‘No breeze’: anxious wait for Syd-Hob overall contender
Ethan James |
Sam Haynes’ quest for back-to-back handicap crowns in the Sydney to Hobart could be cruelled by a windless River Derwent and an unfriendly current.
Attention has turned to the race for the overall title, after Master Lock Comanche triumphed in a dogfight with two supermaxis to win line honours for the fifth time on Sunday evening.
The handicap crown is calculated on corrected times based on factors including the size of yachts.
Gruelling upwind sailing spanning several days has forced 34 of the 128-strong starting fleet to retire with a host of problems including crew injuries, sea sickness, damage and lost life rafts.
By 10am on Monday, just six yachts had finished, with 88 at sea – the majority off the northeast tip of Tasmania. Eight are scheduled to finish on Monday.
Haynes, a veterinarian by day, skippered Celestial V70 to handicap success in 2024 and crossed the finish line on the 70-footer just before sunrise at 5.14am.
Celestial V70 is down the pecking order for overall honours on estimated times but remains a chance, depending on how quickly other yachts can finish.
“A lot of those boats are a long way away. I’m sort of expecting someone else to take it,” Haynes said.
After Comanche powered across the finish line in strong winds, Haynes said his crew was confronted with a frustratingly low two knots in a “died up” River Derwent.
“We couldn’t cross the line because there was no breeze right there and then the current was taking us away,” he said.
“We were just going all over the place trying to find (some) wind that was coming from all different angles and places.”
Haynes, who splashed out on a new sail wardrobe after last year’s storms caused significant damage, said conditions were really difficult and the race had a bit of everything.
“The NSW coast was really uncomfortable. It took so long to get across Bass Strait, there’s no cover out there and the wind was coming almost due south,” he said.
Winds have since changed direction and are giving the remaining fleet a push down to Hobart.
Comanche skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo hailed the line honours victory as redemption after they were forced to retire while leading in 2024 with mainsail damage.
The 100ft yacht, built in 2014, had been locked in the three-way tussle with last year’s winner LawConnect and Hong Kong-owned SHK Scallywag 100 off Tasmania’s east coast.
Comanche’s finishing time of two days, five hours, three minutes and 36 seconds was well short of the race record it set in 2017.
AAP
