At 22:00hrs (UK) Monday night, Christian Beck’s LawConnect was leading the race by just 2nm from Peter Harburg’s Black Jack.
David Witt-skippered SHK Scallywag was third another 28nm behind, with the 80-footer, Stefan Racing in fourth, 60nm further back.
Behind them the fleet continued to be depleted by retirements due to the southerly winds that reached 30 knots overnight, and a southern current.
From the 88 yachts that started on Sunday, 34 had withdrawn for various reasons by Monday, leaving 54 in the race, including 11 two-handed boats.
Sidewinder of Rob Gough and John Saul leads the 2-Handed Line Honours from Disko Trooper Contender Sailcloth of Jules Hall and Jan Scholten, with third Marc Stuart and Richard Combrink’s Euphoria II
Simon Kurts’ Love & War leads the Fully Crewed IRC fleet with an 78nm advantage over Sebastian Bohm’s Smuggler.
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race at 22:00 (UK) 27 Dec Leaders:
1st LawConnect – – Christian Beck NSW – – DTG 137 – SOG 15
2nd Black Jack – – Peter Harburg Monaco – – DTG 139 – SOG 6
3rd SHK Scallywag – – Seng Huang Lee Hong Kong – – DTG 168 – SOG 19
4th Stefan Racing – – AUS 80 Pty Ltd NSW – – DTG 230 – SOG 7.5
5th Whisper – – David Griffith NSW – – DTG 240 – SOG 3.6
6th Ichi Ban – – Matt Allen NSW – – DTG 257 – SOG 7
7th Celestial – – Sam Haynes NSW – – DTG 259 – SOG 7.4
8th Smuggler – – Sebastian Bohm NSW – – DTG 260 – SOG TBA
9th Quest – – Craig Neil NSW – – DTG 262 – SOG 5
10th Mayfair – – james Irvine QLD – – DTG 291 – SOG 7.8
Visit the tracker page to keep an eye on the fleet as they make their way down to Hobart.
Retirements:
Alive (hull damage), Ariel (damaged mainsail), Blink (torn main), Chancellor (sail damage), Crystal Cutter III (rig damage), Denali (hull damage), Enchantress (broken forestay), Eora (TH) (broken backstay), Extasea (engine issues), Gweilo (damaged forestay), Hells Bells (engine issues), Hip-Nautic (TH) (damaged main), Huntress (torn main), Inukshuk (autopilot issues), Kayimai (TH) (electrical issues), Khaleesi (forestay damage), Kialoa II (rig damage), Mako (damaged main), Maverick (TH) (rudder damage), Mille Sabords (damaged mainsail), Minerva (damaged mainsail), Moneypenny (broken forestay), Nautical Circle (rigging issues), No Limit (crew injury – broken humerus), Oskana (broken forestay), OzDesign Patrice Six (engine issue), Patriot (rudder bearing issues), Philosopher (internal damage), TSA Management (damaged mainsail), URM (damaged main), Wax Lyrical (equipment damage), White Noise (window damage), Zara (unspecified damage), Zen (minor injury).
