SYDNEY (AP) — Super maxi LawConnect was the first out of the harbour in a close and dramatic start to the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Tuesday.
Rival 100-foot yachts SHK Scallywag and defending champion Andoo Comanche followed in that order as light winds made for a challenging start to the race. LawConnect has been runner-up in the last three Sydney to Hobart races.
Comanche flew a protest flag from the start, accusing Scallywag of tacking too close to her as the yachts made their way out of the harbour and through Sydney Heads. Scallywag later made a 720-degree penalty turn in order to avoid being disqualified from a line honours win on arrival in Hobart.
Four hours into the race, LawConnect and Comanche were neck and neck for first place, only a nautical mile apart. Scallywag was in third place and the other super maxi, Wild Thing, was in fourth.
The fleet of more than 100 yachts will sail down the New South Wales state south coast and across the often treacherous Bass Strait to the island state of Tasmania. The finish line of the 628-nautical mile race is at Constitution Dock in the state capital of Hobart.
The line honours record of one day, nine 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 one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds — the second-fastest time behind its 2017 race record.
The four super maxis may have to contend with stormy conditions from late Tuesday into Wednesday, with showers, gusts and hail all possible for the far south of New South Wales and Bass Strait.
