The Heat is On in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
by John Curnow 27 Dec 2017 06:13 AEDT
27 December 2017
The Line Honours favourite, and for very, very good reason. In anything over 15 knots and with the sheets eased, LDV Comanche is an express train © Beth Morley /
www.sportsailingphotography.com
A very interesting night for the racers in the 2017 RSHYR, and a morning not so much of surprises for landlubbers, but perhaps anticipation. Can a record that seemed impenetrable only a year ago be broken wide open?
In short, LDV Comanche is not only leading and doing around 30 knots, but also some 60nm ahead of Perpetual Loyal's mark from last year! Comanche made her declaration for jumping off from Green Cape at 2238hrs on 26/12/17 and Wild Oats XI did so at 2357hrs. Black Jack followed just after at 0033hrs on 27/12/17, and then InfroTrack at 0035hrs. This morning (27/12/17) at around 0600hrs AEDT, Comanche was about halfway with just 300nm to travel, then Wild Oats XI some 15nm astern, followed by Black Jack around another 15nm behind her.
Yet it was Beau Geste who would be in fourth, some 10nm in arrears, then InfoTrack a further 3nm astern, with the Volvo Ocean 70 Wizard some 25nm ahead of Wild Oats X, then potential Tattersall's Cup winner Ichi Ban, Hollywood Boulevard, and two-time overall winner, Quest, rounding out the top ten
Now all that remains is to see how the River Derwent will treat her late night arrivals...
You can see all the latest from the standings and also the tracker
Breaking News
At around 0856hrs on 27/12/17, Christopher Opielok's TP52 Rockall (built as Bribon and formerly RKO) has retired with rudder issues and has requested a tow into Eden. Possibly a victim of all the hard charging, where rudder bearings can take a beating. They have stated that they are not in immediate danger, and assistance is on the way. More as soon as we know...
At 1046hrs CYC Eden updated Rockall that the Police Launch, Falcon, was about 40minutes from their last reported position.