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Sydney to Hobart chaos as ’horrible’ conditions wipe out more than a QUARTER of fleet

Treacherous conditions have pummelled the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, forcing dozens of withdrawals as Black Jack led a tight battle for line honours.

Sunday’s starting fleet of 88 yachts for one of the world’s toughest ocean events was cut down to 56 by Monday evening, as competitors peeled off after suffering damage or minor injuries to crew.

A close scrap for line honours was being fought out at the front of the pack between super maxis Black Jack, SHK Scallywag, LawConnect and the slightly shorter 80-foot (24-metre) Stefan Racing.

While Kayo Sports won’t be streaming this year’s Sydney to Hobart, it does offer sailing as one of more than 50 sports it has on offer including the exciting SailGP, which is shown live on Kayo and with replays.

Black Jack, skippered by Mark Bradford, was race leader as they headed into the Bass Strait.

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Noel Cornish said although the conditions had been “very tough”, the challenge of a “great adventure” is what drew competitors.

“That’s why in the non-Covid world, people come from all over the world to sail in this race. It’s an iconic blue-water challenge,” Cornish said.

The race leaders were now through the worst of the weather and were expected to arrive in the Hobart by Tuesday afternoon if conditions held, he told media in the Tasmanian capital.

“(The) yachts that are out there now are hunkered in, they’re going hard and they’re really looking forward to getting down here.”

Crowds had turned out to watch the boats race out of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day after Covid-19 forced the blue-water classic’s suspension in 2020.

But the pandemic continued to cause problems. Before the start, four yachts were forced to retire, leaving 88 entrants at the starting line including 17 two-handed crafts, which are allowed to take part for the first time.

It was a sharp reduction from the 157 boats that set out in 2019.

In a dramatic start to this year’s race, a major technical problem cost the 100-foot SHK Scallywag prime position to LawConnect after leading out of the heads.

Numerous withdrawals followed, as southerly winds — which reached 30 knots overnight — whittled the competition down.

Weather is a critical factor in the 628-nautical-mile (1200km) race down Australia’s east coast to the Tasmanian capital.

Six men died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued during the 1998 spectacle when a deep depression exploded over the fleet in the Bass Strait.

The latest weather update predicted south to southeasterly winds to ease on Monday evening in the Strait and onto Tasmania’s coast.

Though the first yacht to reach the finishing line grabs most public attention, the main prize for sailors is regarded as the handicap honours, which take account of the size of the yachts.

LawConnect navigator Bradshaw Kellett told the Sydney Morning Herald conditions were miserable.

“It’s horrible,” he said.

“I’m hiding in the hatch putting on my wet weather jacket. You can’t see.”

Spectator boats had crowded into a cloudy, breezy Sydney Harbour to enjoy the return of the blue-water classic, which was forced by Covid into an outright cancellation last year for the first time since it began in 1945.

The pandemic still cast a shadow, with some of the fastest yachts kept away this year, including the previous line-honours winner super maxi Comanche and nine-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI.

In the last race, in 2019, Ichi Ban was the overall handicap winner. Ichi Ban owner and skipper Matt Allen is sailing his 31st Sydney-Hobart race after starting at the age of 17.

“It was a great adventure doing my first race and it’s a great adventure lining up ahead of number 31 as well,” he said ahead of race day.

“That excitement on Boxing Day, that does not change at all. That little nervousness before the start, that sense of relief once you get out and actually start sailing the boat.”

Race record in sight for leaders in Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Andoo comanche is on track to reach the finish line on wednesday evening with a time that is more than two hours faster than the current race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds..

Andoo Comanche is on track to potentially set a new record. The time to beat is one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi

• In the first few minutes of the race, boats nearly collided.
• The first vessel to retire was Avalanche, a couple of hours into the race.
• There is the potential for the race record to be broken with the favourable wind conditions.

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‘Devastated’: Man overboard, more boats out of Sydney to Hobart

A total of nine vessels have been forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart with one skipper revealing a “devastating” update.

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Nine casulties have now struck the Sydney to Hobart fleet.

It was announced on Wednesday morning two more yachts had been forced to retire as the fleet made its way along the NSW south coast.

Scallywag was the first big casualty of the race after the Hong Kong-based sailing team’s bow sprit — which carries the yachts biggest sails — broke just hours into the race.

Scallywag had been the early leader and was in a fight with Andoo Comanche and LawConnect before it was forced to abandon its campaign.

Two more vessels were forced to retire in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Sticky and Maritimo 52 pulling out.

Sticky was forced to pull out with electrical damage, while Maritimo 52 had damage to rigging.

Small yacht Rum Rebellion was hit by a burst of water between Cronulla and Wollongong sending the boat on its side.

Shane Connelly was taken overboard and was a few metres from the boat but was able to swim back to it.

“We are both well and the main thing is our systems and drills all worked well,’’ he told News Corp.

As first reported by News Corp , Arcadia on Tuesday returned to Sydney with a torn mainsail and Rum Rebellion also turned back due to an unspecified reason.

Reigning champions Andoo Comanche and LawConnect are continuing to battle for line honours as they head towards Bass Straight.

Tuesday’s retirement was a gut-punch for the Scallywag crew which had already declared the 2023 Sydney to Hobart would be its last.

News Corp reported skipper David Witt and his crew were “devastated”. The vessel has returned safely back to Sydney.

The team earlier confirmed their sad news via its social media channels.

SHK Scallywag 100 has retired from the 2023 Sydney Hobart with a broken bow sprit. The team are obviously very disappointed given the great progress we were making but thankful no one was injured & that we could safely recover. The team are making their way back to Sydney. pic.twitter.com/fuFApS3DvT — Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (@scallywaghk) December 26, 2023

The five retirements mean there are 98 entries remaining of the 103-yacht fleet that sell sail from Sydney.

Scallywag was also involved in early drama when rival Andoo Comanche flew a protest flag alleging SHK Scallywag had tacked too close as the pair exited Sydney Harbour.

Scallywag subsequently performed a 720 penalty turn to exonerate the vessel from facing a potential disqualification.

The race tracks the eastern coast of Australia southward from Sydney, crossing the Bass Strait, before continuing along the eastern coast of Tasmania and finally reaching Hobart.

Widely considered one of the most challenging yacht races in the world, teams competing in this year’s event — the 78th edition — also risk facing thunderstorms, hail and gale-force winds through the race.

The Bureau of Meteorology, whose representatives briefed the competitors ahead of the race, said there was a high degree of uncertainty for the forecasts over coming days.

With the Bass Strait crossing often the hardest part of the race, teams can expect a larger southwest swell and strong winds.

“This year there is easterly winds and easterly swell forecast, as well as thunderstorms, which will make conditions challenging on Tuesday and Wednesday. These conditions are forecast to ease from later Wednesday,” the bureau said.

Some 113 vessels will be competing in this year’s event.

The record for the race was set in 2017 by LDV Comanche, a 100ft maxi yacht, which completed the event in just over 33 hours.

RETIREMENTS IN THE 2023 SYDNEY TO HOBART

Arcadia – Retired – mainsail damage

Currawong (TH) – Retired – electrical issues

Maritimo 52 – Retired – rigging damage

Pacman (TH) – Retired – runner damage

Rum Rebellion (TH) – Retired – minor injury

SHK Scallywag – Retired – broken bowsprit

Sticky – Retired – electrical damage

Georgia Express – rigging issues

Millennium Falcon - Retired - crew illness

Tumbleweed (TH) - Retired - crew illness

Luna Blue - Retired - damaged equipment

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

Since its beginning in 1945, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has become one of the pinnacles for sailing competitors, with the event being a test of skill, teamwork, nautical engineering and tactics — with weather providing the wild card.

If you know what to look for, the race can be an enjoyable experience.

Here are some tips for getting the best out of it.

When does it start?

About 111 boats ranging from the supermaxis (longer than 20 metres) to smaller 30-footers (9 metres) will be ready to go at 1pm AEDT Boxing Day on Sydney Harbour.

The start is arguably one of the greatest spectacles in modern sport.

Once the starting cannon is fired, all teams will be gunning for The Heads and into the open water of the South Pacific, with competitors surrounded by all manner of craft.

Watch as boats come perilously close to the supermaxis.

The fleet then begins to make its way down the east coast of Australia to Hobart, a distance of approximately 630 nautical miles (1,166 kilometres).

What are they racing for?

It isn't money. Yes, you read that correctly — there is no prize money for the winners. 

Instead, they race for trophies in a number of categories , the main events for casual observers being Line Honours and Overall.

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 4 days, 10 hours, and 17 minutes.

This was after a protest against Celestial was upheld. Celestial was handed a 40-minute time penalty for not manning their radio for a 90-minute period, during which officials were trying to contact the team.

The reigning line honours winner is Black Jack, winning in two days, 12 hours, and 37 minutes in 2021. 

How can I watch it?

Race sponsor Rolex says the race can be watched on the Seven Network. 

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

ABC TV will also provide updates throughout the event.

For those who can't watch the live broadcast of the start of the race on their TV, Seven will have a stream of the race.

You can also watch vision from the event on the Sydney to Hobart yacht race website .

If you are in Sydney and on the water, spectators who wish to watch the start but not follow the fleet are advised to 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".

According to organisers, 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".

How can I follow the boats online?

You can follow the race on an online tracker , which shows the positions of yachts as they move south.

The locations of yachts are transmitted by a GPS device on each vessel. 

As the race goes on, you can see the course charted by crews — unless of course the boat's GPS device gets switched off, rendering it invisible to spectators and other competitors — an accusation that was levelled at Wild Oats XI in 2018 by the owner of Black Jack.

What should I look out for?

The weather forecast is for northerly winds in the harbour for Monday's start, which will favour the bigger boats. They will push hard to get out of the harbour.

Barring disaster, the Line Honours winner will almost certainly be one of the four super maxis.

LawConnect (formerly Perpetual LOYAL, formerly Investec LOYAL, formerly InfoTrack) set a new record in 2016 when it crossed the line in one day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 12 seconds, a time since bettered by Comanche the next year.

Black Jack (Formerly Alfa Romeo II) has a strong Sydney to Hobart history and is the reigning Line Honours champion. It's had a strong 2022 already, taking line, record, and overall wins in the Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race. Black Jack has a strong rivalry with Wild Oats XI as it was the first boat to break Wild Oats' race record in 2009.

Andoo Comanche is the hot favourite for line honours this year. It has already defeated Black Jack in the Sydney to Gold Coast race this year and has won the inaugural Tollgate Islands race. It beat Wild Oats for line honours in 2017, setting a race record in the process, but only after a controversial protest . 

Hamilton Island Wild Oats XI is the most famous boat in the race but has not participated since 2019 due to COVID. Veteran skipper Mark Richards will once again be at the helm and will be hoping to improve on the 3rd place finish in 2019. 

The favourites for the handicap trophy are Alive, URM Group, Moneypenny and Stefan Racing, with last year's winner, Ichi Ban, not participating.

This year there is also a number of crews made up of father-daughter or father-son teams.

The yacht race is taken seriously for good reason — people have died when the weather has turned bad.

In 1998, six sailors died, five yachts sank, more than 60 yachts retired and 55 sailors 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.

When does the race finish?

The lines honours winner is likely to come in around 48 hours after the start, but this is very much dependent on the weather —  especially in the 22.2-kilometre final stretch up the Derwent River.

This is when the wind can drop away and it becomes an agonisingly slow crawl , with every trick in the book pulled out to speed the progress up the glassy waterway.

In 2021, Black Jack crossed the line at 1:37am on December 29, followed by LawConnect at 4:11am and SHK Scallywag about 20 minutes after that.

In 2019, Comanche came in at a more reasonable time of 7:30am on December 28, with InfoTrack about 45 minutes later.

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

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The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will again start in accordance with tradition with the firing of a starting cannon. The start will be at 1.00pm on Boxing Day, 26 December.

The fleet will start from start lines off Nielsen Park with boats on the northern line rounding "Victor Mark" and boats on the southern lines rounding "X-Ray Mark", at the Heads, and all boats heading out to sea and rounding "Mark Zulu", one nautical mile east of the Heads. The larger boats in the fleet will start off the front line, just north of Shark Island. The rest of the fleet will start from the southern lines, 0.2 nautical miles between each. Having two rounding marks at Sydney Heads will compensate for the distance between the lines before the fleet heads to sea on the ocean voyage to Hobart.

To give the yachts a clear area in which to manoeuvre before the start and then ample room to tack or gybe as they race to the Heads, NSW Roads and Maritime Services have declared an exclusion zone from 12 noon to 2:20pm on Boxing Day. A 6 knot no-wash zone will cover the Harbour from Garden Island and Bradley's Head to a line between North Head and Macquarie Light. Spectator craft may not enter the exclusion zone between these times and once the race starts the yachts must sail within the zone until they clear Sydney Heads.

As the countdown to the start begins, the CYCA's historic cannons will be fired aboard the official starting vessel, Olympic Storm, to draw attention to the starting flag sequence as follows:

12.50pm: 10 minute Warning Signal - Event flag hoisted and cannon fired.

12.55pm: 5 minute Preparatory Signal - Code flag P hoisted and cannon fired.

1.00pm - Starting Signal - Event Flag and Code flag P dropped and cannon fired.

A further signal (Code flag X) and a single cannon fire may indicate premature (OCS - On Course Side) starts by individual yachts which must then return and re-start. Yachts which have started prematurely will also be advised by radio within 10 minutes of the start. There will be no general recall.

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!