Brutal Sydney to Hobart ends with thrilling finale

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Monaco Yacht Club super-maxi Black Jack has claimed enactment honours successful an at-times hard Sydney to Hobart yacht contention that was beset by dense seas earlier ending nether the lightest of breezes.

The Peter Harburg-owned, Mark Bradford-skippered 100-footer held a comfy pb from chap super-maxis LawConnect and SHK Scallywag arsenic she crawled up the Derwent River aboriginal this morning.

She crossed the enactment soon aft 1.30am successful a clip of 2 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 17 seconds, the slowest since Nicorette successful 2004.

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From the 88 yachts that started connected Boxing Day, astir fractional of the fleet had withdrawn for assorted reasons, with galore affected by dense seas.

"What a magnificent effort to get done the unsmooth worldly and past get done the calms and conscionable drift crossed the finishing line," erstwhile Sydney to Hobart victor Peter Shipway said connected the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia telecast.

"Fabulous effort, a fantastic reward to this unit who tried truthful hard for a fig of years to instrumentality the prize and present it's theirs."

This year's 628-nautical mile lawsuit (about 720 miles; 1,170 kilometres) has been 1 of the slower races successful caller memory, a agelong mode down Comanche's 2017 grounds of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds.

In 2017, Comanche acceptable the 628 nautical-mile contention grounds successful 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds.

Black Jack and 100-footer LawConnect — a erstwhile victor arsenic Perpetual Loyal successful 2016 and Investec Loyal successful 2011 — had traded the pb respective times arsenic the yachts approached the land of Tasmania.

Conditions unit retirements of 21 vessels during Sydney to Hobart

LawConnect finished 2nd successful 2 days, 15 hours, 11 minutes, 44 seconds. Hong Kong's SHK Scallywag100, which led the fleet retired of Sydney Harbour connected Sunday, was little than 20 minutes down LawConnect to decorativeness successful 3rd place.

Last year's contention was cancelled the week before it was owed to commencement due to the fact that of coronavirus-related quarantine issues, but the 2021 variation proceeded with wide virus-testing protocols successful place. Skippers were told boats indispensable immediately discontinue from the contention if a unit subordinate receives a connection from wellness authorities saying they person tested affirmative for COVID-19.

Black Jack antecedently claimed enactment honours successful the 2009 variation nether the sanction Alfa Romeo. It was 2nd to Wild Oats XI by conscionable 28 minutes successful a 2018 thriller.

Owner Peter Harburg was astatine Constitution Dock successful Hobart to greet his team.

"It is precise emotional. It is the expansive prize of yachting successful Australia. For maine it's the archetypal clip I've been progressive successful a winning team," Harburg said. "I don't cognize whether I privation to outcry oregon laughter oregon springiness Mark different hug. I can't picture it."

- with AP

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