Sydney to Hobart: Comanche leads supermaxi sprint to Hobart

A final sprint for line honours has pitted three of the Sydney-Hobart’s 100-foot supermaxis against each other.

Andoo Comanche heads towards Hobart. Picture: Rolex/Andrea Francolini

A final sprint for line honours has pitted three of the Sydney-Hobart’s supermaxis against each other for a close finish at Constitution Dock, as Andoo Comanche consolidated her position through Tuesday after powering across the Bass Strait.

Following a dramatic opening to the race, Andoo Comanche led the fleet into the Bass Strait by the early morning at about 18 knots, while her closest challengers LawConnect and Hamilton Island Wild Oats were hampered by sail damage overnight.

Wild Oats staged a minor comeback, after her crew was forced to bring down sails and repair them on deck, moving from fourth position to second, as the three supermaxis passed Eddystone Point at the northeast tip of Tasmania.

Law Connect and Wild Oats traded positions throughout the day, with the nine-time line honours winner, charting a course closer to the rhumbline, while race favourite Andoo Comanche pulled ahead by the late afternoon, with less than 170 nautical miles to Hobart by 5pm.

Andoo Comanche navigator Justin Shaffer reported to race officials on Tuesday afternoon that it was still hard to predict the boat’s finishing time, suggesting she might reach the Iron Pot, at the mouth of the Derwent River, by 10pm.

“It depends on the pressure between here and Tasman Light. We can’t see any of the other boats, but we believe LawConnect is around 20 miles behind,” Shaffer said. “We’ve had a great night, a dream run. The crew is holding up well and so is the boat. We are in a 13 knot north-easterly.”

Christian Beck, the owner and skipper of LawConnect, told reporters he predicted a midnight finish in Hobart, after crossing the Bass Strait at about 22 knots.

“We are going to try. You never know when you get into the Derwent. All the boats have a chance at the moment,” he told Channel 7’s Sunrise.

While Andoo Comanche retained its commanding lead into the evening — more than 15 nautical miles ahead of her three rivals — race officials said LawConnect, Wild Oats and Black Jack remained in contention.

In the sprint for handicap, NSW boats Gweilo and Celestial were jostling for the lead throughout much of Tuesday, while Alive jumped to fourth in the race for the Tattersalls Cup.

The fleet was reduced to 106 boats following the retirement of the TP52 Koa, co-owned by Peter Wrigley and Andy Kearnan, after she lost her rudder and called for assistance.

NSW Police said its vessel, Nemesis, would rendezvous with Koa at 6pm after the West Australian boat, Enterprise Next Generation, offered assistance to the stricken yacht.