In an absolutely historic struggle to the end, the LawConnect took away the victory of the Andoo Comanche for less than a minute and in the last 100 meters of the 628 miles of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Since its birth in 1945, Rolex Sydney Hobart has brought together professional and amateur crews on board a range of boats that this year covered between 30 and 100 feet.

And precisely the four 100-foot maxis led the fleet on the spectacular exit of December 26. The Andoo Comanche of John Winning Jr. (with the cantabros Pablo Arararte and Antonio 'Ñeti' Cuervas- Mons) and the LawConnect of Christian Beck (with the canaries Carlos Hernández and Simbad Quiroga) paired from the first meters, leading the open sea jump to start a tense duel that was to be extended for the next 43 hours.

The Hongkonese SHK Scallywag (with the Barcelona navigator Juan Vila on board) was left out of combat within a few hours for breaking his botalon, while Wild Thing 100 languished without being able to match the rhythm of his rivals.

As the hours progressed, and the record was already ruled out, the two maxis were striving to advance in a falling wind. Andoo Comanche first arrived in Storm Bay and began to remount the ever uncertain Derwent River, seeing his archirrival with more breeze approaching by the stern. The only three miles that separated them faded at the most important moment, and with the finish line in sight the dramatic outcome occurred.

In an epic battle of slow-motion maneuvers that included five leader changes, the LawConnect crew performed the hand miracle of Australian stepman Chris Nicholson with a final outburst just 50 meters from the line, reversing the 2022 results to achieve the desired victory.

He stopped the crone in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds, away from the record but enough to extassify the hundreds of spectators who enjoyed the show from the port of Hobart. The 51 seconds that separated both ships in the goal are already the second most adjusted arrival in the history of the event after the seven seconds of the 1982 champion's margin.

2023-12-26: The 103 ships of the Rolex Sydney Hobart heading south

Organized by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in collaboration with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, Rolex Sydney Hobart is a leading part of the Rolex-sponsored event portfolio since 2002 as part of a Swiss watchmaking relationship with the sailing world dating back seven decades

The combination of sun, strong chubascos and thunderous thunder added an extra of dramatism to the ever spectacular exit choreography of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Although the breeze barely exceeded the ten knots, the 103 ships that accepted the challenge of the 78 edition of the classic ocean of the South Hemisphere had to face a confusing sea before leaving the famous Sydney Heads behind, going out to open sea and starting the 628 nautical miles south towards the capital of Tasmania.

The fleet was divided into three exits depending on its class. At the front of the load, the four 100-foot-long maxis (30.5 meters) that are profiled as real-time victory favorites chose different sides of the stadium to seek the psychological victory of reaching the bay exit beacon in the head. Law Connect and Andoo Comanche decided on the right; SHK Scallywag and Wild Thing 100 on the left. Christian Beck's Law Connect, which has on board the Canaries Simbad Quiroga and Carlos Hernández, was the first to go out to the open sea. From that moment on, the first key decision of this edition was to be made: to point south parallel to the coast, or to go eastward to try to overcome the worst of the depression that is currently on the coast of New South Wales. After several hours of race, Andoo Comanche and Law Connect maintained an intense duel in the head of the fleet, while the SHK Scallywag in which the Barcelona navigator Joan Vila competed reported the break of his botalon.