Andoo Comanche Takes Line Honours in Austrlia's 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race

Q: How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

Q: What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

Q: Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

Andoo Comanche Takes Line Honours in Austrlia's 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race

3rd December 2022

Afloat.ie Team

Andoo Comanche at the start of the 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race Credit: Andrea Francolini

Andoo Comanche set a new record time to take Line Honours in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race.

The race is part of the six race Sydney Blue Water Pointscore schedule that concludes with the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on St. Stephen's Day.

The 100-foot maxi, skippered by John Winning Jr, finished the 172 nautical mile race in 12 hours, 19 minutes and 8 seconds.

That was more than three hours quicker than the previous record set by LawConnect in the 2021 race, and just four minutes shy of the old record, set by Wild Oats XI in 2012 before the finish line was moved to Watsons Bay.

Andoo Comanche now has three Line Honours wins from the five races in the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore so far, having also won the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and Tollgate Islands Race.

After chasing Black Jack to Sydney Heads in a moderate sou'easter at the start of the race on Friday night, Andoo Comanche pulled away and consistently reached speeds above 20 knots as the maxis rounded Cabbage Tree Island (north of Port Stephens) in the early hours of Saturday.

Returning to Sydney in a light westerly as the sun rose over the city, she set a new benchmark for the race, 50 minutes ahead of Christian Beck's Juan-K 100 LawConnect, which impressed in her first outing of the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore.

Peter Harburg's Reichel/Pugh 100 Black Jack (skippered by Mark Bradford) and the Oatley family's Reichel/Pugh 100 Hamilton Island Wild Oats (skippered by Mark Richards), enjoyed a fascinating duel down Sydney Harbour.

They battled all the way to the line, with Black Jack getting the edge by just 59 seconds.

Having taken victory in the first race between all four maxis this year, Andoo Comanche skipper Winning Jr had plenty to be pleased about.

"The race went well," he said. "We think conditions were in our favour, so it was a bit unfortunate for the skinnier boats that they didn't get their conditions, but we think they've had a few races that were more favourable for them.

"We had a tussle with Black Jack getting out of the Heads which was a bit of fun; they were holding us out. But once we turned the corner and got our nice angle, we were away.

"The big wide ship got triple-headed with a pole out and it doesn't get much better than that, other than having more wind."

With a series of major wins in varied conditions, Andoo Comanche is widely tipped to be the frontrunner for Line Honours in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Winning Jr is coming to terms with the favourites tag, but isn't burdened by any sense of expectation.

"We'd rather be underdogs, but I guess we are the favourites!" he said. "We'll take what we get. Hopefully we deserve to be the favourites.

"We're super pumped to be in the position we're in and have the awesome bunch of experienced and diverse sailors we've got."

Winning Jr appears to have the perfect blend of a high performing and cohesive crew.

"The one thing I think has really improved is the camaraderie on board," he added. "Everyone has realised how important it is to be connected as a team.

"We know when to take things seriously - we take things seriously a lot - but when you have periods of down time, we've realised how important it is to have those moments of laughter and get everyone's spirits back up.

"Watching the serious people crack a bit and become more light-hearted, then watching the light-hearted people learn to pull it into line and be serious, and finding that middle ground as a team, has been our biggest improvement."

Andoo Comanche takes the lead in the Maxi Division of the 2022 Australian Maxi Championship, which is supported by Major Partner Sydney Brewery.

In addition to the Line Honours win, she was also the first of the maxis on handicap, from LawConnect, Black Jack and Hamilton Island Wild Oats.

Racing continues in the Championship on Monday, with up to two passage races, followed by the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge on Tuesday.

Follow the remainder of the fleet in the Cabbage Tree Island Race via the live tracker and live standings.

The Cabbage Tree Island Race is the fifth of six races in the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

The series opened with the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, which was won overall by Sean Langman's Reichel/Pugh 69 Moneypenny.

Anthony Johnston's Reichel/Pugh 72 URM Group, skippered by Marcus Ashley-Jones claimed Line Honours and the overall win in the Flinders Islet Race.

Andoo Comanche, skippered by John Winning Jr, won line and overall honours in the Tollgate Islands Race.

Black Jack, Peter Harburg's Reichel/Pugh 100 skippered by Mark Bradford, won line and overall honours in the Bird Island Race.

2022/23 Sydney Blue Water Pointscore schedule

Race 1 – Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race (Saturday, 30 July)
Race 2 – Flinders Islet Race (Saturday, 24 September)
Race 3 – Tollgate Islands Race (Friday 14 October)
Race 4 – Bird Island Race (Saturday, 12 November)
Race 5 – Cabbage Tree Island Race (Friday, 2 December)
Race 6 – Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (Sunday, 26 December)

Published in Sydney to Hobart, Superyachts

Published in Sydney to Hobart

Tagged under

Andoo Comanche

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The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual offshore yacht racing event with an increasingly international exposure attracting super maxi yachts and entries from around tne world. It is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 26 December.

This is the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 boats started the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, with 50 finishing.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - FAQs

How many Sydney Hobart Yacht Races have been sailed?

The number of Sydney Hobart Yacht Races held by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since 1945 is 75

How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6,257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

What is the estimated total crew to have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race?

About 60,061 sailors have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race between 1945 and 2019

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets post 2000?

116 in 2004 (59 finished); 117 in 2014 (103 finished); 157 in 2019 (154 finished)

What was the Smallest Sydney Hobart Race fleet?

Nine starters in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945

What was the largest number of international entries in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2015 and 2017 there were 27, including the 12 Clipper yachts (11 in 2017). In the record entry of 371 yachts in the 50th in 1994, there were 24 internationals

Who was the first winner of the Sydney Hobart Race?

Rani, Captain John Illingworth RN (UK). Design: Barber 35’ cutter. Line and handicap winner

What was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race fleet size?

157 starters, 154 finishers (3 retirements)

Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW. Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

What is the Sydney Hobart Race record?

1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche after Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour in port/starboard incident for a finish time of 1d 9h 48m 50s

Who is the oldest ever skipper to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

The oldest ever sailor was Syd Fischer (88 years, 2015).

Who are the youngest ever sailors to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

As a baby, Raud O'Brien did his first of some six Sydney Hobarts on his parent's Wraith of Odin (sic). As a veteran at three, Raud broke his arm when he fell off the companionway steps whilst feeding biscuits to the crew on watch Sophie Tasker sailed the 1978 race as a four-year-old on her father’s yacht Siska, which was not an official starter due to not meeting requirements of the CYCA. Sophie raced to Hobart in 1979, 1982 and 1983.

Quite a number of teenage boys and girls have sailed with their fathers and mothers, including Tasmanian Ken Gourlay’s 14-year-old son who sailed on Kismet in 1957. A 12-year-old boy, Travis Foley, sailed in the fatal 1998 race aboard Aspect Computing, which won PHS overall.

In 1978, the Brooker family sailed aboard their yacht Touchwood – parents Doug and Val and their children, Peter (13), Jacqueline (10), Kathryne (8) and Donald (6). Since 1999, the CYCA has set an age limit of 18 for competitors

Who was the first woman to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

Jane (‘Jenny’) Tate, from Hobart, sailed with her husband Horrie aboard Active in the 1946 Race, as did Dagmar O’Brien with her husband, Dr Brian (‘Mick’) O’Brien aboard Connella. Unfortunately, Connella was forced to retire in Bass Strait, but Active made it to the finish. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the first female skipper to finish the race

What is the oldest yacht to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2019, Bill Barry-Cotter brought Katwinchar, built in 1904, back to the start line. She had competed with a previous owner in 1951. It is believed she is the oldest yacht to compete. According to CYCA life member and historian Alan Campbell, more than 31 yachts built before 1938 have competed in the race, including line honours winners Morna/Kurrewa IV (the same boat, renamed) and Astor, which were built in the 1920s.