Photo: 10 News First Australia
It was never a secret that Line Honours for the 2022 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race would go to the first of four super-maxi 100-foot (30-meter) boats in the race. Line Honours is the term used to describe the first boat to cross the finish line in a yacht race. However, it may not be the overall winner of the race based on a handicap system 'corrected time' that essentially levels the playing field for slower boats.
After a nightmare start that resulted in a near collision and subsequent penalty turn, the crew of the super-maxi Andoo Comanche responded brilliantly with a dominant win that was void of any real drama.
Trailing Black Jack and leader LawConnect as they exited Sydney Harbor on a picturesque Boxing Day, Andoo Comanche surged into a lead it would never relinquish reaching the River Derwent finish line near Consitution Dock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes, and 48 seconds.
The win in the 77th edition of The Great Race Skippered by John Winning Jr. was the fourth for the 100-footer and it became the first boat to win under three different owners and skippers.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, Andoo Comanche was on course to challenge its own record finish from 2017, but ended up falling three hours short.
Though hounded by LawConnect all way down the Tasmanian coast, Andoo Comanche and crew proved to be too fast and in-sync for any real drama that was expected to transpire at some point late in the race as winds picked up.
LawConnect would finish second about a half an hour later, after fending off challenges from Black Jack and Hamilton Island Wild Oats. Black Jack was the most serious threat to LawConnect's runner-up finish as it got within half a nautical mile (0.58 mile / 0.93 km) of LawConnect's stern in the waning hours of the race.
Wild Oats, sailing well and much closer to the Rhumb Line than the other three super-maxi boats, experienced a tear in its main, which forced an emergency sewing job overnight on deck, resulting in lost time.
For Andoo Comanche and crew, it was a successful return to super-maxi racing as it competed in the Boxing Day classic for the first time since 2019.
Of the 109 boats to begin the race, only three have been forced to retire at this point. Avalanche succumbed to a broken bowsprit and Yeah Baby lost a rudder in the early going, while the Sydney yacht Koa retired earlier today after also losing its rudder in Bass Strait.
While winds did increase off the Tasmanian coast, the wild weather that was expected has not materialized as of this writing.
John Winning Jr and the crew of Andoo Comanche will receive the J.H. Illingworth Trophy for their Line Honours finish and we will have to wait and see which boat takes the George Adams Tattersalls Cup for the overall winner on corrected time.
Trailing Black Jack and leader LawConnect as they exited Sydney Harbor on a picturesque Boxing Day, Andoo Comanche surged into a lead it would never relinquish reaching the River Derwent finish line near Consitution Dock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes, and 48 seconds.
The win in the 77th edition of The Great Race Skippered by John Winning Jr. was the fourth for the 100-footer and it became the first boat to win under three different owners and skippers.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, Andoo Comanche was on course to challenge its own record finish from 2017, but ended up falling three hours short.
Though hounded by LawConnect all way down the Tasmanian coast, Andoo Comanche and crew proved to be too fast and in-sync for any real drama that was expected to transpire at some point late in the race as winds picked up.
LawConnect would finish second about a half an hour later, after fending off challenges from Black Jack and Hamilton Island Wild Oats. Black Jack was the most serious threat to LawConnect's runner-up finish as it got within half a nautical mile (0.58 mile / 0.93 km) of LawConnect's stern in the waning hours of the race.
Wild Oats, sailing well and much closer to the Rhumb Line than the other three super-maxi boats, experienced a tear in its main, which forced an emergency sewing job overnight on deck, resulting in lost time.
For Andoo Comanche and crew, it was a successful return to super-maxi racing as it competed in the Boxing Day classic for the first time since 2019.
Of the 109 boats to begin the race, only three have been forced to retire at this point. Avalanche succumbed to a broken bowsprit and Yeah Baby lost a rudder in the early going, while the Sydney yacht Koa retired earlier today after also losing its rudder in Bass Strait.
While winds did increase off the Tasmanian coast, the wild weather that was expected has not materialized as of this writing.
John Winning Jr and the crew of Andoo Comanche will receive the J.H. Illingworth Trophy for their Line Honours finish and we will have to wait and see which boat takes the George Adams Tattersalls Cup for the overall winner on corrected time.
In the cover of darkness Andoo Comanche making its way to Constitution dock to claim line honours in the @rshyr @10NewsFirst #AndooComanche #SydneytoHobart pic.twitter.com/T2h4xvj8QY
— Ashleigh Nelson (@ashnelson08) December 27, 2022
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