One day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds. This race record is to be beaten in the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2022. It was set five years ago by the 100-foot racer "LDV Comanche". As "Andoo Comanche", the proven record chaser is now once again one of the co-favourites, but has strong competition. Not only the nine-time line honours winner and "Hamilton Island Wild Oats" skipper Mark Richards believes this in view of the predicted fast downwind conditions. A new record is possible in this edition. The first boat could cross the finish line as early as 27 December.
Dream start in Sydney Harbour
At 1 p.m. local time on Boxing Day in Sydney Harbour, the best conditions were served up in winds of between 10 and 15 knots from the north to north-east. The fog that had covered the world-famous regatta stage in front of the Opera House like a duvet shortly beforehand had cleared in good time. The 109 boats and their highly motivated crews started the race in bright sunshine under a blue Australian summer sky.
Just a few moments after the start, two of the expected four-way battle between the co-favourite maxis stood out. Three of them - "Andoo Comanche", "Black Jack" and "LawConnect" - had chosen the western channel in Sydney Harbour as their starting lane, while "Hamilton Island Wild Oats" had immediately switched to the eastern side. From there, the fleet regularly headed for the harbour exit in order to get out of the Heads.
Thrilling kick-off, protest flags and precautionary penalty cringes
In the midst of the action, the "Andoo Comanche" skippered by John Winning Jr. suddenly completed a precautionary 720-degree penalty curl to avoid a possible protest and subsequent penalty. The "Hamilton Island Wild Oats" crew with skipper Mark Richards did the same, although the team was not sure that it was affected. However, some crew members may have remembered 2017, when a breach of the rules cost them the line honours and the race record. The LDV Comanche took both five years ago following a jury decision.
Two hours after the starting signal, the first failure occurred: the Hick 40 "Avalanche", a double-handed boat with James Murchison and co-skipper James Francis, reported a broken bowsprit. This reduced the fleet to 108 boats, including 19 double-handed boats. The four maxis were so close together in the race to the Heads, with several protest flags flying in the sterns, that even at this early stage a tense scenario was emerging for the showdown on the Derwent River in Hobart.
Six hours after the start, the "Andoo Comanche" led the field on the morning of Boxing Day German time. By then, the black and red racer had already completed the first 100-plus nautical miles of the 628-nautical-mile course from Sydney to Hobart.
"Ho, ho, ho: fantastic zero start!"
The "Orione" crew with the Berlin brothers Axel and Peter Baumgartner initially headed for the finish on their Grand Soleil 45 in 90th place in the line honours classification. From on board, the team wrote to YACHT online in high Christmas spirits: "Ho, ho, ho: fantastic zero start! Then a first nice cross with main and G3 in almost 20 knots of wind. At the outgoing buoy we have about a third of the field behind us. We even catch up under spinnaker. One hour of about 88 is already over."
About six hours after the start, the McIntyre 55 "Flying Fish Arctos" was in 61st place in the line honours classification. Sailing with the Australian-British crew is Benjamin Deifel from Meckenbeuren, who, like the Berlin brothers, is taking part in his first Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Both boats - "Orione" with a German crew and the "Flying Fish Arctos" with Ben Deifel - are sailing in the PHS class of the race and therefore in the "Corinthian" classification.
Benjamin Deifel has only been sailing for three years. But impressively intensively. "I didn't sail at all before 2018, then came across the Clipper Race and sailed around the world from 2019 to 2022. I completed around 45,000 nautical miles. During the coronavirus break, I completed my RYA certificates," reports the 34-year-old from Lake Constance. The experience on board is mixed: according to Deifel, some of his fellow sailors have experience from previous editions of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Others - like himself - are fulfilling a lifelong dream by taking part.
Everyone on board the 55-foot yacht "Flying Fish Arctos" was optimistic going into the classic. Deifel says: "We saw on the training days that the boat runs very well with the right wind - beam reach, downwind. The boat is not really built for upwind courses."
For him, says Benjamin Deifel, the race was "an absolute highlight at the end of the year". He says: "After Covid, we were finally able to complete the circumnavigation this year, including the Pacific crossing. The Sydney Hobart is now the icing on the cake. Even in the days leading up to the race, it was impressive to be travelling with the Maxis and the others. We're sailing in the same class as the 'Orione' - maybe we'll meet at the Customs House in Hobart."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
