Disaster strikes Sydney in Hobart as FIVE boats, including a leading title contender, are forced to withdraw in wild weather
Reigning line honors winner Andoo Comanche goes ‘toe to toe’ with rival supermaxi LawConnect as the Sydney to Hobart fleet enters its second day of racing.
The fleet was reduced to 98 boats after overall honor candidates Maritimo 52 and Sticky retired during a stormy first night at sea.
Comanche, favorites for this year’s race, had a slim lead of less than a mile as the boats approached Bass Strait on the morning of December 27.
LawConnect, second for line honors in the last three Hobarts, had enjoyed the faster start of the two boats but was overtaken offshore at Port Kembla on Tuesday afternoon.
The race has remained a fierce battle between the two giants ever since, with varying weather forecasts revealing nothing about the likely outcome.
Leader Scallywag (pictured) is the first notable casualty of this year’s race
The supermaxi had to be retired due to a broken bowsprit (photo)
The damage prevented the vessel from continuing as it could no longer use its spinnaker
“After 16 hours of racing, Comanche will take on LawConnect around 90nm SE of Green Cape,” read an update from Comanche just before 7am.
‘She is doing 17.2 knots with an average of 12 knots for the trip and is only half a mile ahead of her rival.’
The in-form 72-footer URM Group, overall winner of 2018 Alive, Moneypenny and the race’s third supermaxi Wild Thing 100 were closest in pursuit of the leaders further down the course.
On Wednesday morning, race officials confirmed that Maritimo had retired overnight with rig damage, while the 50-footer Sticky withdrew with electrical problems.
The retirements came after line honors candidate SHK Scallywag was one of three boats to withdraw on Boxing Day evening after breaking her bowsprit.
At the start, Maritimo was one of eight TP52s, a highly competitive model on the International Rating Certificate – the handicapping system used to determine the eventual winner of the race.
Last year’s overall winner Celestial and Caro, the favorite among some bookmakers this year, are both also TP52s.
Together with Comanche, LawConnect is one of the leaders in the field of line honors
Scallywag (photo) had to withdraw after about six hours at sea
Maritimo was captained by two-time Hobart winner Michael Spies and had an experienced crew, but suffered too much damage to continue.
She retired just south of Jervis Bay after breaking a fitting on her forestay and tearing her mainsail amid stormy conditions.
“Basically we’re devastated,” said crew member Peter Jones.
“We tried to work around it a million ways, but at best we would end up with 50 percent.”
The damage came as stormy weather hit the fleet on the NSW south coast, as the Bureau of Meteorology had forecast on Boxing Day.
Jones reported that a southwesterly front had come through and heavy rain had fallen for three hours, with winds exceeding 30 knots.
“There was as much lightning as we had ever seen,” he said.
If her skipper’s pre-race comments are anything to go by, Hong Kong-based supermaxi Scallywag may never feature in the bluewater classic again.
Maritimo (pictured) withdrew from the race after sustaining damage in stormy conditions off the NSW south coast
Scallywag, the fourth supermaxi to take part in the race, withdrew from Gerroa on the NSW south coast about six hours after the starting gun was fired.
The boat had little choice, as a broken bowsprit makes flying spinnakers impossible.
“The team is clearly very disappointed given the great progress we made, but grateful that no one was injured and that we were able to safely recover the sails that were in the air at the time,” said a statement from SHK Scallywag.
“The team is currently returning to Sydney.”
The news came after skipper David Witt was due to head to Europe under the Scallywag banner in the new year and had no plans to contest the Hobart again.
Witt, who has previously ridden Ragamuffin and Nokia, also planned for his 27th Hobart to be his last chance for a maiden win.
“The boat is going on a ship to Europe next year and we’re not coming back,” Witt said.
‘This is my 27th (27th race) and my last attempt.’
There was drama at the race start on Boxing Day (pictured) when Scallywag were forced to complete a penalty lap after a protest from reigning champions Comanche
The 40-footer Arcadia also withdrew with a torn mainsail, while the two-handed Rum Rebellion bowed out for unspecified reasons, leaving the fleet at 100 boats.
Scallywag’s withdrawal comes after she spent about 18 months out of the water undergoing adjustments ahead of her first Hobart since 2021.
She lost 500kg of weight in her mast in that time and finished third on the line in both the Cabbage Tree Island Race and the Big Boat Challenge this month.
Scallywag finished second from the heads behind LawConnect, but not before a dramatic close call with reigning line honors champion Comanche.
Scallywag had to complete a 720 penalty after nearly colliding with Comanche, who flew a protest flag after her rival tacked just meters away.
The fact that the incident had occurred in Sydney Harbor meant that Scallywag had only a limited distance to complete the penalty turns or risk receiving a time penalty on arrival in Hobart.
Race officials confirmed Scallywag completed the turn off the coast of Bondi Beach.
From there, Scallywag fell to third behind LawConnect and Comanche, with the latter taking the lead off Port Kembla at around 4:30 p.m.