SYDNEY — The Sydney to Hobart fleet was reduced to 98 boats after overall honors contender Maritimo 52 was one of two retirements on a stormy first night of racing.
Rival super maxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect remained neck-and-neck in the early hours of Wednesday as the fleet began to pass Eden on the New South Wales south coast before heading into Bass Strait.
The two favorites for line honors were some 40 miles (65 kilometers) ahead of the nearest challengers.
Race officials confirmed Maritimo had retired overnight with rigging damage, while 50-footer Sticky pulled out with electrical issues. The retirements came after line honors contender SHK Scallywag was among the three boats of the 103 starters to pull out on the first evening after the start Tuesday in Sydney harbor.
“We’re shattered, actually,” said Maritimo crew member Peter Jones. “We were trying to work a million ways around it, but at best we were going to be at 50%.”
Jones reported a southwesterly front had come through with three hours of heavy rain and high winds.
PHOTOS: Two super maxis continue to lead the Sydney to Hobart race as storms hit fleet
“There was as much lightning as we’d ever seen,” Jones said.
LawConnect was the first out of the harbor. The finish line of the 628-nautical mile (720-mile, 1,170-kilometer) race is at Constitution Dock in the state capital of Hobart.
The line honors record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds was set by Comanche in 2017, after Comanche also won last year’s race. In 2022, Comanche finished at Constitution Dock in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds - the second-fastest time behind its 2017 race record.
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