The Andoo Comanche crossed the finish line off Hobart at the stroke of 1am local time, which did not stop the jetties at Constitution Dock from being packed with people to pay tribute to the winning crew, a tradition in the classic oceanic of the Southern Hemisphere. The 100-foot (30.48-meter) maxi stopped the clock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes, and 48 seconds, the second-best time for a real-time winner in the event’s history.
The weather forecast with which the fleet started the race on Monday from Sydney Harbor pointed to the possibility of setting a new record in the race that celebrates two decades of Rolex sponsorship this year. The battle between the four 100-foot maxis taking part this year continued throughout the course at a fast pace, but the winner was just under three hours away from beating the previous best mark.
Among his crew of 24 sailors, the Australian maxi had Antonio “Ñeti” Cuervas-Mons and Pablo Arrate, two veterans of the Rolex Sydney Hobart from Cantabria. Together they won the record-breaking 2016 edition aboard Anthony Bell’s maxi Perpetual Loyal.
“We have had dream weather, with a favorable wind along practically the entire route” Pablo Arrarte would explain upon reaching land. “Good conditions, although not ideal for this boat. We were constantly hitting the front and those behind us always came with more wind, which is why we couldn’t get away from the fleet. On arrival in Hobart we find gusts of 34-36 knots and then areas without wind in the shadow of the island: you arrive first and at night, you don’t see where there is or isn’t wind, the one behind tries to surround you… It’s been quite a while intense”.
The Cantabrian sailor accumulates four victories in five participations (2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022), including the current record established by LDV Comanche in 2017. “What I like is that it is a short race, especially if you go in one of these boats, but normally you have all the conditions, with fronts, upwind, sterns, a lot of wind, little wind,… It is very technical and very fun. It continues to impress me how people live in Australia: At the Sydney exit, with the number of spectator boats there are, it is evident that it is the event of the year. In sailing you will not find anything similar in the world, the fans here are amazing, wonderful” .
Winner horse
This year is the fourth victory in real time for the design Verdier Yacht Design & VPLP in the Rolex Sydney Hobart at the hands of three different owners: it was the fastest in 2015 built by Jim Clark and Kirsty Hinze-Clark, in 2017 and in 2019 by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, and now by John Winning Jr. In 2017 he set the current all-time Rolex Sydney Hobart record in 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds. “That was another regatta in a straight line, without many manoeuvres, while in this one, being on the run, we had to make many gybes”, explains Arrarte. “Arriving at Tasman Island we ran out of wind, and that also meant that we did not get better time” .
Just over 26 minutes after Andoo Comanche’s triumph, Christian Beck’s Law Connect (with Carlos Hernández from the Canary Islands on board) crossed the finish line in Hobart, followed just 17 minutes later by Peter Harbourg’s Black Jack ( with the Catalan navigator Juan Vila). At the time of writing this information, the TP52 Warrior Won in which the Cantabrian navigator Nacho Postigo competes was less than 90 nautical miles from Hobart.
First held in 1945, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an institution among offshore racing. It is organized by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in collaboration with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and has been part of the list of events sponsored by Rolex since 2002, along with other 600-mile club ocean references such as the Rolex Fastnet Race or the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
