Sydney to Hobart 2018: Rolling updates of big race as fleet heads south towards finish line
The Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats XI has registered its ninth Sydney to Hobart line honours victory after a controversial loss 12 months ago. SEE FINISHING ORDER HERE
The Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats XI has registered its ninth Sydney to Hobart line honours victory after a controversial loss 12 months ago.
2018 SYDNEY TO HOBART FINISHING ORDER
- Wild Oats XI - 01:19:07:21
- Black Jack - 01:19:35:06
- Comanche - 01:19:36:06
- Infotrack - 01:19:49:31
8.07AM (EDT) WILD OATS SEALS MEMORABLE SYD TO HOB VICTORY
Wild Oats X1 has claimed a record ninth line honours victory on a stunning morning in Hobart around 8.07am
The yacht was surrounded by a large fleet of spectators as she claimed the win.
7AM (EDT) WILD OATS FLYING DOWN DOWN THE DERWENT
Wild Oats X1 had opened up a five mile lead over her closest rival, the Queensland yacht Black Jack.
Jim Cooney’s Comanche had lead the fleet of four supermaxis down the Tasmanian east coast overnight with Mark Richards and his team moving into the lead this morning thanks to a more easterly track.
Under a giant spinnaker, Wild Oats was flying home, doing around 15 knots of speed.
Black Jack was on course to take second with Comanche and InfoTrack in their wake.
6.21AM (EDT) FOUR-WAY FINISH GOING DOWN TO WIRE
Just miles separated Wild Oats, defending line honours champion Comanche, Black Jack and InfoTrack, setting the scene for an extraordinary finish on the Derwent River this morning.
Incredibly the quartet have been in sight of each other repeatedly during the 628 nautical mile face to Hobart.
This mornings light conditions on the river look to favour the “skinny” boat Wild Oats X1 an eight time line honours winner in the Sydney to Hobart.
In the face for the overall honours, defending champion Matt Allen is back in the race.
On Thursday the yacht slipped from first to 33rd overall when she hit a latch of tricky course conditions in Bass Strait.
But early this morning she was back in the overall lead ahead of the Tasmanian yacht Alive and the Victorian boat Voodoo.
7.30PM (EDT) SYDNEY TO HOBART ON TRACK FOR AMAZING FINISH
After more than 600 nautical miles of racing, one crew will be crowned champions on Friday morning and three others left broken hearted when the most enthralling supermaxi battle in history is decided.
After sailing, surfing, pounding and even drifting their way down the NSW coast, across Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania, Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards is forecasting a four-way Derwent thriller.
Richards believes the short but testing distance from the Iron Pot entrance of the river to the Battery Point finish will become a battleground for Wild Oats XI, Comanche, InfoTrack and Black Jack on Friday morning.
“It is going to be an amazing race all the way to the finish,’’ Richards said off the eight-time line honours winner deprived of the victors berth at Constitution Dock for the past three years.
Never before have four supermaxis been on the river at the same time vying for one of the most converted pieces of silverware in word ocean racing.
“Four on the Derwent at the same time. Absolutely it’s possible,’’ Richards said.
“It’s probably going to be the most awesome finish we have ever seen.’’
Previously there have been a number of instances where two supermaxis have jousted in the finish strait - most recently just a year ago when Wild Oats XI finished just 26 minutes ahead of Comanche before being relegated to second place after a successful protest over a close call with her rival after the start.
But never the four expected to take their battle right to the wire in the 74th Sydney to Hobart on a piece of waterway known for its fickle winds and overnight shutdowns.
“It’s not usual to have four quite different boats all in the same patch of water,” said Black Jack navigator Tom Addis.
“These boats are all very different. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. This is the most interesting race in the 100 footers.”
The closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history was when the Bermuda yacht Condor pipped the Sydney racer Apollo for victory by a mere seven seconds back in 1982.
Rarely has there been more than 20 nautical miles between all four yachts in this years race which started on Boxing Day.
“Its not over until its over. No one is giving an inch,’’ said InfoTrack crewman Brad Kellett.
The crew on the Scallywag crew were on Thursday left wondering what might have been if they had not been forced to retire the first night with major damage.
On Thursday night 81 yachts were still racing to Hobart with just four retirements.
5.15pm (EDT) MINUTE'S SILENCE TO REMEMBER 1998 TRAGEDY
The six men who died in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race and its survivors were remembered with a minute's silence by sailors contesting the 74th edition today.
The 20th anniversary of the race is being marked by the tribute with race official David Kellett aboard the radio relay vessel reading a message to all skippers and crews at 5pm.
This is roughly the time the storm which smashed the 1998 fleet was at its zenith.
At the start of the 5pm radio positional sked, the words originally spoken by the Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at the Hobart memorial service in 1998 was read out over the radio.
These words remember the six sailors lost in the 1998 race and honour them in the tradition of sailing.
“Mike Bannister, John Dean, Jim Lawler, Glyn Charles, Bruce Guy, Phil Skeggs.
May the everlasting voyage you have now embarked on be blessed with calm seas and gentle breezes.
May you never have to reef or change a headsail in the night.
May your bunk be always warm and dry.’’
Asked about the gesture, CYCA commodore Paul Billingham said: “Our view is that is the appropriate way to recognise and remember what happened.
“The families have moved on. There is closure but there is also remembrance.”
1.25pm (EDT) TIGHT RACE IN FOUR
InfoTrack captain Brad Kellett has described as “extraordinary” the close tactical battle going on between the four supermaxis vying for the line honours win in the Sydney to Hobart.
This afternoon the lead was chopping and changing between fleet front runners Wild Oats X1, Black Jack, Comanche and InfoTrack as they searched for fresh breeze while dodging windless areas in Bass Strait.
“It’s an unreal race,’’ Kellett said off the yacht which two years ago claimed line honours as Perpetual Loyal.
“Right now we are surfing in 13-14 knots and can see Comanche out to sea.
“We are keeping an eye on Wild Oats on the tracker and we only recently lost sight of Black Jack for the first time.
“I’ve never known such a close race between the big boats before.’’
While well off record pace, early estimates are the fleet giants could arrive in Hobart in the early hours of Friday morning.
This afternoon around half the yachts in the fleet were already in Bass Strait.
9.39am (EDT) DISAPPOINTING END TO LONG TREK
A Hungarian crew has ended up in Ulladulla on the NSW south coast this morning instead of Bass Strait after losing its mast overboard on the first night of the Sydney to Hobart.
Having travelled halfway around the world to compete, the beleaguered crew made it less than halfway to Hobart.
International sailors are taking a pummelling in this year’s Sydney to Hobart with two of the four retired crews so far overseas entrants.
While the Hong Kong entry Scallywag is back on Sydney, the Hungarians are waiting for better conditions before returning to Sydney.
Sailing master Bret Perry, a veteran of 11 Sydney to Hobart’s, said the crew were devastated.
“They came a long way for this,” he said.
“Everyone is safe and well which is good.”
Perry said the yacht was in 25 knots of wind when it broached and the spinnaker filled with water.
After the mast broke, the yacht was jury rigged and motored to the NSW coastal town.
The four supermaxis still in the race - Wild Oats X1, Comanche, Black Jack and InfoTrack, were all within striking distance of each other as they raced into Bass Strait.
However they are now behind the record pace of Comanche a year ago.
The Jim Cooney-skippered yacht holds the record of one day nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds.
6.22am (EDT): NERVOUS TIMES OUT IN FRONT
@We crossed tacks with Comanche a couple of times this morning between 3pm and 4am. There’s nothing in it,” said Wild Oats XI crewman Chris Links.
“We’re doing 18 knots in a northerly of 15 knots. We are on the edge of Bass Strait – entering it. We can just see Black Jack (they are inside WOXI and Comanche with InfoTrack).
“This is the closest race we’ve been in – we’ve been in close races with Comanche before but never been in such a close race with four of us.”
6am (EDT): COMANCHE AND WILD OATS XI NECK AND NECK
Scallywag skipper David Witt has tipped Wild Oats X1 to take the line honours in the 74th Sydney to Hobart as the multiple winner and an arch rival lead the fleet after a testing first night at sea.
A fourth yacht also retired from the race on Thursday morning with the Hungarian boat M3 out after breaking its rig.
While Scallywag’s campaign for victory ended after just a few hours due to major bowsprit damage, Wild Oats X1 has emerged from her first night of racing unscathed and in good shape.
Just before 6am on Thursday she was neck and neck with Jim Cooney’s defending line honours champion Comanche on the approach to Bass Strait.
Comanche last year protested Wild Oats over a close call at the start and then claimed line honours when Richards and his team incurred a time penalty at the end of the race.
Also vying for the lead were the Mark Bradford-skippered Queensland yacht Black Jack and Christian Beck’s fellow 100-footer InfoTrack.
Incredibly little more than five nautical miles seperated the front runners.
The Mark Richards-skippered Wild Oats X1 has claimed eight previous line honours wins along with two race records and two overall success’.
“Wild Oats for sure,” Witt tipped from Scallywag as he headed back to Sydney with his “gutted” crew.
“I always thought if we had beaten Wild Oats we would win the race.”
Witt said he was unsure why the bowsprit had broken on the Hong Kong entry.
“We were in great shape when it happened, really great shape,” Witt said.
“No idea what happened, no one injured which is good.
“But our hearts are broken.”
On Thursday morning defending champion Matt Allen and his Ichi Ban crew were
leading the race on handicap from his chartered 60-footer Winning Appliances and the Victorian boat Voodoo.
Also in the battle were the American entry Privateer and Bruce Taylor’s Melbourne campaigner Chutzpah.
A fleet of 85 started the 628 nautical mile race at 1pm (EDT) on Wednesday.
9.39pm (EDT): ANOTHER RETIREMENT
Victorian yacht Patriot has become the Sydney to Hobart’s third casuality.
The yacht was forced out with a broken rudder.
8.12pm (EDT): WILD OATS BANKS ON HI-TECH SAIL
Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards is hoping a specially designed sail with five years of technology in it will provide his team with the winning edge in what is looming as one of the most closest and enthralling Sydney to Hobart yacht races in history.
With the Hong Kong supermaxi Scallywag an early casualty just hours after the spectacular start, Wild Oats, defending champion Comanche, InfoTrack and Black Jack were all plotting their courses to Hobart with intent.
All four, well ahead of the race record as they raced down the NSW coast, knew their high-speed jaunt the first afternoon and night of the race would end as they approached Bass Strait early Thursday.
Unassumingly white, Wild Oats special sail is made out of exotic Cuben fibre and has been built especially for the skinny-hulled Wild Oats.
Richards estimates it will improve the boats speed by a significant 10 per cent downwind.
“We have a very new, specially designed big shoot with five years of technology in it,” Richards said.
“It’s been specially designed for this boat. All our others have been designed in the past for wide boats which we have adjusted.
“It has made a huge difference. It’s the fastest spinnaker we have ever had.
“It has a lot more twist profile (helps the wind flow round the sail with low drag) than ever before which helps our skinny boat. And we can use it between 15 and 25 knots which is a big advantage.
“We haven’t used this A2 before a race. Just tested it.”
Sailors have described this year’s Sydney to Hobart as a giant dot-to-dot puzzle and potentially one of the most complex races in history.
From the outside looking in the forecast looks relatively benign but for navigators and tacticians it could be a game of snakes and ladders.
“The real issue is linking all the bits of wind up, and there will be light spots and sports where there is not much wind,’’ Wilds Oats tactician Iain Murray said of the erratic winds and parking lots expected to challenge the front runners in Bass Strait on Thursday.
“I think the boat that keep continuously moving fast will benefit. The difference between going fast is going five knots, or 10 knots or 12 knots and if you do that for a couple of hours it is a big difference.”
The David Witt-skippered Scallywag was limping back to Sydney with her bowsprit broken off.
Witt told the Daily Telegraph he was “gutted” for the crew and owner of the Hong Kong supermaxi following its retirement.
“We were in great shape when it happened, really great shape,” Witt said of the bowsprit breaking off the Seng Huang Lee owner yacht.
“No idea what happened, no one injured which is good.
“But our hearts are broken.”
The boat was motoring back to Sydney and expected to arrive around midnight.
Also heading home was the Sydney 52-footer Zen which retired with rigging damage, reducing the fleet to just 83.
On Wednesday, Wild Oats X1 won the start with the Queensland entry Black Jack leadings the fleet out into open waters less than 15 minutes after the 1pm starting canon fired.
5.28pm (EDT): SURFING STAR RELISHING FIRST RACE SHOT
He’s faced down some of the biggest waves on the planet but two-time world surfing champion John John Florence admits he is a little daunted at the prospect of surfing across Bass Strait on a Sydney to Hobart racer.
A slightly apprehensive Florence jumped aboard the 60-footer Winning Appliances for his first Sydney to Hobart on Wednesday.
And while he has surfed - and survived - some of the biggest waves on the planet, the Hawaiian surfing superstar said he has a healthy respect for the waters of Bass Strait and its reputation.
“I am a little nervous about it because I’ve never done it before,’’ said the two time world champion who won his titles in 2016 and 2017.
“But I’m still looking forward to it at the same time. It will be a great experience.’’
5.10pm (EDT): SUPERMAXI SHOCK AS SCALLYWAG RETIRES
After months bringing the yacht to Australia and weeks of boat and crew preparation, supermaxi Scallywag’s bid to end the recent Australian domination of the Sydney to Hobart lasted a little over three hours.
The 100-footer which arrived in Sydney from her base in Asia in early December was the first big name casualty of the Sydney to Hobart with a broken bowsprit.
Skipper David Witt’s crew notified race officials on Wednesday afternoon that her race was done and dusted due to damage.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the crew who had hoped to end 2018 on a high note after losing one of their team overboard in the Volvo round the world race.
“Every time we race now we race for Fish,’’ said Witt of John Fisher, lost overboard near Cape Horn in leg seven of the Volvo race.
Witt had been planning a private tribute at sea for Fisher on Thursday afternoon somewhere in Bass Strait to honour his friend and crewmate.
The fleet on Wednesday afternoon was enjoying a sleigh ride down the NSW coast after a stunning blue-sky start on Sydney Harbour when disaster struck Scallywag.
Witt and his team had their sights set on becoming only the third foreign yacht in the past 10 years to claim line honours.
But the Australian skipper admitted prior to the start he was unsure how Scallywag would perform after a number of major modifications.
“We’ve modified the boat so much we actually are not 100 percent sure how we are going to go. We could be a lemon. We could be a strawberry. I don’t know,’’ Witt said.
Scallywag was the second retirement of the 2018 race with the 52-footer Zen out earlier with rigging damage.
3.40pm (EDT): RIGGING DAMAGE FORCES FIRST RETIREMENT
The Sydney yacht Zen is the first retirement of the Sydney to Hobart, her race over less than three hours after the 1pm start.
As the rest of the fleet flew down the coast, Gordon Ketelbey and his crew on the TP 52 Zen were heading to Wollongong.
Crew reported they were forced out due to rigging damage.
2.02pm (EDT) JULIE BISHOP JUMPS OVERBOARD
Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has jumped ship off the back of Wild Oats X at Bondi Beach as the Sydney to Hobart fleet continue on their journey south.
1.56pm (EDT): SMALLEST YACHT FINALLY THROUGH HEADS
While the supermaxis were flying down the coast, the smallest yacht in the fleet, the little 30-footer Gunrunner, finally made it through the Sydney Heads around an hour after the start.
Officials ruled the start of the race clean with no recalls.
It appears there were no incidents in the fleet either, unlike last year when Comanche flew a protest flag over a close call with Wild Oats X1 soon after the start.
The incident later saw Wild Oats penalised and dropped back into second place.
1.30pm (EDT) update: BLACK JACK MAKES GREAT START
The Queensland yacht Black Jack is the first yacht to head out into open waters after a thrilling five-way battle between the Sydney to Hobart supermaxis on the harbour.
It took the Mark Bradford-skippered Black Jack just over 13 minutes to race through Sydney Heads and into open water.
In a close tussle with her rivals, Black Jack lead the 85-strong fleet on its journey down the NSW Coast.
Behind Black Jack was InfoTrack, Wild Oats X1, Scallywagg, the 60-footer Winning Appliances and defending champion Comanche.
1pm update: BREEZE MAKING LIFE INTERESTING EARLY
Hundreds of thousands of spectators have crowded Sydney Harbour and its foreshore to watch one of the most stunning starts of a Sydney to Hobart yacht race with the supermaxi Wild Oats claiming boasting rights to the best getaway.
Crewed by some of the biggest names in ocean racing, the eight-time line honours winner left her four supermaxi rivals in her wake with a fleet start to the race.
Under powder blues skies and propelled by a moderate nor’easterly sea breeze stole the show in the opening stanza of the 628 nautical mile race to Hobart.
A fleet of 85 lined up on the harbour start lines with boats ranging from 30-foot to the five 100-foot supermaxis headlining the fleet in the 74th race south.
The multi-million dollar armada was in start contrast to the nine timber yachts which set sail back 1945 in the inaugural race.
A tricky race is forecast with the battle for overall honours expected to be a highlight.
The defending overall champion, Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban, also made an impressive start when the start canon fired at 1pm.
11am: IT’S GETTING CLOSE
As the 85 yachts in this year’s Sydney to Hobart fleet prepare to head out for the 1pm start a weather expert has rated this year’s edition as the most difficult race in 30 years.
Fast conditions have been forecast for the start but Bass Strait is looming as a major headache for every boat in the fleet thanks to erratic winds and unpredictable breeze.
“Tactically, strategically, in terms of weather, this is one of the most challenging races I have seen in 30 years in terms of difficulty,” leading sailing meteorologist Roger Badham says.
WHAT: 2018 Sydney to Hobart race
WHERE: starting from Sydney Harbour
WHEN: 1pm AEDT
The good news is it will be warm.
“T-shirt and shirts sailing across Bass Strait,” Badham says
A light to medium nor’easterly has been forecast for the start which will see the fleet work up the harbour before setting sail down the coast under spinnaker.
Wild Oats X1 skipper Mark Richards joked he was thinking of bringing a bean bag for the deck so he could enjoy the ride in comfort.
There have been some greeat reads in the lead-up to the big race. Reaquaint yourself with these.
The tragic story of the Winston Churchill
Liz Wardley remembers 1998 nightmare
Personal tragedy drives Scallywag skipper
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