LawConnect lead, Comanche out with broken main sail

Favourite Master Lock Comanche were forced to retire from the 79th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which began on Dec 26, leaving LawConnect as the new race leader in the South Pacific.

LawConnect, who won line honours in 2023 in a thrilling finish by just 51 seconds, were first past the turning mark after cannon sounded at 1pm (10am in Singapore).

However, they soon ran into some sail issues, giving race record holder Comanche an unexpected advantage.

But having set record-breaking pace, Comanche retired in the early hours of Dec 27 due to mainsail damage about 63 nautical miles from Green Cape - one among nine retirements from the race from the initial fleet of 104.

Wild Thing 100, another supermaxi, almost capsized after making a late tack to avoid the smaller Celestial V70.