Sydney: LDV Comanche was named the line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in dramatic circumstances when Wild Oats XI was stripped of the title over a near-collision.
Wild Oats crossed the line in record time, but an international jury handed the crew a one-hour penalty after Comanche protested over an incident between the 100-footers early in the race.
It is just the third time the result of the annual race, which has been held since 1945, was decided by a protest, and the first since 1990.
Comanche owner-skipper Jim Cooney said the complaint was about a near-miss involving his super-yacht and Wild Oats, which appeared to tack too late when exiting Sydney Heads on Tuesday.
An international jury convened on Thursday heard the evidence from both crews and found in favour of Comanche, saying Wild Oats had “failed to keep clear (of Comanche) while tacking”.
The jury’s chairman John Rountree said Wild Oats also did not comply with the rules requiring the super-yacht to make a two-turn penalty after breaking the initial rule.
“Wild Oats XI is ... penalised a time penalty of one hour to be added to her elapsed time,” he told reporters in Hobart.
Comanche finished 26min and 34sec behind Wild Oats’ 1 day, 8hrs, 48min and 50sec, enough to seal victory after the one-hour penalty was imposed. Both yachts were several hours inside the record time set last year.
Cooney said the decision was “an enormous relief ... to feel that we did deserve to win”.
“I didn’t expect to protest in order to win the race,” he said, adding that the “rules are there to protect people’s lives”.
‘We paid the price’
Wild Oats skipper Mark Richards said his crew was “very disappointed” but that they would “take it on the chin”.
The protest denied Wild Oats its ninth line honours victory in the 628-nautical mile (1,163-kilometre) bluewater classic.
Richards denied the situation had been dangerous, but added that he could “see the jury’s point of view”.
“The whole situation was under control. It was just one of those tricky situations in a yacht race and that’s what happens, and we all paid the price.”
Attention now turns to the Tattersall Cup awarded to the overall winner, with Matt Allen’s new TP52 Ichi Ban among the favourites.
Smaller boats Patrice (Ker 46), Concubine (Mills 45) and Chutzpah (Caprice 40) were also in the running.
The handicap honour goes for the vessel that performs best according to size, giving smaller boats a chance to prove their worth in what is regarded as one of the world’s toughest yacht races.
“This is the best Hobart race I have ever done — it was exhilarating — I reckon we surfed at 28 knots. I’ve never seen conditions like it,” owner-skipper Allen said after Ichi Ban finished early on Thursday.
“I think the breeze is lightening off though, and they (the other Tattersall Cup challengers) won’t come home as fast as we did.”
