In the end it was nothing more than the flap of a butterfly’s wings: after one day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds, the Supermaxi Lawconnect had won the traditional regatta from Sydney to Hobart for the first time.
In the last few meters in the Derwent River on the Australian island of Tasmania, she took the decisive 51 seconds from the winner of the last three years, Andoo Comanche, in the morning calm on the river. Law Connect has come second three times in recent years; Early on Thursday morning, the team around skipper Christian Beck were on deck in each other’s arms.
“We have a great team”
John Winning Jr., the skipper of the Andoo Comanche, did everything he could to bring home another victory in his last appearance with the 30-meter-long supermaxi. “We have a great team. I know I’m going to tear myself apart now because I wasn’t able to get the win for these guys and my sister on board. But the other guys from Lawconnect gave it their all. They sailed as if from another planet. They left nothing on the table for us.”
What particularly bothered him: The Andoo Comanche is considered the better boat in the regatta scene, which Beck had already admitted. The defending champion started the 628 nautical mile (1,166 kilometer) race at midday on Boxing Day as the clear favorite. She also holds – under another name – the record for the route.
After the third Supermaxi Scallywag failed due to an accident shortly after take-off, an exhausting duel took place off the southeast coast of Australia. Neither of the two competitors would be able to beat the record from 2017 this year, and the weather conditions were too bad with calm at the start, thunderstorms at night and the usual struggle with gusts from all directions on the Derwent River before the finish line in Hobart .
Winning had chartered the Andoo Comanche and announced before the starting gun that it would end after this 78th edition of the Sydney-Hobart Regatta. “I hope someone else will pump in their money and I can sail as part of the team,” he said as he said goodbye.
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Shortly before entering the river, his black and red yacht sailed at a good two nautical miles. Lawconnect navigator Chris Lewis remembers the dawn: “I came up and saw how far Andoo Comanche was leading. The team was a bit dejected because they had increased the distance early in the morning. I told them, last year we almost made up a gap that was twice as big, you are really strong, we can do it.”
Both skippers sent their bowman as a lookout up the almost 50 meter high mast to watch for the shifting winds. In the end, the two giants fought a turning duel in front of the harbor quay, the likes of which are only known from Olympic regatta courses – and certainly not after almost two days of ocean sailing. The lead changed five times in the last nautical mile.
At the finish, the gap between the two supermaxis was the second closest in the history of the regatta. “I can’t believe it. They led until just before the finish line. Then a gust came up. And to be honest: the whole thing was a total surprise,” Beck admitted that the victory was not only nerve-racking, but also a happy one.
Around 75 nautical miles behind the two leading Supermaxis, a trio of Minimaxis under reefed mainsails fought for third place, but also to win the regatta on calculated time. Anthony Johnston’s URM Group ultimately secured a place on the podium. The Rockall VIII of Christopher Opielok from Hamburg still had a good 260 nautical miles to go to Hobart when it crossed the finish line, but was leading in its class.
