Australian supermaxi Skandia sailed to a pre-dawn victory in the Sydney-Hobart yacht classic in Hobart on Monday, finishing just 14 minutes ahead of its New Zealand rival, Zana, after a neck-and-neck duel that began on Boxing Day.
The giant Melbourne-based yacht took line honours as it crossed the finishing line after two days, 15 hours and 14,06 seconds of gruelling ocean racing in the premier event on the Australian yachting calendar.
The pair were virtually abreast in the final stages after being locked in battle from start to finish in the 627 nautical mile race, which left Sydney harbour on Friday amid a spectacular array of colorful spinnakers.
The two pre-race favourites were within sight of each other in the notorious Bass Strait leg and Zana drew level as Skandia became becalmed for tense minutes in the Derwent River leading into Hobart, capital of Austalia’s island state of Tasmania.
Winning his first Sydney-Hobart in 16 starts, Skandia skipper and owner Grant Wharington described the result as his ”greatest thrill in ocean racing”.
”We could see them [Zana] the whole way, except for 30 minutes this morning,” a jubilant Wharington said.
Sitting 30m in the water, the supermaxis were by far the largest yachts in the 56-strong field and raced away from their rivals through Sydney Heads on Friday afternoon.
Wharington, whose purpose-built maxi became the first Australian-designed, -built and -owned boat to take line honours in six years, later paid tribute to its designer, Don Jones, describing him as a genius.
Zana skipper and owner Stewart Thwaites admitted that he was ”disappointed obviously, but at the same time very happy with the boat, very happy with the crew.
”Being that close is hard in some ways because you go through all the what ifs, but it’s a lot better than being a long way back,” he said.
”I am definitely happy with second, but I was after line honours. We had our chances … but they covered us every time and all credit to them. It wasn’t over till it was over and it was over recently.”
The boats sailed into the wind all the way, never testing the race record of one day, 19 hours, 48 minutes and two seconds set by Nokia four years ago — the first entrant to reach Hobart in under two days.
Pocket maxi Grundig, an early leader in the race and runner-up last year to line honours winner Alfa Romeo, finished in third place more than five hours behind the winner.
Geoff Ross’s 52-footer Yendys continued to lead the field for overall handicap honours but was more than 100 nautical miles behind the winner when it finished.
Skandia crew member Richard Gilbert told later how the New Zealand rival was still neck-and-neck near the finish line, but took a wrong turn.
”They could have stepped off their bow on to our stern at the start, they were that close at the start, and we had vision of them all the way,” he told ABC radio.
”They got in front of us first afternoon for about two hours or something like that, at [Cape] Raoul tonight or this morning we could have thrown rocks at each other we were that close, and they went the wrong way, we went the right way, it was great.” — Sapa-AFP