Supermaxi Comanche has claimed line honours in the 75th Sydney to Hobart yacht race, crossing the finish line in Hobart's River Derwent at 7.30am on Saturday. The victory, her third in five years, came after a tense final half-hour in light winds that skipper Tim Cooney described as 'really very stressful'.
Comanche finished in one day, 18 hours, 30 minutes and 24 seconds, about 45 minutes ahead of InfoTrack. Nine-time winner Wild Oats XI held off Hong Kong's SHK Scallywag 100 by just 38 seconds to take third place. Cooney said the crew treated the race as a sprint, taking few breaks, and described the win as 'relief more than elation'.
The race was not without drama. Comanche encountered an unknown object near Tasman Island that wrapped around its rudder, temporarily immobilising the yacht. Meanwhile, Scallywag's skipper Mark Witt reported that a collision with a shark on Friday night cost his crew a podium finish. 'We hit a shark and it wrapped around the rudder,' Witt said. 'We lost about four miles.'
Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards acknowledged the late challenge from Scallywag, saying: 'If we'd have been going for about another 30 seconds, I think they would have beaten us.' Defending handicap winner Alive crossed the line later on Saturday, with the overall Tattersall Cup winner yet to be decided as the fleet continued to finish.
