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Comanche wins Sydney-Hobart
American yacht Comanche won line honors in Australia’s gruelling Sydney to Hobart yesterday, staging a stunning recovery from damage which had nearly ended her race.
The supermaxi, skippered by Ken Read, was first across the finish line in the 71st edition of the 628-nautical-mile course in 2 days, eight hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds, organizers said.
The 100-footer blitzed the field in one of the roughest races of recent years, with more than 30 boats retiring after bad weather struck on the first night.
Co-owner Kristy Clark, the first female owner to take line honors in the blue water classic, said after the win there were many emotions at sea, including “pure terror at one stage”.
“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” she added in Hobart, where she was met by co-owner husband, Netscape founder Jim Clark.
Comanche, the first American entry to take line honors since 1998, had sustained damage in punishing winds which tore into the fleet off the New South Wales coast on Saturday night, shredding sails, damaging rudders and hulls and breaking one yacht’s mast.
A savage southerly blasted the yachts, resulting in 32 of the 108 entries which began the race from Sydney Harbour on Saturday pulling out of the journey down Australia’s east coast. Among the casualties were two strong contenders for line honors — eight-time fastest finisher Wild Oats XI, forced back to Sydney after her mainsail ripped, and supermaxi Perpetual Loyal with rudder damage.
Comanche was also damaged, hitting an submerged object which broke one of her twin rudders and a daggerboard.
Comanche finished runner-up for line honors to Wild Oats XI in her first Sydney to Hobart last year, and had been a hot favorite this year after setting a new 24-hour monohull record of 618.01 nautical miles in July.
Her biggest competition for line honors had been fellow American yacht Rambler which also hit an object in the water on Saturday, sustaining similar damage.
But while Comanche kept extending her lead yesterday in good conditions, the 88-footer Rambler was slowed by a lack of breeze in the final stages of the race. Comanche crossed the line some 50 nautical miles ahead of Rambler.
In third position was Australian entry Ragamuffin 100, followed by the Giovanni Soldini-skippered Maserati, Chinese Whisper and Ichi Ban.
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