Race record holder Comanche has retired from the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, opening the door for LawConnect to win line honours for the second consecutive year. Comanche was leading when she retired, while LawConnect held a significant lead over its nearest rival. Other notable retirements include Wild Oats due to rigging damage and Alive with engine issues.
Race record holder Comanche is among 22 yachts to have pulled out from the initial fleet of 104 that left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. Comanche ’s retirement has left the door open for supermaxi rival LawConnect to win line honours for the second straight year. Comanche , which surged over the finish line in one day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds to set a new mark in 2017, was leading when she retired.
LawConnect held a lead of more than 14 nautical miles by late Friday afternoon over its nearest rival Celestial. Wild Oats, which has twice won the race -- the last time in 2014 -- was among this year’s casualties, with rigging damage. Alive, last year’s overall winner of the Tattersall Cup, which takes into account boat size and other factors, was one of the first to pull out this year, retiring with engine issues. Elsewhere, there was drama on Georgia Express after she was forced to retire from the race due to an electrical fire onboard. Fortunately, as reported by Code Sports, a police vessel was able to help escort her to safety in Eden on the NSW south coast. Crews of more than 100 yachts set sail Thursday on a “boat-breaking” Sydney-Hobart yacht race, with gale-force winds and high seas forecast for the gruelling bluewater classic. Under blue, mid-summer skies, spectators crowded onto boats and lined the shore of a breezy Sydney Harbour as a starting cannon set the fleet on a dash to the open ocean. In a dramatic opening contest, reigning line honours champion LawConnect lost an early lead when one of her sails failed to unfurl.By late evening, Comanche was speeding southwards down Australia’s east coast with a lead of more than eight nautical miles over LawConnect. Early it was on record pace, going at some 27.6 knots at around 4:30pm AEDT and running 30 nautical miles ahead of the race record set by LDV Comanche in 201
Yachting Sydney-Hobart Comanche Lawconnect Race Record Retirement Sailing
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