sydney hobart yacht race 2023 results

Yachting World

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Race winner decided by 51 seconds

• Helen Fretter
• December 27, 2023

The 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race line honours battle is settled in the final gybe after one of the closest finishes in the race’s history, with Law Connect winning ahead of long-time leader Andoo Comanche.

Law Connect has won the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race line honours, after the closest finish in over 40 years, which ended in a gybe-for-gybe battle up the Derwent River against long-time leader Andoo Comanche .

Andoo Comanche held the advantage going into the Derwent with a two-mile lead, John Winning Jr’s crew crowded onto the bow in the light early morning winds to try and lift Comanche’s 8m beamy transom, which gives the yacht the nickname the ‘aircraft carrier’.  

Law Connect followed up the Derwent River with a knot or two more breeze, and were able to close the gap some two miles from the finish line, but the waters outside Hobart were littered with glassy patches, and each boat repeatedly battled to maintain hull speed through windless holes.

After 628 miles of racing, the lead changed repeatedly in the final half hour, with Law Connect taking the advantage on the final gybe for the line to roll over the top of Andoo Comanche and cross the line ahead.  

Law Connect overtakes Andoo Comanche metres from the finish line of the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

It was an exceptional display of light winds tactical match racing, with Law Connect helmsman Tony Mutter and tactician Chris Nicholson directing Christian Beck’s team to victory, after being 2nd on three previous years . Law Connect crossed the Castray Esplanade finish line in Hobart at 08.03.58am local time after 1 day 19 hours 03 minutes 58 seconds of racing.

Beck gave a self-deprecating speech after, praising the crew for their efforts on a boat he admitted was not as fast or well-funded as their rivals. “I honestly can’t believe it. I rated it about a 25% chance we’d win, so to win was just amazing.

“An hour ago we were about 3 miles behind Comanche, so to win – I still can’t believe it.”

Law Connect (SYD 1000)a Juan K 100ft Custom design, on its way to winning the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Mixed 2023 Sydney Hobart Race

The 2023 edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart has so far seen truly mixed conditions. The Boxing Day start delivered its customary spectacle, as the three 100ft maxis led the fleet out of a packed Sydney Habour. Law Connect gave an impromptu demonstration of how to gybe a giant overlapping headsail after breaking a furling line that left them unable to tack around a turning mark, while Scallywag took penalty turns once in clear water after a port-starboard incident with Comanche shortly after the start.

Start of the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race. Photo: Rolex/Andrea Francolini

Over the first two days of racing the fleet had to contend with electrical storms, squalls and severe sea states, as well as periods of light winds, and there have been 11 retirements so far. They included another line honours hopeful, the 100ft Scallywag , which had to retire after snapping the bowsprit in the first day of racing.

Other boats retired due to rigging damage, mainsail damage, and severe seasickness caused by the unpleasant sea state.  

Most dramatically the double-handed entry Rum Rebellion retired after being knocked down and having a Man Overboard, who was safely recovered.  

Co-skipper Shane Connelly reported that they were approximately 20 miles offshore on the first evening of the race, sailing under full main and spinnaker in 6-10 knots of wind, when the wind suddenly increased to over 16 knots with a ‘ferocious’ looking storm cloud approaching from behind.  

The duo prepared to drop the spinnaker, but a micro-burst of wind hit the yacht, causing a knockdown. Connelly, who had gone forwards during the spinnaker drop, was thrown overboard but tethered, and as the boat righted was lifted back onboard. He reported after: “The safety drills and systems all worked and we could sort ourselves out”

The stormy conditions caused issues across the fleet on the first night. Aboard the Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes crew member Geoff Cropley reported this morning: “We had lightning and thunder for hours. Then there was a major wind shift which auto gybed the boat.

“The spinnaker got wrapped in the drop, along with spinnaker staysail. All the team was up and trying to untwist and get that down. It took us about 40 minutes. We were heading north-east and sailing backwards for a period of time.

“We’re now hunkered down with a reef in the main. There’s little bit of blue sky. It’s quite nice out here.”

Azzuro, an S&S 34 owned by Jack Kliner, with crew including Jessica Watson, during the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Photo: Rolex/Andrea Francolini

Meanwhile the battle for IRC overall continues. IRC 1 contender Alive , a Reichel Pugh 66 with a talent-packed crew including Gavin Brady, Stu Bannatyne and legendary Australian navigator Adrienne Cahalan, a veteran of 30 Hobart races. Close behind them on the IRC rankings is Hobart grandee, Sean Langman on the Reichel Pugh 69 Moneypenny led IRC 0, while the  S&S 34 Azzurro raced by Jessica Watson  is fastest of the small boats on the current IRC rankings.  

VIDEO : Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2023 overall winner Alive takes the cup for a second time

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Alive is the overall champion, with times adjusted for handicaps like boat length, while LawConnect won line honours for being the first yacht across the finish line.

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Alive wins overall for a second time in five years

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Published on December 30th, 2022 | by Editor

Two-Handed results for Sydney Hobart

Published on December 30th, 2022 by Editor -->

Rupert Henry and Greg O’Shea have sailed Henry’s Lombard 34 Mistral to victory in the Two-Handed Division of the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the pair also claiming the Two-Handed ORCi win and third place in the Corinthian IRC division.   Henry and O’Shea placed 29th overall in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) 628 nautical mile race, finishing with an elapsed time of 03:05:26:12 on December 29.   In the Two-Handed Division, they beat their nearest rivals, Sun Fast Racing (Lee Condell and Lincoln Dews), by more than three hours on corrected time. Peter Elkington and Scott Cavanough on Pacman were third, as Elkington battled the odds to make the start line, doing last minute jobs.   Henry had a similar problem, as he left the country to take on the single-handed Route du Rhum with his Class40 boat Eora. Unfortunately, he retired with structural failure before returning to Sydney to make final preparations for the Sydney Hobart.   At the start, life was not easy, according to Henry: “It was rough – and sailing shorthanded especially. The start is chaos. The exit from the Harbor is very hard. This time, starting on third line upwind, there was no clear air.   “We were confident in ourselves, though the boat preparation was rushed, because I was away doing the Route du Rhum,” said Henry.   “That was on my mind, especially when we had rudder troubles east of Eddystone Point (around 185 nautical miles from the finish). I thought ‘here we go’. The port rudder and bracket parted company and both are linked. So we set up a system. We jury rigged and finished.   “At one stage we thought we could get to Tasman before the southerly, but we didn’t get there, even though we went hard. On the night of the 27th, it was blowing 25 knots, but not a cloud in the sky, it was crystal clear.”   The yachtsman felt the front pattern came in too soon. “We were praying for it to come in on the night of the 28th, but it came in the afternoon. The wind was very soft on the first night. I thought we would be further down the coast on the second morning than we were.   “We had problems with our satellite connection, so couldn’t download a lot,” he said.   “I thought about my Dad out there a lot, when I was thinking to myself ‘this is too hard’ – and he’s a lot older than me,” he said of David Henry, who also sailed two-handed on Philosopher and placed 14th in the division with co-skipper, Stephen Prince.   “I got out of bed at 5am to watch him come in.”   On the good side, Henry said, “We had a great match race with Sunrise (the UK JPK 11.80 of Thomas Kneen). That was a highlight for me. We were talking to them – we were that close.”   The most demanding part of the race, “was the afternoon and night of 27th and it was the most exhilarating downwind sailing I’ve ever done. We were sailing the boat at its limit. We saw 22 knots.   “I was amazed at how nicely the boat handled. The Lombard 34s and the Jeanneau 3300s (there were four in the race) are good in big seas downwind. They are very fast for their size.”   Mistral’s skipper believes two-handed racing is a prestigious part of the event now.   “It’s a high profile race and we put together the best campaign we all can, so yes, it’s a big deal to win.”   Will they return for the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart? “I think so. And with this boat. I think I’ve been changing boats too much. The Lombard 34 is just right.”

Race details – Tracker – Results – Facebook

The 628 nm Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is the 77th edition in 2022 and had a fleet of 109 boats for the start on December 26. One hundred fifty seven teams set off in 2019, but since then the 2020 race was cancelled due to the pandemic with 88 entries in 2021.

From the start in Sydney Harbour, the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait (which divides the mainland from the island State of Tasmania), then down the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.

Source: RSHYR

Tags: Greg O’Shea , Lombard 34 , Rupert Henry , Sydney Hobart

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