The Sydney to Hobart fleet is bracing for a rough night at sea after the reigning handicap winner, Alive, became the first major boat to quit the race rather than brave the conditions with engine issues.
The Tasmanian 66-footer was one of two boats to withdraw in the first five-and-a-half hours of racing on Boxing Day, as father-son two-hander Transcendence Rudy Project was dismasted and retired north-east of Kiama.
Line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche led the fleet into the evening on Boxing Day after overtaking incumbent LawConnect when it experienced a furling issue coming out of Sydney Harbour.
That problem has since been fixed but as of 6.30pm, LawConnect was 8 nautical miles behind Comanche, which made the best of strong north-easterly winds coming down the New South Wales coast.
Fellow supermaxi Wild Thing 100 was in third place about 9 nautical miles behind LawConnect and ahead of mini-maxis Celestial V70 and URM Group.
The fast start will have been a big confidence booster for Comanche after LawConnect ambushed it in the River Derwent to take line honours by only 51 seconds last year.
A west south-westerly change is expected to hit Bass Strait overnight, bringing winds up to 40 km/h and possible showers which will be particularly challenging for the smaller boats in the fleet.
The four 100ft supermaxis also risk damage from the wild weather, which could force more retirements from a fleet standing at 102 yachts after Transcendence Rudy Project pulled out.
Alive became the first boat to withdraw from the race at about 4pm after a mechanical issue with its engine.
Alive had only just returned to the water after last-minute repairs on a damaged canard board that forced it out of this month’s Cabbage Tree Island Race and Big Boat Challenge.
The crew felt it would be unsafe to continue with the latest issue given the conditions awaiting along the southern NSW coast and Bass Strait.
The retirement is a bitter blow for Alive, which was vying to become only the fourth boat in history to win the race on handicap three times, after Freya, Love & War and Ichi Ban.
The boat boasted an impressive crew, including highly prized navigator Adrienne Cahalan, the most successful woman in the race’s history.
Instead of forging ahead, Alive buoyed at Port Kembla for engine repairs as fellow handicap contenders URM Group, Celestial V70 and Zeus waged on.
Drama unfolded early on as fellow supermaxi Wild Thing 100 narrowly avoided a collision with Celestial V70 before recapturing its speed out of the Sydney Heads.
Wild Thing was at the centre of another incident in the harbour that left leading URM Group to complete a penalty turn.
URM Group had been required to keep clear of a cluster of boats on its starboard side but struggled to do so with Wild Thing so close leeward.
Just as Whisper flew a protest flag, claiming the mini-maxi had been too close, URM Group completed a penalty turn to absolve herself for the misstep.
Penalty turns for incidents that take place in the harbour must be completed early in the race, or else the offender risks a time penalty on arrival in Hobart.
