Yachting: Quest wins Sydney-Hobart on handicap

12.30pm

The Sydney-based yacht Quest has provisionally won the Sydney-Hobart race on handicap.

Although Quest finished the race yesterday, she did not win until the morning when another yacht, Zeus II, failed to reach the finish in time to claim claim the handicap honour.

Australian maxi Alfa Romeo claimed line honours on Saturday when it surfed across the finish line under spinnaker after making the most of unusually benign conditions.

Sydney-based New Zealand businessman Neville Crichton's carbon fibre boat took two days four hours 58 minutes and 52 seconds to complete the 630-mile race down Australia's east coast to the island state of Tasmania.

Despite its fast finish, Alfa Romeo still finished well outside the race record of one day 19 hours 48 minutes and two seconds set by Danish flyer Nokia in 1999.