The calm before the storm: A front-row seat for Sydney to Hobart start

The crowds gathered early at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia to get a glimpse of some of the 104 entrants in the 79th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

The queues formed in two orderly lines: one for the bacon and egg rolls and the other to walk down the narrow gangway to greet the crews forming tight huddles to go through last-minute checks.

Each greeting was a variation of “go fast, but be safe”. Under sunny blue skies and only a slight breeze, it sounded slightly incongruous – but this is a race where conditions change instantly.

The heavy canvas seatbelts in the media boat acted as a silent warning as the press pack bounced across Sydney Harbour to move into position ahead of the customary 1pm start to view the three 100-foot supermaxi yachts competing for line honours.

There were two main vantage points for spectators, and both were filled to capacity. The cliffs beside Shark Beach provided a free spot for those with good binoculars while berths aboard The Jackson, a luxury yacht serving canapes and sparkling wine, went for $390.

Both sets of spectators were treated to an early tussle between LawConnect and Master Lock Comanche. LawConnect, last year’s line honours winner, was the first to get its nose in front, manoeuvring expertly past its chief rival and leaving the fleet’s third supermaxi, Wild Thing 100, behind in its wake.

The yachts jostle for position before the start of the Sydney to Hobart.Credit: Rhett Wyman

LawConnect’s owner and skipper Christian Beck is a master of self-deprecation, describing his multi-million dollar craft affectionately as “a shitbox”. Everything is relative, though, and compared to Comanche – which is wider and lighter than before – Beck knew the odds of his crew repeating last year’s success on the River Derwent was limited.

The change in conditions came suddenly. After the balmy swell of Sydney Harbour, the seas grew rougher as the fleet passed through Sydney Heads. On the media boat, the press contingent divided itself into two groups: the seasoned old salts of the sailing press and the newcomers, who were advised to sit at the stern with a bottle of water and, if the need arose, to be sick over the back. Out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind.

Wild Thing 100 wrestled with the rougher conditions and after making a late tack to avoid Celestial V70, it came perilously close to completely rolling over on its side. The sea had become a choppy blue soup, made worse by the wash churned up by 104 boats of varying sizes, from the mammoth 100-foot supermaxis to the tiny two-handed battlers that demand the highest skill from her sailors.

With the media boat bobbing wildly in the swell to let the supermaxis through the heads, LawConnect experienced a painful case of deja vu when Beck and his crew could not unfurl their headsail properly, just when the wind was propelling the 100-footers out into the Tasman.

LawConnect and Master Lock Comanche sail towards Sydney HeadsCredit: Getty Images

The unfurled sail essentially acted as a handbrake on the craft in the middle of the ocean. Master Lock Comanche moved into a comfortable lead, which it held by some eight nautical miles at 5pm on Thursday afternoon.

As the media boat turned to make the run back to Rushcutters Bay, the old salts happily munched sandwiches gone soggy with seawater. The others gazed at the horizon, sipped water and gave thanks that they weren’t on board a two-hander going into battle with the elements. A south-westerly trough is forecast to hit the race hard in the early hours of Friday morning, bringing thunderstorms, wild waves and gale-force winds.

There is a chance the race record of one day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche, could be beaten. But given the wild weather ahead, the main thing is that everyone finishes safe and sound.