Comanche wins 75th Sydney to Hobart race

HOBART, Australia (AP) — Comanche won the 75th edition of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Saturday by claiming line honors for the third time.

The Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant-skippered super maxi made the most of strong overnight winds to cross the River Derwent finish line just after 7:30 a.m. local time.

Comanche earlier broke away from a five-strong pack of super maxis down Tasmania’s east coast having taken a wider route across Bass Strait on Friday.

She stalled at one stage on a windless River Derwent before crossing the line in a time of 1 day, 18 hours, 30 minutes and 24 seconds.

InfoTrack, which was the first yacht out of Sydney Harbour on Thursday, finished second, about 45 minutes behind Comanche. The three other super maxis — nine-time line honrs champion Wild Oats XI, Scallywag and Black Jack — were jostling for third place.

Comanche’s previous wins were in 2015 and 2017, the latter coming in race-record time of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes after Wild Oats XI was stripped of the title in a post-race protest.

Minerva became the fleet’s third retirement overnight, reducing the number of yachts in the race to 154.

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