Australia’s grueling Sydney to Hobart race faces choppy seas and high winds that “pack a punch” after it gets underway tomorrow with a record 27 international entries among those vying for honors.
The fleet for the 71st edition of the often brutal 628 nautical mile (1,163km) bluewater classic stands at 109 and includes the 100-foot supermaxi Wild Oats XI, which won line honors for an eighth time last year.
It will once again be going head-to-head with US super-yacht Comanche, owned by Netscape founder Jim Clark and wife Kristy Hinze, which was runner-up last year.
Photo: AFP
In a weather update released late yesterday, meteorologists forecast choppy seas outside Sydney Heads at the start with a southerly blowing up to 35 knots (64.82kph) and rough conditions as the fleet spends its first night at sea.
“It’s not a really strong one, but it does pack a fair bit of punch with it,” New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Michael Loganhe said. “It does fringe into the lower end of the gale warning category. It will make for rough conditions, it’s setting up for quite an eventful first night.”
Storms are part and parcel of the race with six men dying, five boats sinking and 55 sailors rescued on a fatal night in 1998 when a deep depression exploded over the fleet in the treacherous Bass Strait.
Comanche’s navigator Stan Honey said he preferred wild weather to no wind, believing it would be one of the only ways to beat Wild Oats XI, which has undergone a radical transformation, including adding a new bow section.
“We’re preparing for the full range of forecasts that we’ve seen,” he said. “And we’re looking forward to racing in any of them, except potentially we would not be eager to race in the scenarios that have a 12-hour or more period of very light air because that’s not a condition that suits us best.”
Despite the race featuring a handful of 100-footers, Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards knows Comanche, which set a new 24-hour monohull record of 618.01 nautical miles in July, is his main threat.
“No question Comanche’s going to be the one to beat,” he said. “She wrapped up the 24-hour world record this year. If she gets the conditions, she’ll be very tough to beat.”
Wild Oats holds the race record of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds set in 2012.
Among the entries, 27 are from overseas, including 16 from the UK, and others from the US, Japan, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and, for the first time, China.
Ark323 joins Shuguang Haiyang as the first ever Chinese entries, with ocean sailing a sport on the rise in China.
“We’re a bit nervous because it’s so well known as the most difficult and challenging race in the world,” said Ark323 crew member Calvin Zhou, representing the Shanghai-based Noahs Sailing Club.
The race will be poignant for the team after fellow crew member Sai Jun was lost overboard off the coast of Vietnam in October while en-route to Australia.
Among others competitors will be Italy’s Giovanni Soldini, who will skipper Maserati with a crew that includes Pierre Casiraghi, grandson of Monaco’s late Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly.
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke will also race on board the 100-foot supermaxi Perpetual Loyal alongside rugby union star Kurtley Beale.
“On the one hand, I’m excited by the challenge that lies ahead, I think it’s probably in my personality to confront any challenge and try and make the most of that opportunity,” Clarke said. “But on the other hand there’s certainly nerves and a bit of fear there and I’m petrified by sharks.”
Nottingham Forest FC are to go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros TC on Thursday, while Celtic FC secured their place in the knockout phase with a victory over FC Utrecht. Aston Villa FC finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured. Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches, but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way. Sean Dyche’s
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
RSS