Tough seas have forced further retirements in a gruelling Sydney to Hobart, with crews reporting broken ribs, lost life rafts and yacht damage.
Master Lock Comanche maintained a four nautical mile lead over fellow supermaxi LawConnect at the head of the pack off Tasmania’s east coast, at 7am on Sunday.
Hong Kong-owned SHK Scallywag was a whisker behind in third position.
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The Matt Allen and James Mayo skippered Comanche is out for redemption after being forced to retire in 2024 with mainsail damage, while LawConnect is chasing a third successive win.
As of 7am, 33 of the starting fleet had pulled the pin, with 95 still racing.
Tasmania-owned Kraken 42S retired on Saturday night and headed for the NSW coast after a crew member suffered suspected broken ribs and the yacht had electrical issues.
Last year’s 31st yacht across the line, Ragtime, was among those forced to call it quits overnight after the boat’s life raft was lost overboard.
Her retirement came after Moneypenny, a former third overall and division winner, also lost a lift raft overboard when it self inflated.
“As safety is the first priority, we had to retire from the race as all safety equipment is required to remain onboard during the race,” the crew said on social media.
“The very things that make ocean racing so exciting can also make it devastating.”
URM Group, a contender for the handicap trophy, was out of the race on Saturday afternoon with hull damage – marking a second retirement in two years.
Supermaxi Wild Thing 100, which finished third in line honours and in overall standings in 2024, has been another high-profile casualty.
Skipper Grant Wharington said the seas had been “nasty” and he wasn’t confident makeshift repairs would hold up in tough upwind conditions.
“When you’ve got $4 million of mast in the air and no insurance, you analyse these things a bit more carefully than you might have otherwise done,” he said.
Crews have battled 25 knot winds and four metre swells in the 80th edition of the race, with some earlier retirements citing crew sea sickness.
LawConnect was first out of Sydney Heads at about 1.10pm on Boxing Day, but surrendered her lead to Comanche tacking out to sea after 6pm.
A Sunday evening finish in Hobart is expected, which will be well short of the race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds set in 2017.
