Sydney to Hobart supermaxi Master Lock Comanche on extreme diet in chase for win

She’s well known for her bodacious booty and powerful frame but this Sydney to Hobart glamour girl has been kept on a strict diet for the 79th race south for good reason.

The supermaxi Master Lock Comanche. Pic: Andrea Francolini

It’s hard to see from above deck but Master Lock Comanche has been put on a radical diet to ensure she is never again beaten for a victory in the Sydney to Hobart within sight of the finish line.

The 100-footer, which has powered her way to countless speed record in oceans across the world, had the line honours victory in the last race blown away by light winds on the Derwent River where the race finishes.

After more than 43 hours of racing in wild conditions, LawConnect came from behind in light breeze to steal the victory by less than a minute.

Master Lock Comanche is now under the command of co skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo for this year’s bid for a fifth line honours win after success with a variety of different owners and skippers as Comanche on debut in 2015, LDV Comanche in 2017, Comanche in 2019 and Andoo Comanche in 2022 under John Winning junior.

Now sailing master Iain Murray, who was aboard the yacht last year, revealed masses of weight - and crew - have been cut from the yacht to reduce the pain of her Achilles heel.

“Last year was immensely disappointing to get pipped at the line like that,“ said Murray who has only recently returned from Barcelona where he was race director of the Americas Cup.

The yacht racing last year.

“But we have learnt some very valuable lessons and one is you have to be very diligent about the amount of weight aboard so we are in on a strict diet for the boat to minimise her weight to get up places like the Derwent River.

“We have also reduced the crew from 24 to 18 and we are being very careful with the sails we take to reduce weight.

“In terms of the Sydney to Hobart, we’ve lost around 600kg in crew weight, water, the extra food we would have required.

“In the end it could be close to about a tonne in sailing weight gone.

“The target is one tonne but we may not quite get there but we are being very tight on everything from fuels and spares and other things.’’

Murray said sail selection is crucial to the 100-footers bid for a fifth line honours trophy this year.

The team do not want to take any unnecessary sails to keep their weight controlled.

“We will be reading the forecast very, very closely and if we don’t think we need it, we won’t be taking it,’’ Murray said.

“We are much clearer in our minds about what sails we will be using at what time and we will be loading the boat according to the forecast.’’

Aboard the supermaxi LawConnect in a leadup race. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

While Comanche is “two to three tonnes” lighter than Christian Beck’s LawConnect, her rival has more righting moment due to her weight.

But the design of Comanche allows her to get up and surf much faster with her sweet spot in sailing reaching across the wind.

Where the yachts are more equal is in their crews with both sporting some of the biggest and most experienced names in world sailing, including former Olympians, Americas Cup champions and Volvo round the world racers.

Murray is a former America’s Cup skipper who also competed at the Beijing Olympics and has won multiple world championships in skiff racing and is an out to contest his 39th Sydney to Hobart.

He also boasts one of he most impressive records in the most famous Australian classic with 11 line honours wins and three overall victories - two with Wild Oats X1 and Bumblebee V.

saw the line honours well known for her wide beam and power racing across the oceans of the world,