who won sydney to hobart yacht race 2022

Yachting World

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Wins for Andoo Comanche and Celestial in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

• Toby Heppell
• January 3, 2023

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has concluded with a line honours win for Andoo Comanche and a win on handicap for Celestial in wild and gruelling conditions for much of the fleet

The 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race started on 26 December, its traditional Boxing Day slot and once again hundreds of thousands of people crowded the shores of Sydney Harbour, or watched from the water as well as live on television and over the internet.

The departure from the familiar setting did not disappoint. 109 yachts, comprising professionals and Corinthians, and some 20 double handed crews, set off under blue skies and bright sunshine. A 10 – 15 knot north north-easterly meant a beat out to the heads, before spinnakers were hoisted and close to 48 hours of uninterrupted downwind sailing began.

Shortly after the congested start, where the four competing 100ft (30.5m) maxis traded tacks in their concerted effort to be first into open water, John Winning Jr’s Andoo Comanche struck a mark of the course. Recognising their error, the crew performed two 360 degree turns in quick succession to purge the infringement. Failure to do so could have led to a fatal penalty at the end of the race. The pre-race favourite needed to reset and re-focus.

The start of the 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Photo: Rolex

Once in the Tasman Sea, the crew of Andoo Comanche set to work reeling in the yachts ahead and establishing a small but vital lead over their closest pursuers. Winning Jr acknowledged the determination witnessed in the battle for line honours and the J.H. Illingworth Challenge Cup.

“It is an incredible ocean race, something quite special. Equal amounts of effort will have gone into all the yachts competing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The three other 100 footers especially kept us honest, and I would like to congratulate them for an amazing competition.”

Andoo Comanche completed the course in a time of one day 11 hours 56 minutes 48 seconds, two hours outside the race record established by the same boat in 2017.

The hurdle faced by Sam Haynes’ Celestial came a year earlier and was substantial. Turning the clock back 12 months, Haynes, Vice Commodore of the event organiser, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) and a passionate sailor, admitted to being crushed by finishing second overall after a rule infringement late in the 2021 race resulted in his team being demoted from top spot.

“After last year, I was ready to walk away from the sport. Talking to my family and key people on the team, I realised it was not the right way to go. I wanted to try again, to step up to the challenge.”

As the race unfolded it was clear no crew would have a straight-forward time. The initial downwind sleighride was brutal and tiring, boats racing at speed and on the edge, with race-ending damage a split second away. For the smaller entries, there was an additional, cruel twist as the wind turned on day three forcing them to beat upwind to the southernmost point of the course at Tasman Island, slowing down their progress and effectively removing any chance of overall victory on handicap.

Andoo Comanche on the way to a line honours win. Photo: Rolex

Onboard Celestial the mindset was singular, as Haynes explains: “We had done our homework. We had done a lot of training, so we could be absolutely confident in the boat and ourselves. At our final pre-race briefing I told the crew we are going to push as fast as we possibly can because we have to do that to beat the other boats.”

The approach was not without danger, particularly in the hours of darkness: “There is always an element of extreme risk in fast offshore racing at night. It can be quite beautiful, but the second night east of Tasmania was gnarly with a big sea state and gusts of 30 – 35 knots. The boat was waist deep in water, regularly diving into waves, violently shaking, but still being driven right on its limits.”

Celestial eventually crossed the finish line late in the morning of 28 December, establishing an unbeatable lead in the standings.

Fiercely challenging, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race offers a huge sense of personal achievement to those that complete it. Winning the race on corrected time guarantees a place in sailing folklore. Open to all, only the most determined entrants can truly aspire to this pinnacle of achievements. For this edition, the last words rest with Sam Haynes:

“To win a race like this is a massive, life changing achievement. It is a very hard trophy to win. However good you are there are a lot of reasons why you might not succeed. To finally hold the Tattersall Cup means everything.”

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Andoo Comanche outlasts LawConnect to win Sydney to Hobart line honours

• Finish time less than three hours off race record set in 2017
• Black Jack crosses third, Hamilton Island Wild Oats fourth

Andoo Comanche has claimed line honours in the Sydney to Hobart for the fourth time, marking a triumphant return for the supermaxi after a brief hiatus.

The 100-foot yacht crossed the River Derwent finish line shortly before 1am (AEDT) on Wednesday with a time of one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.

Andoo Comanche, which had not sailed the 628-nautical mile bluewater classic since tasting success in 2019, has now claimed line honours in four of the past seven races.

She held off a strong challenge in darkness down the River Derwent from LawConnect, which finished about 27 minutes later.

Last year’s line honours victor, Black Jack, was third, while nine-time winner, Hamilton Island Wild Oats, finished in fourth place.

Andoo Comanche skipper John Winning Jr was joined on the crossing by his father, who had competed in the Sydney to Hobart race back in the 1970s.

“It’s pretty emotional. These are the types of things that you look back on and say you’re glad you got those opportunities,” Winning Jr said. “He’s a big golfer and I hate golf, so it’s the only sport we can do together.”

Winning Jr dedicated the victory to “dear friend” Matt Munting, who helped him set up his extreme sports venture Andoo X.

Andoo Comanche set the pace down Australia’s east coast despite a poor start on Boxing Day.

Winning Jr said his crew had to navigate some “hairy” moments in the early stages, made more difficult by spectator zones that narrowed the course. The supermaxi also hit a 10-foot log early in the race, suffering a chip to her rudder.

Winning Jr said he was worried about the winds dying in the notoriously fickle River Derwent. “[Winning the race] didn’t feel real until the last minute. It means a hell of a lot,” he said.

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Andoo Comanche, the pre-race favourite, was at one stage on track to break the line-honours record time – one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds – she set in 2017 but ultimately missed out by almost three hours.

She is the first yacht to take out Sydney to Hobart line honours under three different owners or skippers.

Andoo Comanche was one of two supermaxis forced to take penalty turns during a dramatic start to the race in Sydney on Monday. The overall race winner, decided on handicap, will be decided in the coming days.

Just three yachts have so far retired from the starting fleet of 109, a far cry from 2021’s race when 36 boats pulled the pin across the first two days in rough weather. The Sydney to Hobart was not held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Sydney to Hobart yacht race
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Celestial crowned overall winner of Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Celestial skipper and owner sam haynes said he wasn't expecting to claim the title, labelling the feat a "lifetime achievement"..

Celestial skipper Sam Haynes says he is pleasantly surprised to win the title, adding that his goal had been to be "competitive" and deliver the best result possible. Source: Getty / Brett Hemmings

• Celestial has been named the overall winner in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
• Skipper Sam Haynes says the win is particularly special after the yacht's experience last year.
• Rough seas have forced more vessels to retire.

Redemption after heartache in 2021

Rough seas force more vessels to retire

Race record in sight for leaders in Sydney to Hobart yacht race

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It was never going to be anything but emotionally charged when Sam Haynes and his Celestial crew were crowned overall winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Haynes and some of the same crew lost the race win last year after being penalised for an infraction of the rules, but accepted second place gracefully.

On winning the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile race, Haynes said, “I’m screaming loud and proud. It means everything, everything, especially after last year. We put together a program targeting this race.

“It’s like an elation – it’s huge for me and the crew. I can’t believe it; it’s a bit of a life changer,” an excited Haynes said.

“This boat is a weapon. It’s up there with the best 52 foot IRC boats in the world.

“It was hard waiting (to be told one way or the other). It was extremely difficult waiting. We couldn’t really enjoy the experience until now. I’m so proud of the whole background – our program – and to sail against the best IRC fleet I’ve sailed in, ever.

“It was an outpouring of emotion when we finally got the result. We are so proud of our team.”

This year, the competition was stiffer than ever with two top international TP52s in Caro, the Max Klink-skippered 2021-launched TP52, and Chris Sheehan’s Warrior Won from the US. Those two finished third and fourth respectively, behind Haynes’ TP52.

The Aussie competition was hot too, especially Gweilo, which has been sailing up a storm these past two seasons. Matt Donald and Chris Townsend’s boat ultimately placed second overall. In all, there were a record 12 TP52s in the race playing cat and mouse, not to mention the rest of the field.

Maybe it was the competition from these TP52s driving each other hard, maybe it was the need to avenge what he lost last year, but Haynes was at the top of the leaderboard for the overall win from the moment the fleet of 109 left Sydney Heads, pointing south to Hobart.

“I knew they (Warrior Won, Caro and Gweilo) were all over us at the top of the division. It was ‘their turn our turn’ in areas of the current,” he said.

“Warrior Won and us were close together for so long – 4 nautical miles separated us at some points – we could see each other. We were match racing the whole way before we got to Tasman Island.”

Haynes acknowledged the TP52s, “it was a great fleet of them, pushing each other the whole time.”

The Sydney sailor spoke of his passion for the sport of sailing: “Being involved in sailing, in ocean racing and to win the race for the Tattersall Cup is the ultimate. I’m from Sydney, where I am Vice Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and I have a close relationship with them and our sponsor, Rolex.

“I nearly gave it all away last year though…. then I went and did some racing overseas on my J/70 and came back and discussed it with the crew and we decided to give it another go.”

On his crew, Haynes said, “I can’t speak more highly of them. This time Rob Greenhalgh (a British sailor) and Josh Junior (New Zealand) joined us,” he said of the highly respected yachtsmen. “Lindsay Stead, Luke Payne and Frank O’Leary were good new additions this year too.”

Those who were on Celestial last year and joined Haynes, a Sydney veterinarian, again this year, were: David Chapman, Wulf Wilkens, Callum Cecil, Lewis Brake, Harry West, James Dagge, Jack Macartney, Malcolm Parker and Tasmanian yachtsman, Troy Grafton.

After docking in Hobart yesterday, Haynes said while he waited for confirmation of his win, “we’ll do the usual,” which is to pay a visit to Customs House Hotel, when every yachtie worth their salt goes. “And I’ll do lots of tracker watching,” he said, with a laugh.

He will have worn out the refresh button waiting.

Haynes has an illustrious association with this race and other majors at the CYCA. In 2018, he sailed his former Celestial, to 17th overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart (second best placed TP52 to Ichi Ban), to finish the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (BWPS) second to Ichi Ban.

In 2017, he placed ninth overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart to be runner-up in the BWPS. In 2016, he was 16th for a divisional third, and in 2015 placed 29th for divisional third.

Before that, with his Rogers 46, also named Celestial, Haynes was second in the 2012 BWPS and won all three (IRC/ORCi/PHS) crowns in the 2014 BWPS – one of the closest on record – including winning the 2014 Sydney Gold Coast race. He placed 11th overall for second in Division 2 in the 2014 Hobart, following on from third overall in the 2013 race.

These impressive results and persistence have culminated in winning the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

• Rolex Sydney Hobart

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Australian supermaxi Andoo Comanche secured a fourth line honours victory in the gruelling Sydney-Hobart ocean race Wednesday, but fell short of setting a new course record.

The 100-foot yacht, skippered by John Winning Jnr, triumphed in a nail-biting finish in the early hours of Wednesday after leading the blue water classic for much of the race.

It completed a quartet of line honours wins for the boat in the prestigious event since 2015 under a third different owner.

Andoo Comanche crossed with a time of one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds -- about 20 minutes in front of rival supermaxi Law Connect -- and just under three hours short of its own record.

The current race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds was set by the same Comanche boat under a different skipper in 2017.

Winning Jnr was part of the team that won the event in 2016, but said it was something special to skipper his own crew.

“To do it in a campaign that I was part of putting together is really quite exceptional,” he told national broadcaster ABC.

Last year’s defending champion Black Jack crossed third, followed by Wild Oats, which fell behind after tearing one of its sails earlier in the race.

The 109-strong racing fleet set off from a sun-splashed Sydney Harbour on Monday afternoon, charting their way through the 628-nautical mile course (1163km) to Hobart.

Favourable weather early in the race raised the prospect of toppling that mark, but the strong winds faded as the boats barrelled towards the finish line in Hobart.

The Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from the mainland, can unleash perilous conditions.

A deep depression proved catastrophic for the fleet in 1998, when six sailors were killed and 55 more were rescued after five boats sank.

Race officials on Tuesday evening said only three of the starting fleet had been forced to retire so far.

One of them, 40-foot yacht Yeah Baby, withdrew less than four hours into the race after reportedly colliding with a massive sunfish.

Dozens of smaller yachts were still in the water Wednesday morning, competing for the handicap prize, which compensates for boat size.

READ BELOW FOR A FULL WRAP OF ALL THE ACTION FROM THE RACE!

Comanche held a consistent lead of 20 nautical miles throughout the afternoon as it moved towards the Derwent with LawConnect telling the Nine papers they expect to arrive at Constitution Dock in Hobart at around 2am AEDT.

As darkness neared, Wild Oats XI fell back into fourth having suffered sail damage overnight while reigning line honours winner Black Jack was third, some five nautical miles behind LawConnect.

FOLLOW THE LIVE RACE TRACKER HERE

Comanche led the fleet into Bass Strait in the early morning, but slipping well behind LDV Comanche’s race record from 2017. Three of the four supermaxis (100-plus-footers) ran well east of the rhumbline to take advantage of marginally stronger winds, before turning back towards the coast of Tasmania around midday.

There were two retirements on the first day, with two-hander Avalanche the first to pull back to shore with a damaged bowsprit after a collision with Llama II just outside the Sydney Heads. Llama II escaped with only superficial damage.

Yeah Baby then retired in the evening after sustaining rudder damage near Wollongong due to a collision with a sunfish, but returned safely to Sydney.

Koa then became the third retirement after breaking her rudder, and is set to be towed to Eden on the NSW south coast, leaving 106 yachts still in the race. Enterprise Next Generation put in a request for redress after helping their stricken rival.

WILD OATS COPS DAMAGE OVERNIGHT

Hamilton Island Wild Oats came within 0.3 nautical miles of Black Jack around 2am overnight in the hunt for third position, before Black Jack surged in the early morning.

The pair traded positions throughout the day, with Wild Oats taking a line significantly closer to rhumbline.

It followed a wild start where both Comanche and Wild Oats were forced to take penalty turns following a series of near-misses in Sydney Harbour (more below).

Wild Oats - hunting a record tenth line honours win - then suffered damage to one of their two largest sails overnight.

Their veteran crewman Chris Links told NewsLocal a seam across one of their large downwind sails split, requiring running repairs on deck.

“It is not an easy job,’’ Links said.

“It has a cable in it and we had to do the repair on deck.

“It took around one and a half hours to repair.’’

LIVE STREAM

Watch live on-board action from LawConnect below.

WILD START CAUSES CHAOS

“Protest, get the flag up, that was f***ing bull***t,” someone yelled on Andoo Comanche in the first two minutes after being cut off by rival supermaxis LawConnect and Black Jack.

URM and LawConnect were also “inches” away from crashing into each other, according to URM skipper Ashley-Jones.

Less than a minute later, one of the crew was heard barking: “you’re asking for a clusterf***, we’re going to be in a collision,” and labelled one rival a “f***ing idiot”.

Comanche hit a turning mark as it exited the heads and was later spotted flying a protest flag of their own, after another boat protested them.

On Wild Oats, which took two penalty turns, skipper Mark Richards could be heard yelling “furl, furl, we are going to do a 720 (penalty turn)”.

Wild Oats famously lost the win in 2017 upon arrival in Hobart, after being handed a one-hour penalty for a rule breach over an incident with Comanche.

That race saw the record time set, with 2022’s Comanche roughly eight nautical miles behind the 2017 edition’s pace late on Monday night and falling further back overnight.

EARLY RACE UPDATES AND PREVIEW (via AFP)

More than 100 yachts set sail Monday on the Sydney-Hobart race as favourable winds raised hopes for a record time in one of the world’s most punishing ocean events.

Fans gathered at coastal vantage points and on spectator boats in a sun-splashed Sydney Harbour, which hours earlier had been shrouded in a thick fog that halted all ferry traffic.

The starting cannon fired to release 109 yachts on the 628-nautical mile (1,200-kilometre) blue water classic.

Crews dashed to get out of the city’s harbour on the first leg of the race down Australia’s eastern coast and across the treacherous Bass Strait towards the finish line in the Tasmanian state capital.

A final weather briefing on race day predicted “fresh to strong” north to northeasterly winds in the next day or so, giving the fastest, 100-foot supermaxi yachts a chance to challenge Comanche’s 2017 record of one day, 9 hours, 15min and 24sec.

Mark Richards, skipper of nine-time line honours-winning supermaxi Wild Oats, said his crew was buoyant after preparing for exactly these conditions.

“We put all our eggs in one basket and we put all our money on black for a downwind forecast and we have ended up getting it,” he told public broadcaster ABC.

“I think Wild Oats is going to be very fast,” Richards added. “The world is going to find out who is the fastest boat downwind.”

Wild Oats is competing for line honours against three rival supermaxis: Andoo Comanche, last year’s line honours winner Black Jack, and LawConnect.

Weather is a critical factor in the race, which was first held in 1945. Though the supermaxis are expected to be powered by northerly winds to a quick finish as early as Tuesday, slower mid- to small-sized boats will still be in the water in the following days facing possible gales and changes in wind direction.

In 1998, when a deep depression exploded over the fleet in the Bass Strait, six men died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued.

Black Jack took line honours last year after a tight tussle with LawConnect, ending years of frustrating near misses to cross the finish line on the River Derwent after two days, 12 hours, 37min and 17sec.

Ichi Ban, which is not racing this year, was the 2021 winner of the overall handicap prize, which takes into account the yachts’ sizes. The boat pipped rival Celestial in a race where dangerous waves and weather conditions saw many withdraw.

International boats are making a return after the race was cancelled in 2020 for the first time due to the pandemic, and Covid hit the fleet last year.

Entrants come from Germany (Orione), Hong Kong (Antipodes), Hungary (Cassiopeia 68), New Caledonia (Eye Candy and Poulpito), New Zealand (Caro), Britain (Sunrise) and the United States (Warrior Won).

Sunrise is a proven ocean racer, winning the 2021 Fastnet Race in Britain, while Caro has been tipped to take out overall handicap honours, although skipper Max Klink played down his prospects ahead of the race saying: “I do not think we are the favourite.”

Published on December 29th, 2022 | by Editor

Celestial wins Sydney Hobart 2022

Published on December 29th, 2022 by Editor -->

Hobart, Australia (December 29, 2022) – It was never going to be anything but emotionally charged when Sam Haynes and his Celestial crew were crowned overall winners of the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Haynes and some of the same crew lost the race win last year after being penalized for an infraction of the rules, but accepted second place gracefully.   On winning the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile race, Haynes said, “I’m screaming loud and proud. It means everything, everything, especially after last year. We put together a program targeting this race.   “It’s like an elation – it’s huge for me and the crew. I can’t believe it; it’s a bit of a life changer,” an excited Haynes said.   “This boat is a weapon. It’s up there with the best 52 foot IRC boats in the world.   “It was hard waiting (to be told one way or the other). It was extremely difficult waiting. We couldn’t really enjoy the experience until now. I’m so proud of the whole background – our program – and to sail against the best IRC fleet I’ve sailed in, ever.   “It was an outpouring of emotion when we finally got the result. We are so proud of our team.”   This year, the competition was stiffer than ever with two top international TP52s in Caro, the Max Klink-skippered 2021-launched TP52, and Chris Sheehan’s Warrior Won from the US. Those two finished third and fourth respectively, behind Haynes’ TP52.   The Aussie competition was hot too, especially Gweilo, which has been sailing up a storm these past two seasons. Matt Donald and Chris Townsend’s boat ultimately placed second overall. In all, there were a record 12 TP52s in the race playing cat and mouse, not to mention the rest of the field.   Maybe it was the competition from these TP52s driving each other hard, maybe it was the need to avenge what he lost last year, but Haynes was at the top of the leaderboard for the overall win from the moment the fleet of 109 left Sydney Heads, pointing south to Hobart.   “I knew they (Warrior Won, Caro, and Gweilo) were all over us at the top of the division. It was ‘their turn our turn’ in areas of the current,” he said.

“Warrior Won and us were close together for so long – 4 nautical miles separated us at some points – we could see each other. We were match racing the whole way before we got to Tasman Island.”   Haynes acknowledged the TP52s, “it was a great fleet of them, pushing each other the whole time.”   The Sydney sailor spoke of his passion for the sport of sailing: “Being involved in sailing, in ocean racing and to win the race for the Tattersall Cup is the ultimate. I’m from Sydney, where I am Vice Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and I have a close relationship with them and our sponsor, Rolex.   “I nearly gave it all away last year though…. then I went and did some racing overseas on my J/70 and came back and discussed it with the crew and we decided to give it another go.”   On his crew, Haynes said, “I can’t speak more highly of them. This time Rob Greenhalgh (a British sailor) and Josh Junior (New Zealand) joined us,” he said of the highly respected yachtsmen. “Lindsay Stead, Luke Payne and Frank O’Leary were good new additions this year too.”   Those who were on Celestial last year and joined Haynes, a Sydney veterinarian, again this year, were: David Chapman, Wulf Wilkens, Callum Cecil, Lewis Brake, Harry West, James Dagge, Jack Macartney, Malcolm Parker, and Tasmanian yachtsman Troy Grafton.   After docking in Hobart yesterday, Haynes said while he waited for confirmation of his win, “we’ll do the usual,” which is to pay a visit to Customs House Hotel, when every yachtie worth their salt goes. “And I’ll do lots of tracker watching,” he said, with a laugh.   He will have worn out the refresh button waiting.   Haynes has an illustrious association with this race and other majors at the CYCA. In 2018, he sailed his former Celestial, to 17th overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart (second best placed TP52 to Ichi Ban), to finish the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (BWPS) second to Ichi Ban.   In 2017, he placed ninth overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart to be runner-up in the BWPS. In 2016, he was 16th for a divisional third, and in 2015 placed 29th for divisional third.   Before that, with his Rogers 46, also named Celestial, Haynes was second in the 2012 BWPS and won all three (IRC/ORCi/PHS) crowns in the 2014 BWPS – one of the closest on record – including winning the 2014 Sydney Gold Coast race. He placed 11th overall for second in Division 2 in the 2014 Hobart, following on from third overall in the 2013 race.   Race details – Standings – Tracker – Facebook

The 628 nm Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is the 77th edition in 2022 and had a fleet of 109 boats for the start on December 26. One hundred fifty seven teams set off in 2019, but since then the 2020 race was cancelled due to the pandemic with 88 entries in 2021.

From the start in Sydney Harbour, the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait (which divides the mainland from the island State of Tasmania), then down the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.

Source: RSHYR

Tags: Celestial , Sam Haynes , Sydney Hobart , TP52

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

Andoo Comanche wins Line Honours in 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart

• 28 Dec, 2022 12:40:00 AM

Andoo Comanche has taken Line Honours in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The 100-ft maxi, skippered by John Winning Jr, crossed the line in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.

This is a fourth Line Honours win for the boat, a Verdier/VPLP design, under a third different owner.

She first won as  Comanche  in 2015 for Jim and Kristy Clark. 

The 2017 Line Honours win as  LDV Comanche,  when owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, was achieved in a time of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, which still stands as the race record. 

Cooney and Grant also won Line Honours with  Comanche in the 75th anniversary race in 2019.

More to follow.

Congratulations to all the divisional winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

PHOTOS | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

PHOTOS | Day 5 Morning - Tasman Island and Storm Bay

PHOTOS | Day 5 and Day 6 finishers

PHOTOS | Official Presentation of Tattersall Cup and Rolex Timepiece to the Overall Winner

2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - A Race for the Ages

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Rolex Daily Video Summary

VIDEO | Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

VIDEO | Race Update - 31 December Morning

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 10

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 9

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 8

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 7

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 6

• Line Honours

Full Standings available approximately three hours after the start.

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Race is on to win 2024 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race

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Race is on to win 2024 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race

Over 30 boats will be on the start line for the 2024 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race this Friday when monohulls, a multihull and two-handed entries will share the start line off Barrenjoey Headland for the 1pm start.  

Respected sailor, Theresa Michell, has joined forces with Paul Beath and his J/99, Verite, for their first major two-handed race together. Newcomers to the Pittwater Coffs, Beath did the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart in two-handed mode with another co-skipper. He and Michell’s first two-handed training session was a four-day return trip from Hobart.

“It was all upwind. Not particularly pleasant,” Beath remembered. “One of the reasons she is doing this race with me is because she sailed with me fully crewed in the Sydney Gold Coast race and the rest of the Blue Water Pointscore last year and we get on well.

“And this race is at a nice time of year,” the Novocastrian said of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s (RPAYC) 226 nautical mile race.

Although she halted racing at the end of the 1990s to raise a family, Michell’s credentials are outstanding in both two-handed and fully-crewed sailing, as a skipper, navigator and crew.

She contested the 5500 nautical mile two-handed Melbourne to Osaka race in 1999 on an Adams 10 that she also skippered in the 1998 Double-Handed Trans-Tasman Challenge from Sydney to New Plymouth in New Zealand. She has sailed on the international scene, done Sydney Hobarts and sailed an Olympic class dinghy.

“This is a new team in a new race and we think it’s a good distance. We’ll get our systems together and get organised,” Beath commented.

“It will be a demanding race because of the currents and fluctuating conditions.”

The pair are expected to be competitive against all-comers, including other two-handed entries such as Chris O’Neill, who returns with Blue Planet after finishing the race seventh overall last year.

“We also won PHS and were second in ORC – and these results were exactly the same in the two-handed division,” he said.

This time he will be co-skippered by Tom Johnston, who helped him to sixth in the two-handed division of the 2023 Sydney Hobart.

“It’s a fun race and a good location in Coffs, it’s not too strenuous and importantly, there’s been sufficient time between this race and the Sydney Hobart – I’ve forgotten all the pain,” O’Neill said wryly.

Among the latest fully crewed entries for the 38 th  ‘Pittwater to Coffs’ is David Griffith’s record breaking JV62 Whisper, which will likely battle Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72, Antipodes, for line honours. Whisper is also a favourite for the overall win, but due to the many weather vagaries at this time of year, the race really is wide open in all classifications.

On his quarry, Whisper’s owner says: “With her long waterline length, if Antipodes gets reaching conditions, she is quick, she will take off. We’re in pretty good shape though and the boat’s in perfect order.”

Griffith says his crew will also hold them in good stead. Among them are Rear Admiral Lee Goddard, Michael Coxon, Dougie McGain, Michael Fountain and Brett Van Munster. 

“Either way, it’s a wonderful race and the Alfreds do a great job,” Griffith said. “Everyone loves a destination race and Coffs Harbour is a great destination with lots to do.”

Others chasing overall glory are regular DK46 rivals Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson/Rob Aldis) and LCE Old School Racing (Mark Griffith). At the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta in early March, the latter placed second in the Open division on home turf, while Griffith’s boat, from RPAYC, was second. Another DK46, Nine Dragons, was declared the winner. 

Pierre Gal has entered the Asia catamaran Stealth 12.60 named Fez. The French expat, who lives on the NSW north coast, is a name locally and internationally, competing in the America’s Cup for France and has Australian victories too.

Incidentally, Gal won Division 4 of the 2019 Sydney Gold Coast race with Mistral, the same Lombard 34 that won the 2023 Pittwater Coffs race for two-handed sailors, Rupert Henry and Greg O’Shea last year.

Follow the fleet on the race tracker at:  https://yb.tl/pittwater2024

For all information go to:  www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au

Di Pearson/RPAYC media

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Sydney Hobart 2024 Start

Sydney Hobart 2024 Start . The first t20 between australia and the west indies will begin at 7:00pm aedt on friday, february 9 at blundstone. Photos | 2023 rolex sydney hobart official prizegiving;

Rolex sydney hobart yacht race. The 2022 rolex sydney hobart yacht race got off to a fast and dramatic start today.

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March 12Th, 2024 6:26 Pm Tasmanian Labor Leader Rebecca White Has Left The Door Open To Build The Macquarie Point Stadium If Elected, But Believes The 19Th Afl.

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Tasmanian Labor open to improved AFL infrastructure, and maybe even a stadium – but with a key catch

Analysis Tasmanian Labor open to improved AFL infrastructure, and maybe even a stadium – but with a key catch

Just days out from the official launch of Tasmania's AFL team, a somewhat surprising attendee emerged.

Labor leader Rebecca White confirmed she has a ticket, she plans to attend, and is "very excited" about it as a football fan from a football family.

Meanwhile, Premier Jeremy Rockliff won't be there, and has encouraged his Liberal colleagues to avoid the event to keep the politics out of it.

But the politics around the Macquarie Point stadium – baked into the AFL deal – will be the elephant in the room.

"I would just say how disappointing it is that we've been having a debate about a stadium, when we should have this week been so excited about the fact the team launches very soon," Ms White said.

In a leader's debate on Tuesday, Ms White was pushed on her promise to renegotiate the deal with the AFL, which has flatly said it's not up for renegotiation .

Part of the deal, however, gives a hint at where Ms White might be coming from.

In its first season – 2028 – the Tasmanian team will play its home games at the existing Bellerive Oval in Hobart and York Park in Launceston, while Macquarie Point stadium is, presumedly, being built.

For every season after that, the Tasmanian government must pay the club $4.5 million if the stadium isn't ready.

Ms White said this acknowledgement is important.

"The agreement already says the team is going to play out of Bellerive and York Park for at least its first year. So we know the AFL accepts that," she said.

"I'm going to be asking them why we have to fund a taxpayer-funded stadium at Macquarie Point.

"There are valid questions about finance and engineering that have to be met before anyone believes that stadium can be built on that site. So that contract will need to be renegotiated."

Team first, upgrades later, Labor says

Those who watch Tasmanian Parliament closely would be aware that Labor and the Greens have long held the position that an AFL club should enter the competition without a new stadium — and additional infrastructure upgrades could be proven by demand, and priority.

They both support proposed upgrades to York Park, which the 2019 AFL taskforce report noted could be the main home for the club for its first five years – while a Hobart stadium was planned.

Ms White said if the club proved the demand, then Tasmanians should collectively discuss infrastructure upgrades in Hobart.

"You prove up the team. You prove it works. You demonstrate you've got the crowd numbers," she said.

"If we need to invest in infrastructure to support the capacity that we're seeing turning out every day, then maybe we make a decision collectively that we do it then.

"If the team is as successful as everyone expects us to be then let's, as a community, agree that we should build infrastructure to support it."

But Labor won't pause the Macquarie Point stadium planning process, which is already underway.

That process will come back to parliament at the end for a final vote, with Labor maintaining that the stadium will be shown to be unworkable.

The Liberals look likely to win the most seats in the upcoming election, albeit short of a majority.

If they can combine with the votes of any stadium-supporting possible crossbenchers – such as David O'Byrne, or even the Jacqui Lambie Network's Troy Pfitzner – Labor might not be able to stop it in the lower house.

The upper house would be another matter altogether, however.

Negotiations got 'too hot' for other parties, premier says

Three years ago, the AFL team was not mired in politics. It had tripartisan support from the Liberals, Labor and the Greens.

Then former premier Peter Gutwein announced a stadium for regatta point in March 2022 — and the support started to fracture.

It was then forever split when former AFL head Gillon McLachlan announced in June 2022 that Tasmania must have a new stadium to get a team, which had the agreement of Premier Jeremy Rockliff, and was formalised in writing.

Tasmania has made eight formal proposals to have a club since 1992. In 2008, former premier Paul Lennon was made to wait in the lobby of AFL House, in front of TV cameras, before the bid was rejected.

During Tuesday's debate, Mr Rockliff said the negotiations with the AFL were always going to be intense.

"We had tripartisan support, but it got a little too hot in the kitchen for my opposite numbers in the parliament," he said.

Mr Rockliff is sticking by the $750 million cost estimate, capping the state government's spend at $375 million.

The Macquarie Point Development Corporation is appointing a quantity surveyor, which could see the cost estimate change by the end of this year.

The Commonwealth has committed $240 million, although this is for the broader "urban renewal" precinct. It also looks unlikely to get a GST exemption, meaning that amount won't go to other areas in Tasmania, such as health and education.

The rest of the funding is meant to come from private investment.

Mr Rockliff said there has been interest.

"It's an opportunity, as the Labor prime minister has seen as well, of a fantastic urban renewal project that will create wealth, create jobs, attract private investment and be something that we can be very, very proud of," he said.

"What a fantastic investment that the private sector will make."

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