Live: Comanche speeds down river to take Sydney to Hobart line honours

The horn has sounded, formally signalling a victory for Comanche, taking out Line Honours for the fifth time.

It is a candy victory for the supermaxi’s crew after it retired in final yr’s race resulting from a damaged mainsail.

It was a fast end to the race nevertheless it nonetheless did not beat its race document, set in 2017, for the quickest end in race historical past (at some point, 9 hours, quarter-hour and 24 seconds).

Pack chief Grasp Lock Comanche has taken out line honours within the eightieth Sydney to Hobart.

She was flying down the Derwent at a pace of 11.8 knots.

With reporting by Monty Jacka

Whereas it would take a miracle for her to catch the entrance three, it is value shining a lightweight on the American yacht Fortunate, at the moment sitting in fourth and nonetheless very a lot within the hunt.

Fortunate is an 88-foot maxi all the way in which from the New York Yacht Membership, however she’s no stranger to the Sydney to Hobart.

Again in 2015, when she was known as Rambler 88, she completed third after a gripping duel with Ragamuffin 100 all the way in which to the road.

She was purchased and renamed by skipper Bryon Ehrhart in 2023 — and that is truly his first Sydney to Hobart.

Ehrart has owned a number of different racing yachts over time (a TP52, a Reichel/Pugh 63 and a Maxi 72), all of which have been known as Fortunate.

This newest model is designed to fly downwind and whereas she is perhaps simply outdoors the highlight, she’s proving she belongs proper up there with the massive boats.

Cruising Yacht Membership of Australia vice-commodore David Jacobs says it has been a “nice efficiency” from the American vessel.

In case you solely vaguely observe the Sydney to Hobart, you is perhaps questioning — the place is Wild Oats XI?

For years, her title was all over the place throughout this race, breaking data and blitzing her option to the end line.

Between 2005 and 2018, Mark “Ricko” Richards skippered the boat to 9 line honours victories, together with two unbelievable triple wins (line, race document, and total).

It is essentially the most profitable yacht within the race’s historical past, however the boat was mothballed for 2 years after her final race in 2022.

She’s truly again within the race this yr, however with a brand new title — Palm Seaside XI.

Ricko owns the boat now and is as soon as once more on the helm, having renamed the vessel after the corporate he based in 1995.

The boat underwent some main upgrades forward of the race, together with a brand new deeper keel, superior daggerboards, and radical c-foils.

Palm Seaside XI is at the moment is sitting in fifth place — about 20 nautical miles behind the race leaders — as she rounds the Tasman Peninsula.

The yacht at the moment sitting in first is Grasp Lock Comanche, a 100-foot maxi that’s trying to bounce again after some latest heartbreaks.

She’s 2 nautical miles south east of the Iron Pot, within the River Derwent.

Comanche is constructed to go quick and she or he’s confirmed it.

In 2017, she set a Sydney to Hobart document that also stands as we speak, ending the 628-nautical-mile course in simply 1 day, 9 hours, quarter-hour and 24 seconds.

That shattered expectations and made her the quickest yacht to formally cross the road (Wild Oats XI truly crossed the road first on the identical day, however they acquired a one hour time penalty for an earlier incident).

Comanche gained once more in 2019, confirming her place as one of many quickest boats within the fleet, however the final two races have not been as sort.

In 2023, she misplaced line honours in a nail-biting Derwent showdown to LawConnect by simply 51 seconds.

Final yr, Comanche needed to retire early with mainsail injury.

This yr, with skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo on board, Comanche is again and pushing laborious.

She’s smooth, highly effective, and is aware of the right way to make a closing dash rely.

With Hobart in sight, she’s in a first-rate place to try to flip the race right into a win — and perhaps even remind everybody why she holds that document within the first place.

My colleague Meg Whitfield studies that the racing circumstances for the frontrunners must be easy.

The Cruising Yacht Membership of Australia, which administers the race, says the tough circumstances of the previous two days are set to ease, giving these nonetheless competing a “extra snug trip”.

However CYCA Vice-Commodore David Jacobs says it is going to choose up once more later within the week.

“There’s an opportunity on Wednesday the circumstances will get fairly laborious and we’d get gale circumstances, so we’re hoping that many of the fleet will probably be in by Wednesday,” he says.

He says waves reached heights of between 3 to 4 metres final evening, however that the frontrunners may anticipate some smoother crusing.

“For the sailors on the lead boats it will truly be fairly nice,” he stated.

“As they arrive round Tasman Island, they’re going to have a southerly behind them and they are going to be hoping there will probably be affordable winds. They’re forecast to be round 7 to 10 knots and they are going to be gliding up Storm Bay and into the Derwent [River].”

He says it is all the time thrilling if boats completed whereas it was nonetheless daylight outdoors, which remains to be a risk.

“I will probably be greeting the lead boat — if it is not 2am I will probably be very joyful.”

 It is shaping as much as be an thrilling end within the line honours battle, because the main pack of supermaxis push onwards in the direction of Hobart.

Grasp Lock Comanche is at the moment within the lead, adopted by LawConnect and Scallywag.

The trio have been swapping positions often over the previous two days.

Trailing a comparatively quick distance behind the entrance pack are Fortunate and Palm Seaside XI.

Cruising Yacht Membership of Australia vice commodore David Jacobs says the whole lot hinges on the ultimate stretch by the River Derwent.

“We have had 5 boats primarily match racing all the way in which down the coach since just about Sydney Heads,” he stated.

“It has been extraordinary and it’ll be a unprecedented end.

“Though Grasp Lock Comanche remains to be within the lead, not at all is it sure that she’ll cross the road first.”

Welcome to the ABC’s stay protection of the 2025 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Greater than 120 yachts left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day within the race south within the eightieth version of the annual blue water basic.

After two gruelling nights in tough seas off Australia’s east coast, the primary of the 95 yachts nonetheless racing is making its means in the direction of the end line at Hobart.

Main the pack is supermaxi Grasp Lock Comanche, which has just lately rounded Tasman Island and is passing Cape Raul.

I am Susan Oong from the ABC’s Hobart bureau, the place our workforce is working to convey you reside protection of the final leg of the race.