Police boats had to come to the assistance of stricken Sydney to Hobart entrant Koa after its rudder broke off the Victorian coast, forcing the TP52 out of the race – the third retirement in a contest otherwise described as “champagne sailing” by competitors.
NSW Police Marine Area Command boat was sent out to the mid-sized yacht after a distress call at about 1.15pm on Tuesday. The police boat was 70 nautical miles away, and was not due to meet the distressed vessel until about 6pm on Tuesday. Koa will be towed to Eden, on the NSW south coast.
Black Jack (left) was within sight of LawConnect on Tuesday afternoon.Credit:Sally Dingo, Getty Images
A police spokesperson confirmed that Koa’s crew was safe and well. WA-based Division 2 yacht Enterprise Next Generation stopped nearby to offer assistance, before lodging an official request for redress to make up for the difference in its race time due to the disruption.
The four supermaxis spent Tuesday in a tussle for line honours as they exited Bass Strait and turned south-west towards Tasmania, after moving further offshore to take advantage of strong northerly winds.
Line honours was expected to be decided late on Tuesday evening, with main contender Andoo Comanche retaining its lead throughout the day and expected to arrive at Constitution Dock around 10pm on Tuesday. LawConnect and Black Jack kept close by each other for much of the afternoon, but Black Jack struggled to gain speed on LawConnect, which at 5pm Tuesday was about three nautical miles ahead of the 2021 line honours champion.
Hot favourite Hamilton Island Wild Oats struggled to regain time after a broken seam on a main sail forced urgent repairs, delaying its progress by one and a half hours.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted winds in the area would strengthen in the afternoon, but the four supermaxis struggled to break 18 knots as they approached Tasmania.
The slower-than-expected ending to the race before the final stretch up the Derwent River put hopes of a record-breaking sail beyond reach of the super maxis, with Comanche lagging about 60 nautical miles off its 2017 pace on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, David Davenport’s Crush made the most of a late increase in wind speed to sail into first place in the overall contenders category of the race, which became a tight battle between yachts Quest, Zen and Smuggleron Tuesday afternoon.
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