Sydney Hobart: Near collision and a broken sprit as wild start as yachts head strait into the storm

Defending champion Andoo Comanche is in the lead after the Sydney to Hobart began with a near collision in Sydney Harbour and leading contender Scallywag was forced to withdraw | WATCH

Comanche, left, and Scallywag have a close encounter shortly after the start of the Sydney Hobart race. Picture: Corbis via Getty Images

Nineteen hours after the start of the Sydney to Hobart race, defending champion Andoo Comanche is in the lead, closely followed by LawConnect. Third place yacht Alive is 50.4nm behind the Comanche.

Scallywag, one of the Sydney to Hobart race’s leading contenders was forced to withdraw on Tuesday night as the rest of the fleet headed for some of the most unpredictable weather the nation’s most famous boat race has seen in years.

Four other yachts – Arcadia, Rum Rebellion, Sticky, and Maritimo 52 – have since pulled out of the race.

The leading boats have now mostly cleared the Australian mainland. On the 25th anniversary of the horrific 1998 race, in which six sailors died and five yachts were lost, insiders said sailors were ­facing a tumultuous time as they crossed Bass Strait.

The tail of the pack is as far behind as Wollongong.

The 78th edition of the race began in controversy under the cover of storm clouds above Sydney Harbour when two of the favourites almost collided.

Andoo Comanche flew a protest flag over an incident with Scallywag, leading race officials to impose a 720-degree penalty turn on the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club supermaxi.

“It’s a classic port and starboard tacking too close, with 100 footers you can’t do that,” ­defending champion Andoo ­Comanche’s sailing master Iain Murray said in an on-board television interview.

Forecasts predicted increasing pressure and wind overnight and on Wednesday morning, with ­particular concerns raised for the smaller boats that would still be out in the ocean on Thursday and Friday.

Scallywag skipper David Witt said his yacht’s bow sprit, the ­extension at the front of the boat to fly the bigger spinnakers, broke on Tuesday evening as the yacht was flying down the NSW coast.

“We’re out,’’ Witt said in a message that included a photo of the damage aboard his yacht.

It was a bitter blow for a team who were considered a major ­contender to claim line honours this year.

The Chircop clan wait for the Sydney Hobart race start under trees at Watsons Bay. Picture: Jane Dempster

Soon after Scallywag’s withdrawal, Arcadia was also heading back to Sydney with a torn mainsail and the two-handed Rum ­Rebellion was the third race casualty for an unspecified reason.

Meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said crews would be “looking at erratic winds, hail, low visibility, as well as lightning”.

“One thing to really be aware of … into Wednesday is that those winds are going to be quite strong, they’re going to come from any ­direction, and they’re going to be with those thunderstorms,” Ms Woodhouse said.

Last year’s line honours ­runner-up LawConnect was first out of the heads followed by ­Comanche and Scallywag. The three had peeled off the rest and formed a leading pack.

Comanche had edged in front of LawConnect by 4pm.

Comanche team manager Sam Fay said the crew were “all well and about to enter our watch systems before the forecast increase in pressure later tonight and early tomorrow morning”.

At the race’s start on Sydney’s shore, crowds squinted through the haze to watch the yachts exit the heads and turn towards Tasmania. The Chircop clan – all three generations – had come from Penrith to sit at Watson’s Bay to see the early minutes.

The fleet heads up Sydney Harbour. Picture: Rolex / Andrea Francolini

They admitted they were not “big yachting fans” but it was a tradition for the whole family to make a day of it and the lunchtime storm that swept through Sydney didn’t deter them.

“It’s probably third in line in regards to the Australian ­customary days,” said son-in-law Shane Leggatt.

“Australia Day, Anzac Day, and Sydney to Hobart. And just behind that would probably be Melbourne Cup day as well.”

Grandmother Julie Chircop said the tradition had been going for about 12 years.

“This is what we do on Boxing Day,” Ms Chircop said. “We come to Watson’s Bay … we get a good spot here, we come early, the kids play on the beach, we have a picnic, we watch the boats, we buy ice cream … and then we head back home.”