Rolex Sydney Hobart champs on track for Overall Cabbage Tree Island Race title
Master Lock Comanche has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the Line Honours contenders for the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race with a clinical performance in the Cabbage Tree Island Race.
Steaming home over the last few hours, backed by a solid northeast wind, Master Lock Comanche finished the 172nm Sydney Hobart lead in race to Cabbage Tree Island (north of Port Stephens) and back in a provisional time of 14hrs 34mins 21secs.
The last 2nm was a slog with stunning – but virtually windless – conditions frustrating the famous 100 footer.
The win is the second straight race in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore that Matt Allen and James Mayo’s Maxi have taken Line Honours following last month’s Bird Island Race triumph, which is an ominous sign for their rivals ahead of the big showdown on Boxing Day.
LawConnect, with Olympic great Ian Thorpe making his offshore racing debut and skippered by Tony Mutter in the absence of owner Christian Beck, finished second, 1hr 8mins 11secs behind.
Hong Kong’s SHK Scallywag 100, owned by Seng Huang Lee and skippered by David Witt was third across the line, 27mins and 37secs behind LawConnect.
Celestial V70 was fourth across the line and is in the box seat to add the Cabbage Tree Island Race Overall title to the Overall crown they won in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart, but they may have to wait much of the day to see how the remaining fleet fares on the way back to Sydney.
Meanwhile, Thorpe has described the differences between his storied swimming career and racing aboard LawConnect, noting the Maxis false start and torn jib prior to the gun.
“(An) ocean race means something else in my sport, so ocean races are 15 kilometres or 25 kilometres, or around that distance,” Thorpe said. “It’s a little bit further today, so a little bit off on the start of an issue. It was nice to get out of the heads.
“It’s interesting. I think, you know our team that we have behind us in swimming, you don’t really see them.”
The Australian Maxi Championship continues over the next three days, concluding with eight Maxis and Mini-Maxis, headed by Master Lock Comanche, LawConnect and SHK Scallywag 100, lighting up Sydney Harbour on Tuesday in the annual SOLAS Big Boat Challenge before focus turns to the Great Race South on Boxing Day.
Visit the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore website for race updates, previews and more.
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