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SHK Scallywag first of three early casualties from 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart

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Sydney to Hobart yacht race, day one reports from the bluewater classic as it happened

Sport Sydney to Hobart yacht race, day one reports from the bluewater classic as it happened

One of the three main contenders for Sydney to Hobart line honours, SHK Scallywag, hits early trouble with a sail problem, but it's a close race with LawConnect ahead as the fleet heads south entering night one. Look back on all the action.

Live updates

Race tracker.

By Andrew Mcgarry

Follow your favourite entry in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race tracker

Wrapping things up...

We've ticked past 6pm AEDT, and the latest positions remain the same.

LawConnect sits 13 nautical miles east of Kiama, leading by 2.9 nautical miles from Black Jack.

Scallywag is a further 0.9 nautical miles behind, with Stefan Racing in fourth, 7.9 nautical miles behind LawConnect.

However the third and fourth place boats are going faster than their rivals, with Scallywag at 14.9 knots and Stefan Racing at 15.1 knots, compared to 12.9 for LawConnect and 13.3 for Black Jack.

These are small margins, but it suggests Scallywag is back making the most of the wind. If the crew can keep that going for the rest of the evening, they might be a lot closer to the lead by the end of the night.  

Hmmm ... some weather approaching!

As we speak, LawConnect and the leading boats are just passing Kiama on the NSW Coast.

So far things have been relatively straightforward, aside from Scallywag's sail issues.

However ...

A quick scan of the BOM radar shows there is some heavy weather (well some heavy rain at least) heading the way of the fleet (see attached map):

Tracking individual boats

can you explain how on the tracker i can monitor a yacht i bet on ive got ichi ban -Scott

Scott, I have been having the odd-bit of trouble with the tracker this afternoon, trying to isolate particular boats has proved interesting.. 

However, if you go to the standings page on the website, and click the tab saying "Fully Crewed IRC", that should give you the updated placings on handicap, and the estimated finishing times.for whichever boat you want.

For example, Ichi Ban on the latest standings is 15th for line honours, 17.9 nautical miles behind LawConnect.

On IRC, Ichi Ban is 53rd - at this point the estimated race time is three days, 19 hours six minutes and 51 seconds, giving an arrival time of Dec 30 at 8:06.51am. On corrected time, (the right hand column), the overall time would be five days, seven hours, 55 minutes 27 seconds.

In comparison, the leader on IRC (for now) is LawConnect , estimated to finish at 6:51pm on Dec 28, for a time of two days, five hours, 51 minutes 46 seconds.

On corrected time, this gives LawConnect an overall time of four days, 10 hours, 38 minutes 54 seconds.

As the winds and circumstances change, so will the overall standings. But for now, Ichi Ban has a LOT of room to make up.   

So far, so good ...

At this point of the race, a quick update.

Officially we had 88 boats to start with - 71 eligible for line honours and 17 two-handed boats, allowed in the race for the first time.

As of the latest figures, all 88 are still in the race, which means no one has had a significant problem or damage to the boat. That's good to hear!

There was some talk with the forecasted southerly winds this afternoon and tonight that there might be some retirements in the fleet.

Who's to know? At this stage it may be that the winds aren't quite as strong as expected, but there is plenty of time for that to change. Also, for smaller boats particularly, it may be the accumulated wear and tear of hitting bigger waves that causes problems overnight.

We shall see.

First updated standings as of 4pm AEDT:

Here is the top 12 on line honours, with LawConnect having a DTG (distance to go) of 596.3 nautical miles, ahead of Black Jack , with a DTG of 597.8 nautical miles. So LawConnect as of 4pm AEDT had a lead of 1.5 nautical miles. That appears to have changed since, but this gives a snapshot of where the leading boats were 20-odd minutes ago:

The hours into the race, the leaders are a solid distance offshore, halfway between Helensburgh and Wollongong.

LawConnect still leads, and has extended the margin over Black Jack to 1.4 nautical miles. It's relatively middling going for the leaders, with LawConnect's speed at 13 knots, ahead of Black Jack's 12.5 knots.

Behind them, Scallywag is clear again in third, 2.6 nautical miles astern of LawConnect - it is moving at 12.3 knots but does not seem to be able to get too close to the leaders. There is no more word on the state of their sails and whether they have been able to get the main headsail going again.

Stefan Racing is in fourth, a further one nautical mile back from Scallywag.  

Coasters Retreat and the origins of the Sydney to Hobart

Michael Troy has written a great feature on the small community of Coasters Retreat, near Pittwater in Sydney.

In the 1940s Coasters was home to several sailors - some famous, some not so but all with interesting stories.

The home of Selwyn “Dicko” Dickinson was the meeting place for the sailors, and where the idea that turned into the Sydney to Hobart we know today was conceived.

This group broke free of the Royal Prince Alfred Club and began sailing at Broken Bay and elsewhere as a rebel club. This turned into the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and an original nine boats who “raced” to Hobart as a cruise, with the big prize on offer of a dozen bottles of beer and a jam tin mounted on a wooden block.

You can find out more about the sailors from Coasters Retreat in Michael Troy’s feature here.

Flashback to the start...

As it stands, there are 10 boats - including race leader LawConnect - within 4.5 nautical miles or thereabouts at the front of the race.

Always happy for a shoutout

Hi Andrew 🙂 -Natty

Hello Natty, glad to see you on the blog - hope you can stick around for a while, as the further we get down the coast this afternoon, the more likely it is that we will start to sort out the relative strengths of the leading contenders.

Let's hope that the expected "bash and crash" of stronger winds that are pushing against the fleet doesn't lead to too many problems on board boats.

As we've seen already with Scallywag, problems can occur even in relatively light winds, and when the windspeed gets turned up, things can go really wrong.

A quick snapshot from the tracker shows where things stand at this point. 

You can see Scallywag two back from the leader - Stefan Racing is just to its left, although the name isn't registering.

The orange boat icon on the left is the pace for the race record of Comanche in 2017.

We've got an early challenger from outside the supermaxis!

We have focused so far mostly on the three supermaxis - with good reason, since the last time a supermaxi did not win line honours was in 2004.

But as things stand, we have another boat in the mix.

Race leader LawConnect is travelling at 17.6 knots, followed 1.8 nautical miles back by Black Jack (11.8 knots).

While Scallywag is going a little faster at 12.6 knots, it has been overtaken for third place, at least for the moment.

Stefan Racing, the Botin 80 boat skippered by Grant 'Wharo" Wharington , is going nicely at 11.5 knots, a little over 1.8 nautical miles behind the leader, Stefan Racing is - to use a racing analogy - saving ground a little closer to the coast.

The question of how the leading boats will handle the winds this afternoon and evening will tell us a lot about who is in prime position to win the race.

The small orange sail you can see in the previous pic tweet from SHK Scallywag is the storm jib.

With far less surface area on the sail to work with, it means the boat cannot take full advantage of the wind available.

This is why things are going to be difficult ...

This colour-coded map shows the wind speed and wind direction in the waters off the NSW coast right now.

The arrows show that the wind is coming from the south directly north, so the fleet is heading into the teeth of what wind there is.

The green colour marks around 15 to 20 knots (27.8 to 37 kmh).

The orange colour shows winds that are between 25 and 30 knots (46.3 to 55.5kmh).

So the area the fleet is heading into is mostly orange, which means it will be more difficult to make headway into the wind.

This map shows why there will be not the slightest chance of a race record, and indeed the likelihood is that the leaders will not reach Hobart inside two days. 

The official standings will not kick in for another couple of hours, but at this stage is appears that LawConnect is a decent way in front, travelling at a tick over 14 knots.

Most of the boats are heading out to sea to get the best of the wind, rather than hugging the coast. The only entry that is keeping closer in is No Limit in about ninth spot right now.

Black Jack is moving at 13.3 knots, with Scallywag still suffering from the lack of its preferred sail, going at 11.3 knots.

The wind is not that strong at this point - we are expecting things to shift reasonably soon, with strong southeasterlies making life tough for everyone.

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Video: Scallywag in near miss during Sydney Hobart warm-up

The Ragamuffin 100 racing yacht Scallywag had a near miss earlier this week (December 13) during the warm-up for the Rolex Sydney Hobart regatta.

The 14-mile SOLAS Big Boat Challenge is traditionally used as a shakedown for the main event and it almost turned sour when a maritime patrol boat and a spectator vessel got a little too close to the action, as this dramatic aerial footage shows:

Eyewitness reports claim that Scallywag was inches away from colliding with the two vessels, with her skipper having to thread the 30.48 metre sailing yacht through a highly congested area.

Despite this hair-raising turn of events, Scallywag went on to claim third place in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge, with Wild Oats XI coming home first for the ninth time in her highly decorated career.

David Witt, skipper of Scallywag , later explained the close call to the Sydney Morning Herald : “I wasn't planning on going through the gap — I thought the maritime boat would back up, it's supposed to get out of the way. We spun the roulette wheel and came up with zero. [We were] very, very lucky.”

Recently purchased by Seng Huang Lee, Scallywag is competing at the Australian regatta for the third year running. Having finished third in 2014 and second in the 2015 Sydney Hobart Race , the crew will be hoping to go one better and win the top prize this year. A must-see for anyone taking a superyacht charter in Australia , the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2016 gets underway on December 26.

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Two super maxis continue to lead the Sydney to Hobart race as storms hit fleet

Comanche heads down Sydney Harbour during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Skallywag, left, and Comanche sail close during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Sail boats enter open water after the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Competitors race to the start line to begin the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

Boats compete during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

LawConnect, left, leads the fleet during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Competitors race past spectator boasts as they begin the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

Competitors sail through Sydney Harbour to begin the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Andrea Francolini/Rolex/CYCA via AP)

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SYDNEY (AP) — The Sydney to Hobart fleet was reduced to 98 boats after overall honors contender Maritimo 52 was one of two retirements on a stormy first night of racing.

Rival super maxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect remained neck-and-neck in the early hours of Wednesday as the fleet began to pass Eden on the New South Wales south coast before heading into Bass Strait.

The two favorites for line honors were some 40 miles (65 kilometers) ahead of the nearest challengers.

Race officials confirmed Maritimo had retired overnight with rigging damage, while 50-footer Sticky pulled out with electrical issues. The retirements came after line honors contender SHK Scallywag was among the three boats of the 103 starters to pull out on the first evening after the start Tuesday in Sydney harbor.

“We’re shattered, actually,” said Maritimo crew member Peter Jones. “We were trying to work a million ways around it, but at best we were going to be at 50%.”

Jones reported a southwesterly front had come through with three hours of heavy rain and high winds.

“There was as much lightning as we’d ever seen,” Jones said.

LawConnect was the first out of the harbor. The finish line of the 628-nautical mile (720-mile, 1,170-kilometer) race is at Constitution Dock in the state capital of Hobart.

The line honors record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds was set by Comanche in 2017, after Comanche also won last year’s race . In 2022, Comanche finished at Constitution Dock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds — the second-fastest time behind its 2017 race record.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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‘Devastated’: Man overboard, more boats out of Sydney to Hobart

A total of nine vessels have been forced to retire from the Sydney to Hobart with one skipper revealing a “devastating” update.

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Nine casulties have now struck the Sydney to Hobart fleet.

It was announced on Wednesday morning two more yachts had been forced to retire as the fleet made its way along the NSW south coast.

Scallywag was the first big casualty of the race after the Hong Kong-based sailing team’s bow sprit — which carries the yachts biggest sails — broke just hours into the race.

Scallywag had been the early leader and was in a fight with Andoo Comanche and LawConnect before it was forced to abandon its campaign.

Two more vessels were forced to retire in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Sticky and Maritimo 52 pulling out.

Sticky was forced to pull out with electrical damage, while Maritimo 52 had damage to rigging.

Small yacht Rum Rebellion was hit by a burst of water between Cronulla and Wollongong sending the boat on its side.

Shane Connelly was taken overboard and was a few metres from the boat but was able to swim back to it.

“We are both well and the main thing is our systems and drills all worked well,’’ he told News Corp.

As first reported by News Corp , Arcadia on Tuesday returned to Sydney with a torn mainsail and Rum Rebellion also turned back due to an unspecified reason.

Reigning champions Andoo Comanche and LawConnect are continuing to battle for line honours as they head towards Bass Straight.

Tuesday’s retirement was a gut-punch for the Scallywag crew which had already declared the 2023 Sydney to Hobart would be its last.

News Corp reported skipper David Witt and his crew were “devastated”. The vessel has returned safely back to Sydney.

The team earlier confirmed their sad news via its social media channels.

SHK Scallywag 100 has retired from the 2023 Sydney Hobart with a broken bow sprit. The team are obviously very disappointed given the great progress we were making but thankful no one was injured & that we could safely recover. The team are making their way back to Sydney. pic.twitter.com/fuFApS3DvT — Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (@scallywaghk) December 26, 2023

The five retirements mean there are 98 entries remaining of the 103-yacht fleet that sell sail from Sydney.

Scallywag was also involved in early drama when rival Andoo Comanche flew a protest flag alleging SHK Scallywag had tacked too close as the pair exited Sydney Harbour.

Scallywag subsequently performed a 720 penalty turn to exonerate the vessel from facing a potential disqualification.

The race tracks the eastern coast of Australia southward from Sydney, crossing the Bass Strait, before continuing along the eastern coast of Tasmania and finally reaching Hobart.

Widely considered one of the most challenging yacht races in the world, teams competing in this year’s event — the 78th edition — also risk facing thunderstorms, hail and gale-force winds through the race.

The Bureau of Meteorology, whose representatives briefed the competitors ahead of the race, said there was a high degree of uncertainty for the forecasts over coming days.

With the Bass Strait crossing often the hardest part of the race, teams can expect a larger southwest swell and strong winds.

“This year there is easterly winds and easterly swell forecast, as well as thunderstorms, which will make conditions challenging on Tuesday and Wednesday. These conditions are forecast to ease from later Wednesday,” the bureau said.

Some 113 vessels will be competing in this year’s event.

The record for the race was set in 2017 by LDV Comanche, a 100ft maxi yacht, which completed the event in just over 33 hours.

RETIREMENTS IN THE 2023 SYDNEY TO HOBART

Arcadia – Retired – mainsail damage

Currawong (TH) – Retired – electrical issues

Maritimo 52 – Retired – rigging damage

Pacman (TH) – Retired – runner damage

Rum Rebellion (TH) – Retired – minor injury

SHK Scallywag – Retired – broken bowsprit

Sticky – Retired – electrical damage

Georgia Express – rigging issues

Millennium Falcon - Retired - crew illness

Tumbleweed (TH) - Retired - crew illness

Luna Blue - Retired - damaged equipment

Australian athletes have made history at the pre-Olympics Diamond League meet, but it’s been overshadowed by a huge drama.

Patty Mills has silenced his critics with an extraordinary performance just days before the Boomers’ Olympics campaign begins.

The Australian swimming team has been dragged into a storm after an act in Paris that has rubbed some the wrong way.

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

SHK Scallywag 100

SHK Scallywag had to retire early in last year’s race with a broken bowsprit. After that, she went overseas, taking line honours in the Antigua Bermuda and Transatlantic races. She missed the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart; her new keel was not ready, and the crew was preoccupied with the VOR. The previous year, David Witt skippered Seng Huang Lee’s boat to third on line, and was one of a trio to break Wild Oats XI’s 2012 race record. She finished monohull second on line to Rambler 88 in August’s Rolex Fastnet Race.

Seng Huang Lee bought the former Ragamuffin from Syd Fischer in 2016, making mods before breaking the Groupama Race monohull record that September for second overall. She then smashed Beau Geste’s (TP52) Hong Kong to Hainan record. As Ragamuffin, she contested her first Hobart in 2014, finishing third on line, then second on line in 2015. In the lead-up, she took line honours and broke the Hong Kong Vietnam Race record Fischer set with Ragamuffin 90 in 2013. The hull of this yacht was designed by Andy Dovell with input from Fischer and Witt, but her modified deck came from Investec Loyal, which Fischer purchased from Anthony Bell and raced to Hobart in 2012 and 2013.

Competitor Details

OFFICIAL ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART MERCHANDISE

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

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