other competitors — an accusation which was levelled at Wild Oats XI in 2018 by the owner of Black Jack.

Skulduggery on the high seas! We told you it could be fun.

What should I look out for?

Apart from GPS shenanigans, the wild card is always the weather.

All jokes aside, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race is taken seriously for good reason — people have died when the seas get rough.

The 1998 race has gone down in history as a maritime disaster that cost lives and changed marine forecasting practice .

Six sailors died, five yachts sank, more than 60 yachts retired and 55 participants had to be rescued by helicopter.

In 2015, a squall hit the fleet off the News South Wales coast, ending the race for 29 competitors.

Even in calm conditions, boats under stress break stuff and crews retire for a host of reasons.

In 2016, a slew of boats had to call it quits due to shredded sails and steering problems.

Then there are the underdog v supermaxi battles which pit the hopefuls against the cashed-up crews.

As race sponsor Rolex says, the race is made up from "weekend club sailors to professionals from the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race circuits".

Lots to watch out for!

When does the race finish?

With the very fast boats (Wild Oats XI, Comanche) not in this year's race, the lines honours winner is likely to come in around 48 hours after the start — noonish or thereabouts on Tuesday, December 28, but who knows what part the weather might play.

It is also important to note there are two prizes at stake in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race .

The finish line proper is 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometres) up the Derwent River off Battery Point, where a cannon signals the first across the line.

The reigning line honours victor is Comanche. It won in a time of 1 day, 18 hours and 30 minutes in 2019.

The first yacht across the line wins the JH Illingworth Trophy, but the overall winner on handicap wins the Tattersalls Cup.

The overall victory is considered the major prize for sailors and a testament to skill and tactics.

Most of the time, handicap honours are won by a smaller, slower boat, which outdoes its larger opposition when time is adjusted for size and other factors.

The reigning overall winner is Ichi Ban. It finished in 3 days, 4 hours and 11 minutes in 2019.

As a result of the pandemic, the 2021 fleet will be smaller than previous years due to a lack of international entrants, and other flow-on effects.

Good luck to all racers!

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Tasmanian yacht Alive claims overall Sydney to Hobart win

• Duncan Hine-skippered yacht declared winner of Tattersall Cup
• At least 17 retirements confirmed as crews battle stormy conditions

A first-day “blow out” of their best sail wasn’t enough to stop Alive from clinching a second overall victory in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race .

The Duncan Hine-skippered 66-footer arrived at Constitution Dock on Thursday atop the leaderboard on corrected handicap time. With no competitors able to beat her mark, Alive’s crew was presented with the prestigious Tattersall Cup on Saturday morning.

Alive, handicap winner in 2018, becomes just the second Tasmanian yacht with two overall titles after Westward in 1947 and 1948.

“I think she is probably the best mini-maxi around. She hasn’t dated,” Hine said. “She is still as solid as a rock. Most of the modern ones, they sustain a fair bit of damage. This girl, she’s built for it.”

Hine said there were some anxious moments after a decision to sail further off the coast following the Boxing Day start. “We were one sail down and the best sail for the race, we blew it out on the first day,” he said. “It had done its life, we probably should have replaced it before this race.”

Hine said experienced navigator Adrienne Cahalan, who now has three overall wins to go with six lines honours victories from 31 Sydney to Hobarts, was “colossal”. “She’s got a meteorology degree ... and has more of an idea of what is happening in the systems (than others),” Hine said. “I can’t think of many guys I know that have done 31 (races). She’s stoic, she’s tough.”

Alive was fourth past the post with a time of two days, two hours, 19 minutes and four seconds, about seven hours behind line honours winner LawConnect. LawConnect pipped fellow 100ft supermaxi Andoo Comanche by just 51 seconds in the second-closest finish in race history.

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There were 39 yachts across the finish line at midday on Saturday from a starting fleet of 103. The casualty list has grown to 17 with Helsel 3 pulling the pin after diverting to Port Arthur in southern Tasmania with unspecified damage.

The fleet battled squally conditions as well as a storm on the first night of the race. A gale wind warning is in place for waters off Tasmania’s lower east and south-east coast where the majority of remaining competitors are placed.

Gunshot, a 52-footer skippered by NSW’s David Walsh, was towed by a police vessel on Friday night after earlier retiring due to mainsail damage. The crew of 10 was heading to Cape Barren Island off the northeast coast of Tasmania when they asked for a tow because they could only sail at one knot. The yacht was safely anchored off Flinders Island on Saturday morning awaiting more favourable weather.

Two-handed yacht Sylph VI, featuring skipper Bob Williams and his cat Oli, is bringing up the tail of the fleet and is not expected to arrive until the new year.

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart – entries close with 120 teams

• 30 Oct, 2023 06:52:00 AM

Entries for the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race close

Entries for the 78 th   Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race closed on Friday and the lineup of 120 boats is one of the most open and diverse fleets in years.

The 628nm classic which starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 December, has attracted entries from around the globe and features ten international teams – representing New Zealand (3), Hong Kong (2), New Caledonia, USA, France, Germany and Ireland.

There are 110 Australian boats hailing from six states – NSW (64), QLD (20), VIC (16), TAS (7), SA (1) and WA (2). Boats range in size from the smallest – two diminutive 30-foot two-handed entries, Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham’s Currawong 30   Currawong   and Marc Michel and Logan Fraser’s Dehler 30   Niksen   from New Zealand – all the way up to the four maxi 100-footers:   Andoo Comanche, Law Connect, SHK Scallywag   and   Wild Thing 100   (formerly the Botin 80   Stefan Racing ). The John H Illingworth Challenge Cup for Line Honours victory will be hotly contested by these larger boats who have all featured in recent years.

The oldest boat in the fleet is Ena Ladd’s Colin Archer-designed double-ender   Christina , built in 1932. Robert Williams is campaigning   Sylph VI,   built in 1960, which competed in the Sydney Hobart five times up until 1972 and is making its return to the Great Race after having circumnavigated the globe and spending the past five decades cruising. Four boats were built in the 1970s: the ubiquitous Victorian entry   Bacardi , first all-female two-handed entrant in 2022,  Currawong , three-time Overall winner   Love & War   and Queensland’s  Son of a Son . A further 27 were launched in the last century.

21 boats will be competing two-handed –17.5% of the fleet. This number is testament to the growing interest and standard of competition in the division across Australia and around the world.

There are 96 boats competing under IRC for the prestigious Tattersall Cup and 24 under PHS Handicap.

With only two more races scheduled in the 2023/24 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore and the 2023 Australian Maxi Championship (1-5 December) ahead of Boxing Day, it will be a busy two months of training and fine-tuning of boats and crews to prepare for what is traditionally one of the most challenging yacht races in the world.

“The 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart promises to deliver another enthralling spectacle for both sailing afficionados and general public alike. As one of the most watched sports over the Australian Summer and with worldwide interest and coverage of the race continuing to grow each year through the support of media and broadcast partners, the race is truly one of the highlights of the international sailing calendar.”   CYCA Commodore Arthur Lane  

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

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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

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• Line Honours

Full Standings available approximately three hours after the start.

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!