Australian maxi Alfa Romeo was ahead by about 8km as it led the Sydney-Hobart fleet into the notoriously rough Bass Strait yesterday, where strong winds were expected to slow the fleet.
After a chaotic start, Sydney-based New Zealand businessman Neville Crichton's state-of-the-art Alfa Romeo led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour on Thursday for the grueling 630 nautical mile (1,1167km) race south down Australia's east coast.
Just over a day later the carbon fibre Alfa Romeo had traveled about 443km and led British super maxi Canon Leopard by about 8km miles as they entered Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and the island state of Tasmania.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Crichton's sleek gray Alfa Romeo and Canon Leopard were followed into Bass Strait by maxi Australian Skandia Wild Thing and Swedish maxi Nicorette, the winner of the 2000 Sydney-Hobart.
Nicorette lost considerable time when bowman Mitch White hit his head and was knocked unconscious while working on the boat's mast. Race officials said White was not seriously hurt.
There was some doubt later on yesterday about the position of Canon Leopard, which at 29.5m is the biggest boat in the 55-strong fleet. British businessman Mike Slade told race officials his boat was about 8km behind Alfa Romeo but a mid-afternoon radio position report had Canon Leopard as far back as fourth.
Race spokesman Peter Campbell said the discrepancy was likely because Canon Leopard had separated from the lead boats and was sailing close to the rhumb line, the straightest route from the start to finish, while the other boats were at least 80km east further out to sea.
Campbell said the lead boats were sailing under spinnaker in northeasterly winds of up to 14 knots.
The fleet had been reaching in easterly winds for almost a day, wiping out any chance of a challenge to the race record of one day, 19 hours, 48 minutes and two seconds set by Danish flyer Nokia in 1999.
A southerly change had been forecast for later yesterday and today, making for a potentially difficult crossing of Bass Strait, but Campbell said by telephone from Hobart there was no sign yet of the change arriving.
The first boats were expected to finish either late today or early tomorrow, Campbell said.
Fifty-seven boats started in heavy rain, mist and poor visibility on Thursday but that number was quickly reduced when two yachts were badly damaged in separate collisions. Australian 13m yacht Valheru was left with a gaping hole and almost sank after it was hit by joint French-Australian entrant Peugeot Racing.
A Valheru crewman was thrown overboard in the collision but was quickly rescued unhurt.
Australia's Trump Card also pulled out with a holed stern after it was hit by Sydney boat Loki seconds after the start. A Trump Card crewman was also rescued unhurt after he was knocked overboard in that collision.
The starting fleet was the smallest since 1973, mainly due to increased insurance costs imposed after six sailors died when freak storms hit the 1998 race.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS