Australian maxis Skandia and Wild Oats XI were engaged in a tight duel off the east coast of Tasmania yesterday as both looked likely to finish under the race record in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The 1,163km blue water classic had a dramatic first day with one yacht’s entire crew rescued by fellow competitors as their boat sank.
At 6pm yesterday, the 2003 winner Skandia held a narrow 8.15km lead over Wild Oats XI, which is seeking an unprecedented fourth successive line honors victory. Both yachts, which are in sight of each other, are predicted to finish at around 4:30am today.
The line honors winner must finish before 7:40am to break the race record set in 2005 by Wild Oats XI of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds.
The 16m yacht Georgia issued a mayday call at around 10pm on Friday after losing its rudder and taking on water, putting the vessel on the verge of sinking.
Two other yachts in the race, Telcoinabox Merit and Ragtime, diverted from their course to come to their aid.
All of the crew were transferred using a life raft to Telcoinabox Merit and then to a police vessel. They arrived back in Batemans Bay on the New South Wales coast early yesterday.
“Merit did a great job,” Georgia’s chief strategist Matt Hanaford told reporters. “There was also another boat that came along ... they arrived after Merit. We weren’t being picky. We took the first one there.”
Owner Graeme Ainley said the yacht had been cruising along nicely when the incident happened.
“It all happened pretty quickly out there,” Ainley told the official race Web site.
“We were running under spinnaker at about 15 knots, and ... we heard a loud bang, followed by a second bang.”
“I guess we must have hit something reasonably solid, but we couldn’t see it,” he said. “The rudder stop had pulled out and water came through the back of the boat. We then had no steering and had to get the spinnaker down quickly. We then tried to stop the influx of water, but it was getting worse so we made the decision to abandon the vessel.”
The yacht has since sunk.
A second yacht, Sanyo Maris, had also retired after suffering damage to a fitting on its mast and was heading back to Sydney.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to