A wind of 10-12 knots of north-east component pushed the fleet out of the bay, initially led by the 100-foot Black Jack of Peter Harburg, winner of the psychological battle for being the first to go out to the open sea

Sydney Bay has shown its best gals to host the Rolex Sydney Hobart exit for 74th consecutive year... hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of spectators have paid tribute to the 85 participating teams already sailing to Tasmania Island... the Comanche, winner of the last edition in real time, leads the battle of supermaxis for the glory of reaching Hobart first.

A perfect southern summer day has illuminated the impressive scene of Sydney Bay, literally flooded by hundreds of spectator ships in the water and thousands of fans on the coast to enjoy a show that is repeated every December 26 since 1945. The departure of the 74th Rolex Sydney Hobart brought together 85 boats and more than a thousand regatists willing to face the 628 nautical mile route to Hobart on Tasmania Island.

As soon as the fleet set out for the south, the Jim Cooney Comanche (which has on board the Spanish Pablo Arrarte) recovered from a modest sixth position on the exit beacon of Sydney overcoming all its rivals to lead the burden to the feared Strait of Bass at speeds above 30 knots. The Hongkonese Scallywag, one of the five 100-foot supermaxis of this edition, was out of combat at three hours of race for problems with his botalon.

Although the pace imposed by the platoon exceeds that of the beginning of the last edition in which Comanche established a historical record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, the last forecast makes it possible to improve that brand. The Spanish Juan Vila (navigator of the Wild Oats XI), the British Simon Fisher (Comanche), and the Australians Andrew Cape (Infotrack) and Tom Addis (Black Jack) agreed this morning to point to a forecast in the two-day environment. The initial speed will give way to a series of tactical challenges as the ships approach the narrow fear of Bass and the unpredictable Derwent River, a real minefield on the final stretch to Hobart.

23 / 12 / 2018: The five 100-foot supermaxis... the great attraction of the 74 Rolex Sydney-Hobart

The show starts on December 26

Five 100-foot supermaxis (30.5 meters) will fight for real-time victory at the 74th Rolex Sydney Hobart, which begins in Sydney on December 26. The speed race will be starred by the Comanche LDV - the fastest monocasco in the world and the current leader of the test record - the Wild OatsXI - the most laureate ship in the history of the event -, the Infotrack, the Black Jack and the Scallywag.

The fight for victory in real time will be private stop of the exclusive club composed of the five registered supermaxis, including the exciting rematch between the two protagonists of the 2017 edition: Mark Richards's Wild Oats XI and the Comanche LDV. A penalty for an incident on the way out took the title from the Wild Oats XI, which saw how victory and record were passed by its rival. The reedition of the duel guarantees a show to which Christian Beck's Infotrack will surely join, supervitamin with a crew full of legends of ocean navigation such as Bouwe Bekking, Stu Bannatyne, Chris Nicholson or Andrew Cape.

Nor does it spare in Comanche LDV resources, which uses the talent of figures like James Spihill, Simon Fisher, Daryl Wislang or Justin Slattery. On board the Wild Oats XI, the most laureate pattern in the history of the event (Mark Richards) plays the bounce of experience with crew members like Iain Murray (24 editions), Matthew Shillington (23) or Robbie Naismith (23). Mark Bradford's Black Jack (with America's Cup Brad Butterworth) and Seng Huang Lee's Scallywag (the first Hong Kong team in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race) complete the quintto of colossus.

The list of participants will again include Spanish regatists. Four of them shared cover on board the Mapfre in the past Volvo Ocean Race and will face from the three most powerful supermaxis: Pablo Arrarte is a reference rod in the Comanche LDV and faces his third participation with an impressive palmaris that includes two real-time victories; the bow Antonio 'Ñeti' Cuervas Mons won with Arrarte the 2016 edition and returns with the same boat, now under the colors of Infotrack; Willy Altadill shares team with Ñeti, also in his second participation; Joan Vila renews as a navigator of the Wild and the world's second edition of the Fallat... The list of Spaniards is completed by Enrique Vicente López, a crew member of George Martin's Flying Fish Arctos.

23 / 11 / 2018: Rolex Sydney Hobart or "the mother of all legendary high races"

The Sidney-Hobart is the star of the winter races... having entered the homes of the Western world in the middle of the Christmas period

The 74th edition of the great annual event of the heavy ocean sail of the southern hemisphere, begins as the canons send the day after Christmas... on Wednesday, December 26. Some 92 yachts, ranging from 9.2 meters to 30.48 meters, will compete for the most sought after prizes, including the coveted Rolex watches that are usually delivered as prizes.

The 628 nautical miles from the port of Sydney to Hobart in Tasmania, was first held with the organization of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in 1945... Rolex joined the event in 2002

Rolex has maintained its commitment to sailing that now covers six decades... by joining the world's best yacht clubs, the most venerated and the most demanding races, this association continues to help perpetuate the spirit of races like the legendary Rolex Sydney Hobart.