Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2023 LIVE: Line honours contender retires as boats head into Bass Strait

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Who’s at the back of the pack?

We’ve got our two supermaxis out front, but there are 96 other boats behind them.

Bringing up the rear is Silver Fern. Skippered by David Hows, the Sydney to Hobart live tracker shows she’s not yet past Wollongong.

With a crew of 14 on board, Silver Fern has crossed her own tracks a couple of times, and looks to have done a loop before getting back on her path to Hobart – we’ll let you know if there’s any news on why that’s happened.

Robert Williams and his cat Oli are part of the crew sailing Sylph VI to Hobart.Credit: Kate Geraghty

In front of her is Sylph VI – the oldest boat in the fleet which has a crew of two, Robert Williams and Chris Warren…plus a cat.

Yep, that’s right, a cat is conquering one of the hardest sailing races in the world.

Two boats retire overnight

Sydney yacht Sticky and Queensland boat Maratimo 52 are the latest to pull out of the race after “shocking” overnight weather hit the fleet.

Maritimo 52, skippered by Michael Spies, sustained rig damage, which caused further damage to other parts of the boat.

“The fitting on the deck for the forestay shredded, which ripped the No. 4 headsail and the mainsail. We tried to work a million ways around it, but we would have been sailing at 50 per cent. We are shattered,” crew member Peter Jones said.

“The weather was shocking overnight. We had as much lightning as I’ve ever seen. The south-west front came through, we saw high 20s to early 30s (knots) and had solid rain for three hours.”

Sticky, owned by Richard Harris, was force to retire after suffering electrical damage. There are still 98 boats racing to Hobart.

Andoo Comanche and LawConnect in battle for line honours

It’s a battle of the big dogs after 18 hours with supermaxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect battling it out for line honours.

Just four nautical miles separate the two yachts as the head down the east coast of Victoria and into the Bass Strait.

Andoo Comanche is about 88 nautical miles behind the race record she set in 2017 of 1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds and is currently in the lead, travelling at about 19 knots, while LawConnect is close on her heels, travelling at about 21 knots.

The LawConnect crew as they sailed out of the heads yesterday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Line honours contender Scallywag retires

By Emma Kemp

Sydney to Hobart line honours contender SHK Scallywag was the first yacht to retire yesterday after the bow sprit on the boat broke.

The Hong Kong-based 100-foot supermaxi had been flying down the NSW south coast in third position behind Andoo Comanche and LawConnect when the damage forced her to withdraw off Gerroa on Tuesday evening.

She was about six hours into the race and seeking to make up lost ground after completing a 720-degree penalty turn after a dramatic almost-collision with reigning line honours winner Andoo Comanche, who protested after she tacked very close.

Supermaxi Scallywag sailing out of the heads at the start of the race yesterday.Credit: Getty

It was to be the 27th and last chance at a maiden win for skipper David Witt, a veteran of other yachts including Ragamuffin, after pre-race news Scallywag would not contest the bluewater classic again.

She had spent the past 18 months out of the water undergoing modifications in readiness for the tilt, including losing 500 kilograms in weight off her mast.

“The team are obviously very disappointed given the great progress we were making but thankful no one was injured and that we could safely recover the sails that were in the air at the time,” a statement from SHK Scallywag read. “The team are currently making their way back to Sydney.”

Good morning

Good morning to all our sailing enthusiasts out there.

Billie Eder here to take you through all the day two drama of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

We’ve had a couple of boats pull out of the race overnight as the front-runners head into the Bass Strait.

We’ll be bringing you live updates all day as the boats race to the finish, so get yourself a cup of coffee and strap in – by the end of the day, we should have a winner.