This is all that separated the Sydney to Hobart race leaders before an upset win (2024)

In a finish for the ages, LawConnect has sensationally overtaken Andoo Comanche in the final moments to snatch line honours in the 2023 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Andoo Comanche held the lead a lot more comfortably when rounding the Tasman Peninsula and entering the River Derwent for the final sprint, but LawConnect started to rapidly gain on them.

The speedier LawConnect closed several nautical miles between them along the river until they were neck and neck to a nail-biting finish.

LawConnect's finish time in the end was 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds. Andoo Comanche's was just 51 seconds behind.

If you're new to the Sydney to Hobart race, we've got a shortcut guide at the bottom of the story. Tap the link below to get the gist of the race:

Explained: Common Sydney to Hobart yacht race questions

LawConnect owner Christian Beck described their dramatic win as a dream come true.

"I can't believe that result. Honestly, it's a dream come true," he said.

"I never thought it was possible, actually."

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Despite trailing by a significant margin as they passed the Iron Pot on the final approach, LawConnect had the advantage of being able to watch Andoo Comanche to see where the slow spots were.

LawConnect entered with a protest flag flying, after being on standby for about 30 minutes during the race due to concerns Andoo Comanche was in distress, but a formal protest was not lodged.

There was also some interference from a spectator boat in the final moments, with a catamaran passing close to Andoo Comanche and the crew being seen yelling and gesturing.

Tasmania Police said this afternoon action would be taken against a 57-year-old man for "allegedly breaching" marine and safety regulations.

"The man was skippering a private vessel when it reportedly encroached into the exclusion zone set by Marine and Safety Tasmania," it said in a statement.

The offence carries a fine of up to $3,900.

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Sailing master Tony Mutter said spectator boats were something the competitors had to deal with.

"It's pretty fair that everyone had troubles with the spectator boats. That's part of it when it's so busy," he said.

Andoo Comanche skipper John Winning Jr said they only had themselves to blame for the last-minute loss.

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"We should have been miles ahead of them with our boat," he said.

"The conditions suited us, I think they just outsailed us."

First local boat home

URM Group has claimed third place line honours, crossing the finish line at 3:07pm to record a race time of 2 days, 2 hours, 7 minutes and 19 seconds.

The first Tasmanian yacht to finish, Alive, crossed the line almost 12 minutes later.

Alive is currently in first place to win overall handicap honours.

Four yachts have now docked at Kings Pier, with Moneypenny and Wild Thing 100 expected to be the next to arrive.

It has been a testing 78th edition of the Sydney to Hobart, with a man overboard, stormy seas, damaged yachts and rapid wind changes.

Eleven boats have retired, including race favourite SHK Scallywag, which broke its bow sprit on the first day.

The skipper of two-handed Rum Rebellion, Shane Connelly, was sent overboard at 6pm on Boxing Day after encountering rapid wind changes off the coast between Cronulla and Wollongong.

Two-handed Currawong also retired, after facing various issues in rough conditions off New South Wales.

Owner Kathy Veel said they were disappointed but believed they made the right decision.

"Last night was quite difficult and there was a lot more of that ahead of us in a long race," she said.

They were the last boat to cross the finishing line at last year's event, making a well-received arrival in Hobart at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Your questions answered

Here are the answers to some of the most common questions.

Who won Sydney to Hobart 2023?

When we talk about the Sydney to Hobart race, there are two major "winners":

• Line honours: This is the order in which boats cross the finish line.
• Overall winners: The order of winners once race times have been calculated to take into account the differences between boats (handicaps). This is because the boats aren't exactly the same —adjustments have to be made for things like the weight and length of the boat.

Line honours will always go to the biggest, fastest yachts (supermaxis) but is likely one of the smaller vessels will be crowned the overall winner (which is seen as the more prestigious of the two prizes).

Here's the line honours as of Thursday morning:

1. 1.LawConnect
2. 2.Andoo Comanche

The difference between the two was just 51 seconds.

But the overall winner won't be decided for days.

Until then, we can only wait.

However, before the race, there were a few main contenders for the overall title – here they are listed in alphabetical order:

• Alive
• Andoo Comanche
• Chutzpah
• Celestial
• LawConnect
• SHK Scallywag
• Smuggler
• URM
• Wild Thing

Who owns LawConnect?

Christen Beck.

Mr Beck is the founder of a legal software company, which he created off the back of building a system for his father's legal firm in the 90s.

In 2017, he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2018, he was ranked 99th on the Financial Review's Rich List.

Who owns Andoo Comanche?

John 'Herman' Winning Jnr.

He's the chief executive of Winning Appliances, a company started by his great grandfather in 1906.

Mr Winning Jnr took over the role from his father in 2011.

How far is the Sydney to Hobart distance?

It's a 628-nautical-mile course – that's1,163 kilometres.

Starting at Sydney Harbour, the course runs down the south-east coast of Australia, across the Bass Strait before turning into the Derwent River to finish in Hobart.

It usually takes about 48 hours for the first boat to cross the finish line.

What is a nautical mile?

A nautical mile is the equivalent to 1.852 kilometres.

It's an internationally used standardised term used for maritime navigation, based on the Earth's latitude and longitude coordinates.

A nautical mile is the equivalent of one minute of latitude.

Because of this, a nautical mile is slightly longer than land mile.

How many boats are in the Sydney to Hobart race?

There's 103 this year.

What is the prize for Sydney to Hobart?

There's no prize money – just trophies. Here's the two main ones:

• JH Illingworth Challenge Cup: This is for the line honours winner – which is the first boat to cross the finish line.
• Tattersalls Cup: This goes to the overall winner.

What's the Sydney to Hobart record?

The line honours record is 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds.

It was set in 2017 byLDV Comanche.

If you've got even more questions, go read out Sydney to Hobart explaineror tap the link below to jump back to the top of the story.

Take me back to the top to read the recap

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