Supermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
Just over 27 hours into the race that began on Friday in Sydney Harbour and is to end on the island state of Tasmania, Comanche had a 4 nautical mile (7.4km) lead over LawConnect.
LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo.
Photo: AFP / Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
“We had a few things slow us down and Comanche’s obviously done quite well,” LawConnect skipper Christian Beck said yesterday. “It’s mildly disappointing for us, but you win some, lose some. Everything’s good, we’re still in the hunt.”
With more than half the race completed, Hong Kong yacht SHK Scallywag 100 was third, followed closely by 88-footer Lucky, a New York Yacht Club entry skippered by Bryon Ehrhart.
The leading yachts were in Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania. They are likely to finish at Constitution Dock in Hobart late this afternoon under current weather and wind projections — more than two days after the start and well outside the race record.
Photo: AP
The race lost its first supermaxi when Wild Thing 100 retired. All crew members were safe as Wild Thing began the journey back to Sydney after reporting rigging damage.
Skipper Robert Large aboard his yacht Inukshuk was also among the 11 retirements after becoming entangled in a fishing net.
“We couldn’t move. It took us probably 45 minutes to clear the thing,” Large said.
After finally pulling the net off, Large was concerned his boat might have sustained rudder damage, which would have made it risky to continue sailing.
An Australian resident for nearly 20 years, Canadian-born Large has sailed in six previous Sydney-Hobarts.
LawConnect led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour in search of its third straight line honors win. Overnight conditions on Friday were rough on the fleet, but not as dangerous as last year, when two sailors died in storms on the first night.
On Friday, the fleet paid tribute to the people killed in the Dec. 14 terror attack by scattering rose petals off the coast of Bondi Beach off Sydney as they passed the area early in the race.
LawConnect, owned by Australian tech millionaire Beck, won last year’s event in 1 day, 13 hours, 35 minutes, 13 seconds for the 628 nautical mile race.
The race record set by LDV Comanche — 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds — has stood since 2017 and only comes under threat in very strong downwind conditions.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Fulham on Monday climbed away from the English Premier League relegation zone and left Nottingham Forest mired in the fight for survival after Raul Jimenez’s penalty sealed a 1-0 win. Marco Silva’s side started the day just two points above fourth-bottom Forest, but Jimenez’s first-half goal at Craven Cottage moved them 10 points clear of the bottom three. While Fulham’s relegation fears were eased heading into the Christmas schedule, Forest are just five points ahead of third-bottom West Ham United in the scrap to avoid crashing into the Championship. Forest had won six of their previous eight games in all competitions, with a
Barcelona wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal on Sunday guided the Catalan giants four points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at 10-man Villarreal. Brazil international Raphinha won and converted an early penalty, before Villarreal’s Renato Veiga was sent off before halftime for a late lunge on teenager Yamal. The 18-year-old slotted home Barca’s second midway through the second half, as Hansi Flick’s side restored their advantage on Real Madrid and won an eighth consecutive league game. Villarreal are fourth after Atletico Madrid moved ahead of them with a comfortable 3-0 win at Girona earlier. “The attitude and mentality of
RSS