Comanche has taken line honours in the 2025 Sydney to Hobart yacht race, crossing the finish line in Hobart just after 6pm on Sunday with a time of 2 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes and 36 seconds.
LawConnect and Scallywag have trailed close behind in what proved to be one of the most competitive races in recent years.
The supermaxis sailed in an extraordinary race down the New South Wales coast and into Tasmania waters after brutal overnight conditions forced 33 retirements from the fleet.
“It was a bruising, bruising night,” Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Vice Commodore David Jacobs said.
A LawConnect helmsman described the conditions as “like being on a five-storey building and doing a belly flop into a swimming pool”.
Wave heights of three to four metres made for an uncomfortable journey for the 1,300 sailors competing across 95 boats.
At one stage on Sunday afternoon, five boats were locked in a tight battle for line honours, with leads changing repeatedly throughout the day.
“They’ve been match racing all the way down the course. It’s been extraordinary,” Jacobs said.
The retirement count of 33 boats matched similar numbers from tough conditions in previous years, though Jacobs said the conditions were “not dangerous, just uncomfortable, wet and cold”.
Of the 95 yachts that started the race, 75 were still not halfway through the course by Sunday afternoon, with changing wind conditions expected to test the fleet.
The performance of Lucky, an 88-foot international entry, stood out among the super maxi fleet.
Wind conditions eased significantly during Sunday, with seas calming and a southerly providing more comfortable sailing as boats rounded Tasman Island.
Boats arriving at the Derwent River faced forecast southerly winds of seven to ten knots, though conditions were expected to shift to a northerly around midnight.
“That will make it much more challenging for those boats that hit the Derwent at that time,” Jacobs said.
The race will add approximately 95 finishers to the roughly 64,000 people who have completed the Rolex Sydney to Hobart since its inception.
Weather predictions suggest conditions may deteriorate again by Wednesday for boats still on the water.
