Australian yacht Alive yesterday was crowned the overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart race, overcoming perilous storms that forced several damaged competitors to retire.
Super maxi LawConnect was the first vessel to finish the blue-water classic earlier this week, but Alive took overall honors once standings were adjusted for boat size and other factors.
Alive skipper Duncan Hine said that his crew had fought to win the Tattersall Cup — the 66-foot yacht’s second in five years — across more than two full days of grueling sailing.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It was a cliffhanger right up to the bloody finish wasn’t it,” he said after learning of the win.
“If someone had knocked us off, they would have deserved it,” he added.
The 103-strong racing fleet was battered by thunderstorms and bumpy swells since setting off from Sydney Harbour on Tuesday.
By yesterday morning, ripped sails, electrical malfunctions and crew injuries had forced 16 yachts out of the race, with dozens of smaller vessels still due to finish later yesterday.
Organizers have already dubbed it “one of the toughest races in years.”
This year marked the 25th anniversary of a violent storm that tore into the 1998 race fleet, with wild winds whipping up mountainous seas in which six people died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued.
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