Defending champion LawConnect has taken out back-to-back line honours victories in a tragedy-stricken Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
The supermaxi, skippered by tech millionaire Christian Beck, powered up the River Derwent for an overnight finish a little after 2:30am on Saturday.
It had a finish time of 1 day, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds, about 20 nautical miles (37km) ahead of its nearest competitor, Celestial V70.
Claps and applause greeted the crew of LawConnect as it arrived in port at Hobart but missing this year was the onboard revelry.
Crew member Tony Mutter said celebrations would be held privately out of respect to the two competitors who died on rival boats on day one.
Crowds gather to watch LawConnect pull into port at Hobart after taking out line honours. (ABC News: Lucy Bain)
Mutter said the crew were informed of the deaths on the morning of day two after a busy night.
“I didn’t actually hear it on the first night. I heard it in the early hours of the next morning,” he said.
“We were pretty busy. We were 100 per cent focused on the race.
“Our navigator knew, and he had to just pick the right moment to let us know.”
Mutter said the crew became “more sombre” after being told about the deaths.
“We were absolutely surprised and just felt for the other competitors,” he said.
Beck was missing from the end-of-race press conference, with Mutter saying the skipper had suspected food poisoning and had made a dash to his Hobart hotel.
LawConnect sails up the River Derwent at Hobart minutes from the end, about 2:30am on Saturday. (Supplied: CYCA)
Line honours goes to the first yacht across the finish line — usually one of the large and fast supermaxi-class yachts — and is distinct from the overall victory, which is a handicap-adjusted finish time that accounts for different yacht sizes.
LawConnect has repeated its victory from 2023, although with a less-thrilling finish, as there were no real challengers to the supermaxi on the final stretch down the river.
LawConnect at the start of the race on Boxing Day. (AAP: Mark Evans )
Last year, Andoo Comanche and LawConnect were neck and neck, trading the leading spot until LawConnect crossed first, just 51 seconds ahead.
Now badged Master Lock Comanche, the rival supermaxi and race record holder retired from this year’s race on day two after suffering damage to its mainsail.
Only one crew member on Beck’s LawConnect has changed since the team’s 2023 win.
Of the 104 starters, 28 yachts have retired in this year’s race so far, amid strong winds on the first day.
Mutter, on his 11th Sydney to Hobart, said it was “probably the roughest race I’ve done”.
“But we came through OK and didn’t break too much stuff — people have got a few bumps and bruises,” he said.
Master Lock Comanche had to retire on day two after damage to its mainsail. (Getty Images: Brendon Thorne)
Two competitors die on first day
This year’s race has been marked by the deaths of two competitors in separate incidents on day one.
West Australian Roy Quaden, 55, died onboard Flying Fish Arctos, after being hit by the yacht’s sailing boom.
An ambulance attends Flying Fish Arctos after it retired and pulled into Jervis Bay, NSW. (ABC News)
While 65-year-old South Australian Nick Smith, who was competing in his fifth Sydney to Hobart race, died on boat Bowline.
It was initially suspected Mr Smith had died in the same way, but Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) vice-commodore David Jacobs on Friday said he had actually been hit by the yacht’s main sheet and then was thrown across the boat.
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“Unfortunately he hit his head on the winch and that’s what killed him,” he said.
Vice-commodore Jacobs said both boats had retired and were safely in harbour, with support offered to the families of Mr Quaden and Mr Smith.
Captain gets washed overboard
Captain Luke Watkins spent about 45 minutes in the sea before being rescued. (ABC News: Chris Sheedy)
Tragedy almost struck a third time when boat captain Luke Watkins was thrown off Porco Rosso in the early hours of Friday morning.
The yacht was about 50 nautical miles (92km) offshore from Green Cape, New South Wales at the time.
Watkins spent about 45 minutes in the sea after a wave threw him into the water.
The 37-year-old Tasmanian said he got dangerously close the drowning after being “pinned to the leeward side of the boat underwater”.
“I somehow managed to unclip myself from the boat when I could feel my last breath, and when I popped up above the water the boat was probably 200 metres in front of me,” he said.
Mr Watkins said his safety training kicked in and the quick-thinking crew doubled back around and saved his life.
“After about half an hour, I saw a port light, but I didn’t know which boat it was and that’s when I got my head torch out and held it up so they could see where I was,” he said.
LawConnect will be awarded the John H Illingworth Challenge Cup for its line honours win but it may be days before the overall race winner is announced.
Considered the truer mark of sailing skill, the Tattersall Cup goes to the overall winner once times are adjusted for handicap.
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