Battle of supermaxis beckons at start of Sydney to Hobart race

Yachts sail out of Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on December 26, 2018.

Sydney (AFP) - Supermaxi Black Jack led a 85-strong fleet out of a hot and glittering Sydney Harbour Wednesday at the start of one of the toughest yacht races in the world.

Thousands of spectators lined the harbour and watched on boats as the yachts sped away under clear blue skies and aided by 10-15 knot north-easterly winds in the 74th edition of the 628-nautical-mile (1,162-kilometre) Sydney to Hobart race.

The winds are expected to pick up and push the fleet – which includes five supermaxis and 11 international entries – down the Australia’s east coast, before dropping off on Thursday in weaker conditions compared to last year.

The notoriously wild Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland in particular is looking to serve up erratic conditions, with crews expecting a tactically challenging contest as they try to avoid windless holes.

This means 100-footer supermaxi Comanche’s race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set last year for the bluewater classic, should remain intact.

“The real issue is linking all the bits of wind up,” said strategist Iain Murray Wednesday of eight-time line honours winner supermaxi Wild Oats XI.

His boat was first to Hobart in 2017 but was stripped of the win after being handed a one-hour penalty over a near-collision.

“There will be light spots and spots where there is not much wind.

- Tricky conditions -

“I think the boats that keep continuously moving fast (will benefit)… the difference between going fast is going five knots, or 10 knots or 12 knots and if you do that for a couple of hours it is a big difference.”

Other supermaxis in the run to be the first boat to cross the finish line in Hobart include InfoTrack and Hong Kong’s Scallywag.

The tricky conditions also mean the race to grab the handicap honours – which goes to the vessel that performs best according to size – is wide open, said owner-skipper Matt Allen of yacht Ichi Ban.

Allen’s TP52 was last year’s overall handicap winner, and he is bidding to claim back-to-back victories.

“I think the leader board is going to change a lot through the course of this race,” he said Wednesday.

“So any plans we’ve got now are going to change through the course of the race.

“It’s a real tactician’s strategy race, apart from this afternoon where it will be champagne sailing for a few hours there.”

On Thursday, the crews will mark the 20th anniversary of the 1998 edition of the race, where a fatal storm saw six sailors lose their lives, with a moment of silence and the reading out of a commemoration message.