Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2023 finish order, retirement list, line and overall winners, 2024 boats
Sylph - with Oli the cat watching on - was the 85th and last boat to finish the 2023 Sydney to Hobart with the 2024 edition to be minus some big names. Finishing order and retirements.
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The two-hander Sylph - with Oli the cat aboard - was the 85th and last boat to finish the 2023 Sydney to Hobart to a heroes welcome while a number of big names have already confirmed they will miss the 2024 race south.
An emotional skipper Bob Williams, crewmate Chris Warren and Oli the cat arrived in Hobart
at 8.26am on January 3 with a new record for the boat - the slowest ever trip in the Australian bluewater classic.
The agonisingly slow journey saw them arrive seven days, 19 hours, 26 minutes and 15 seconds after Sylph started the race at 1pm on December 26.
Sylph’s previous slowest Sydney to Hobart race set in 1962 when she took seven days, 17 hours, 13 minutes and two seconds.
But there was one good bit of news for the team on the race tailender - they just managed to avoid finishing last in the PHS handicap race.
Sylph’s slow progress saw her finish second last in the PHS handicap division won by Will Vicar’s Oroton Drumfire with David How’s Silver Fern earning the dubious honour of finishing last in this division of the race.
“I think it's quite amazing the way people have taken to Oli,’’ said Williams, a retired naval officer who had hoped to enjoy dockside celebrations in Hobart on New Year’s Eve but still received a hearty champagne welcome.
“He’s just a part of my crew, where ever I sail.’’
JESS WATSON: TRIBUTE TO LOVE OF HER LIFE
Sylph’s trip was incredibly five days slower than Christian Beck’s LawConnect which pipped Andoo Comanche by 51 seconds in the closest finish in decades for the line honours back on December 28 at 8.03am.
However it was well outside the record of the slowest ever race set back in 1945 and still owned by Wayfarer who took an extraordinary 11 days, six hours and 20 minutes to make it to Hobart.
Andoo Comanche, one of the most winning line honours yachts in the Sydney to Hobart under different owners and names, will not be returning in the foreseeable future.
The yacht is heading to Singapore and potentially then Europe for campaigning under her owner who leased the supermaxi to John Winning Jnr for two seasons.
Also missing will be Scallywag, one of the favourites for the 2023 race, which broke its bowsprit the opening night of the 2023 race.
She is heading to Barcelona to begin a new era of European campaigning with events such as the Middle Sea race on her agenda.
Whether the former multiple line honours winner Wild Oats returns to racing is still in the wind.
However both LawConnect and overall winner Alive have confirmed they will be on the start line.
MIGHTY MINNOW BATTLING ON: The tailender of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has finally cracked 100 nautical miles with Bob Williams, his crew mate Chris Warren and Ollie the cat now 98nm from the finish line on the Derwent River with an ETA of January 3.
The 2023 event is the first Sydney to Hobart for Williams since 1972 but he’s getting plenty of bang for his buck in the race.
His goal was to complete the race in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations but instead, he will be a couple of days behind schedule with a January 3 finish projected.
On Tuesday Sylph was flying along at 6.6 knots, probably the lowest speed LawConnect or Andoo Comanche reached in ultralight conditions during the race they finished back on December 28.
“Now it seems we might be set to break a record I thought it would be very difficult to beat, namely Sylph’s slowest Sydney to Hobart Race set in 1962 when she took 7 days, 17 hours, 13 minutes and 2 seconds,” Williams said.
“This would make for an arrival time of 0613 (and 2 seconds) on the 3rd of January.”
The second last yacht, David Hows’ Queensland boat Silver Fern was drifting towards Hobart at 2.2 knots early on Tuesday morning.
But she had less than 30 nautical miles to go with the crew hopeful of a finish sometime on Tuesday.
The 2023 Sydney to Hobart has been one of the slowest races in recent times, due to the tough conditions at sea, almost from the start.
SYDNEY TO HOBART HUSBAND AND WIFE AT SEA — AND STILL TALKING
A teenager got the welcome of a lifetime when he finished the Sydney to Hobart just before New Year’s Eve and a husband and wife are “still talking to each other” despite a horrendously long Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
John Townley’s Hansen Tasmania was the last arrival into Hobart before New Year, crossing the finish line just 15 minutes before the fireworks.
Aboard were his two sons Max and Matt with the later the youngest competitor to set sail in the 103 strong starting fleet.
Unlike men twice, if not three times his age, the 18-year-old can now boat he sailed, survived and finished his first race south.
A second father and son, Sam and Archer Ibbott were also aboard the yacht with crowds in Hobart giving them a raucous welcome.
Following the early morning arrival of Jason Bond’s Enigma, New Zealand couple Michael and Tracey Carter on Allegresse are also heading to shore.
They took shelter from shocking conditions at sea, delaying the yachts arrival in Hobart until January 1.
“We’re still talking to each other but we’ve had our moments,” Mike Carter said.
“The night before and yesterday morning we didn’t go far at all! The hardest part was a couple of nights of heavy weather and with two people on the boat it’s not so easy.
“Fortunately, we brought enough food for a week with us.’’
YACHTS STILL AT SEA IN 2024
but four of the 85 yachts in the arduous 2023 Sydney to Hobart should be safely docked for the New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight.
Arrivals came thick and fast overnight with 10 yachts arriving between 9pm and 8am.
This included the three-time winner and timber yacht Love & War, skippered by Simon Kurts, who took around a day longer than expected to complete the race
Another 11 crews are now closing in on the finish of the 628nm race in which LawConnect claimed line honours on December 28 and the Tasmanian yacht Alive won overall.
As expected, the Sydney yacht Mistral, owned by Rupert Henry, has secured the two-handed line and handicap honours.
Mistral also finished sixth in the overall race in a remarkable performance.
SCROLL TO SEE THE 2023 SYDNEY TO HOBART FINISHING ORDER, RETIREMENTS
OVERALL WINNER CONFIRMED AFTER ‘HORRENDOUS’ NIGHT
The first two-handed Sydney to Hobart crew arrived after a “horrendous” night at sea and on a morning of mass arrivals, the confirmation of the overall winner and the retirement of the 17th yacht.
Helsal III has an injured navigator aboard with broken ribs, sail damage and a broken halyard courtesy of the rough and tough conditions at sea.
The Tasmanian yacht originally diverted to Port Arthur to access damage before pulling the plug.
The Adrian Lewis-skippered Sydney yacht Allegro has also diverted to Port Arthur to access unknown damage but has yet to officially retire.
The Tasmanian yacht Alive was officially declared the overall winner of the race, a position she had a day earlier when all her major rivals for the race ran out of time to take her down.
One of these was the two-hander Mistral, skippered by Rupert Henry and Jack Bouttell.
They finished the arduous 628nm race at 8.38am and are now in pole position to take out their division.
“It’s hopeful. But no point stressing. Nothing I can do. I’m going home for a sleep,’’ Henry said.
LINE HONOURS: HOW ‘S**T BOX’ STUNNED SYD TO HOB LEGEND
LawConnect skipper Christian Beck described the comeback by his “s--tbox” yacht to pip Andoo Comanche in the Sydney to Hobart by less than a minute as miraculous while confirming he and his crew will return to defend the line-honours trophy next year.
The Sydney software entrepreneur, who describes himself as a “passenger’’ who doesn’t know much about sailing, is now part of Sydney to Hobart folk lore on a boat once at the centre of an international drama at sea.
The supermaxi, which has cracked paint and Beck says is as “rough as’’ below, got home on a stray zephyr of wind just before the Battery Point finish line to claim the line-honours win in one day, 19 hours, three minutes and 58 seconds.
SCROLL TO SEE THE 2023 SYDNEY TO HOBART FINISHING ORDER, RETIREMENTS
It was 51 seconds ahead of Andoo Comanche after a 628nm battle with the defending champion skippered by John “Herman” Winning.
On land, Beck jokingly asked if anyone wanted to buy his supermaxi before confirming he would return to defend the trophy.
“Do you want to buy it?’’ Beck said. “It’s probably a good afternoon to sell it when it beats Comanche.
“It was the highlight of her career, for sure.’’
The yacht has an extraordinary history. It was originally built in the UK and called Speedboat before a name change to Rambler.
As Rambler, the yacht broke numerous records before it broke when flipped upside down and left floundering at sea following a catastrophic keel failure in the Fastnet Race in 2011.
She was then bought by accountant Anthony Bell and renamed Perpetual Loyal before being sold to Beck in 2017 after Bell and his team won the 2016 Sydney to Hobart on her.
Beck rebranded the yacht InfoTrack and eventually LawConnect.
She finished 24th, fourth and had three consecutive third placings in the Sydney to Hobart before her win on Thursday.
Beck paid tribute to boat captain and tactician Tony Mutter from New Zealand and Chris Nicholson from Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney.
“I think there are two guys who are instrumental,’’ Beck said. “They had a lot to contend with.
“I jokingly call it a s--t box but compared to Comanche it is a s--tbox.
“I know it looks good on TV but when you get up close she’s as rough as anything and Comanche is a beautiful boat that is better in every way. It’s four tons lighter, etc.
“The fact they can make that boat beat Comanche is amazing.
“Secondly, they had a pretty lean budget and five corporates on the boat, including me, to deal with. None of us know all that much about sailing.”
The never-say-die approach of the crew delivered LawConnect the win when Andoo Comanche appeared to have an unassailable lead.
“I thought it was over a couple of hours before the finish but then we were able to come back,’’ said Nicholson, a former Olympic sailor and around-the-world racer.
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe it happened.’’
Neither could Beck.
“I can’t believe that result,’’ he said. “It’s a dream come true. I never thought it was possible.
“The lead changed several times and they took the lead pretty close to the line and I thought there was no way we could get it back.
“A wind gust came around and miraculously it happened, so it was a complete surprise.’’
It was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the race, which started in 1945 when nine yachts sailed south.
The finish will long be remembered after the two yachts went hammer and tong against each other almost from the start.
Winning was disappointed but gracious in defeat.
“It was one of the most epic finishes in any sailing race I know,’’ he said.
“To fight gybe for gybe for the last three minutes, I think the lead changed three times. It was unbelievable.
“Unfortunately, I’m on the wrong side of it, that battle royale. It’s amazing for the sport.’’
While the leaders made it to Hobart in quick time, the majority of the fleet will be slowed by hours of expected upwind sailing.
Next year, LawConnect will have to find another rival with which to have a dogfight because Andoo Comanche is returning to her owner in Singapore after being leased by John Winning Jr for two years.
CARO, SMUGGLER ROUND OUT TOP-10
The New Zealand yacht Caro was next to finish in ninth place with Seb Bohm’s Smuggler 10th.
Last year’s overall winner Celestial claimed 11th place across the line.
These three yachts all arrived within 42 minutes after more than three days of racing.
YACHTS LIMP OVER LINE
They arrived more than 30 hours after LawConnect beat Andoo Comanche for the line honours win but the crew on Whisper was just as happy to finish.
Like their rival No Limit, the yacht was out at sea more than a day longer than expected due to hard upwind sailing over the past few days.
The David Griffth yacht claimed eighth place in the race, finishing at 3.01pm on Friday after being at sea more than three days and two hours.
No Limit took three days and eight minutes to complete their trip to Hobart.
URM SNARES THIRD PLACE
The Sydney yacht URM has snared third place in the line honours race in the Sydney to Hobart, holding out rival Alive for the podium place on Thursday afternoon.
But Alive, the former Tasmanian overall winner, has now overtaken URM as the clubhouse leader in the race for the IRC handicap honours in this year’s Sydney to Hobart.
URM took two days, two hours and seven minutes to finish the race.
Alive took two days, two hours, 19 minutes.
NO LIMIT CLAIM TOP-10 FINISH
David Gotze and his team on No Limit have become only the seventh yacht from the starting fleet of 103 to finish the Sydney to Hobart.
Gotze, from Melbourne, and his team, finished just after 1pm to secure their top 10 placing over the line.
Estimate arrival times had another 10 or so yachts expected to finish before midnight on Friday.
These yachts included Whisper, the New Zealand entry Caro, Smuggler, Celestial and the French yacht Teasing Machine.
To date there have been 16 retirements.
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Originally published as Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2023 finish order, retirement list, line and overall winners, 2024 boats
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