Yachting: Skandia wins Sydney-Hobart

SYDNEY - Australian super maxi Skandia claimed line honours in the 59th Sydney-Hobart race this morning after holding off New Zealand rival Zana in a tense tactical battle to the finishing line.

Skandia sailed slowly across the line in the Derwent River in the island state of Tasmania just after 4 am (6am NZ time) to record a time of two days, 15 hours 14 minutes and six seconds, almost a day outside the race record.

Melbourne property developer Grant Wharington tacked his blue-hulled boat more than a dozen times in the final minutes as he sought one last puff of wind to carry it across the finish line before dawn in Hobart.

Wellington businessman Stewart Thwaites' Zana finished about 14 minutes later in second.

Skandia and Zana, two state-of-the-art 30m (98ft) carbon fibre boats, had sailed within sight of each other for most of the 630-nautical mile race, with the New Zealand yacht briefly leading not long after the start on Friday.

But Wharington fought back, holding off multiple challenges from Zana in an engrossing tactical battle between the two biggest boats to compete in the race and claiming his first line honours victory in his 16th Sydney-Hobart.

Australian yacht Grundig was still in third place more than 30 miles from the finish.

Sean Langman's 20m (66ft) Grundig is built for downwind conditions but was a surprise leader on Friday night.

Skandia's highly experienced crew had to endure several anxious moments during the race.

The boat crossed the notoriously rough Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania in headwinds of up to 30 knots, conditions that Skandia's sailing master Ian Walker described as "horrendous".

Bass Strait claimed a high-profile victim on Sunday when Swedish maxi Nicorette, the 2000 race winner, suffered damage to its sophisticated new keel and hull while ploughing through 3m (10ft) seas.

Skandia was also lucky to avoid damage when it hit a huge sunfish just below the surface in Bass Strait on Saturday.

Its crew then fashioned makeshift repairs by jamming screwdrivers into cracks appearing in a carbon fibre steering pillar on Sunday.

Sydney 10m (38ft) Dodo withdrew late on Saturday with mainsail damage, while small Australian yacht Strewth was unable to make the start because of a broken starter motor, leaving 54 vessels from an original fleet of 57.

Prevailing headwinds throughout the race meant neither Skandia nor Zana were seriously in a position to challenge Danish downwind flyer Nokia's 1999 race record of one day, 19 hours 48 minutes and two seconds.

Skandia's relatively slow time means it will have little chance of claiming handicap honours on corrected time. Several smaller boats, some still more than 200 miles from the finish, are in contention for overall honours.

- REUTERS


Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine