Sydney to Hobart overall favourites an odd bod group, Celestial, URM, Whisper

They are the odd bod group of yachts that could well win the Sydney to Hobart including one named after a party loving Roman god and another after a waste management company.

Caro racing south during the 2022 Sydney to Hobart yacht race is one of the overall contenders again this year. Picture: Andrea Francolini/Rolex/AFP

They are the odd bod group of yachts that could well win the Sydney to Hobart yacht race overall in 2024 including one named after a party-loving Roman god, another after a waste management company and a third for the Chinese whispers prevalent around the sailing scene.

Big is looking best for the Sydney to Hobart on the current forecast but just how big is still anyone’s guess.

English sailor Adrian Stead said he believes any of 10 boats are in a strong position to the 628nm race which starts on Boxing Day, including the well credentialed 52-footer Caro, a New Zealand entry owned by Swiss sailor Max Klink, he will be racing south on as a tactician and steerer.

Others include the 10-year-old old supermaxi Master Lock Comanche, the 72-footer URM, a former round the world racer charted for the race and branded Celestial, the 62-footer Whisper, the defending champion Alive and a yacht which started life as an 80-footer but has been given a 20-foot extension in Wild Thing 100.

The overall winner is the top award in the Sydney to Hobart celebrating its 79th edition in 2024.

A fast start to the race is on the card along with a change the second day at sea, with the timing and strength of this crucial to a yachts chances of winning the race overall.

Whisper (R) chasing Comanche at the start of the last Sydney to Hobart.

“It’s a little less dramatic, the forecast, which is good,’’ said Stead of some predictions the fleet could be hammered by winds up to 60 knots in strength.

“I think it works for us. But when I look at the competition I think there are 10 boats that could win it.

“And I think there are others that could surprise.’’

The American entry Bacchanel, named after the party-animal Bacchus, is also being looked at despite only just being launched.

Skipper Jules Hall believes there is also potential for a number of two-handed yachts to spring a surprise in the race, including his own, Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth.

Both these men want to get their hands on the overall trophy. Adrian Stead, the tactician of Caro and Jules Hall, co skipper of Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth, Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“I think at the moment the big boats will get there quick but they may get a bit of southerly which will slow them down the last 20 per cent,’’ Hall said.

“Our forecast is so fast. The routing has us in on 1am on the 30th which is crazy fast.

“The first year we got in 3am on the 31st and last year 8am on the 30th.

“We are going to try our damdest to stir things up.”

The fleet in 2024 is somewhat unusual for its number of smaller yachts - around half the 106 strong fleet are 40 foot or under.

Hall’s yacht is just 33 foot and part of a 23-strong fleet of two-handers competing.

Master lock Comanche, LawConnecr, Wild Thing 100 and Maritimo 100 are the fleet giants at 100 foot.

Bacchanal owner Ron Epstein said he is flattered to be spoken about as a contender after two impressive results in lead-up races - s third overall in the Cabbage Tree Island and sixth ibn the Bird Island race.

“I think our campaign is the triumph of joy and optimism over good sense that a San Francisco Bay sailor comes out here to sail in the Sydney Hobart,’’ he said.

“Bacchanal means it is our party - our wine soaked, happy, joyful party of being out on the sea.

“I think it would be tremendous, not just to wave the American flag, but to show that it doesn’t take 30 years of sailing to win.’’

More from AMANDA LULHAM HERE