A fleet of 108 sailing yachts is ready to tackle the 79th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race on Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. local Australia time.
Previous Tattersall Cup winners including defending champion Alive, Centennial 7, Love & War and Unicoin will be competing. Love & War is one of a trio of boats that has won the race three times. This year, Phillip Kurts, son of boat owner Simon Kurts, will be at the helm for the first time. The Kurts family is the first to have three generations compete in the race and on the same vessel at the helm.
“We’re absolutely capable (of winning the race),” the family said in a statement. “The tougher the race is, the better we’ll go.”
Among the international entries in the 628-nautical mile race are Cocody from France, Poulpito, which calls New Caledonia home, Antipodes from Hong Kong, the Philippines’ Centennial, Caro of New Zealand and Bacchanal of the United States.
All six states of the host country are represented with New South Whales boasting 60 entries, Queensland with 15, Victoria at 13, Tasmania, 8, South Australia 4 and Western Australia at 2.
Four boats measuring more than 100 feet are entered including defending Line Honours winner, Christian Beck’s Lawconnect and the boat it battled to the wire in 2023, Master Lock Comanche, This boat is the current race record holder and took Line Honours four times with different owners. In 2023, Comanche came up 51 seconds short when Beck took the win.
Four-time Sydney-Hobart Overall winner Matt Allen and James Mayo, who was aboard Sovereign when it won Line Honours and overall double, will co-captain Master Lock Comanche in the race.
“It’s such an iconic boat. It’s such an iconic race,” Allen said. “To give it another go is just a terrific feeling.”
Grant Wharington’s Wild Thing 100 returns and famed racer Bill Barry-Cotter enters for the first time with Maritimo 100. She’s built for comfort and luxury and isn’t expected to challenge the other superyachts.
In the mix for overall honors are Cruising Yacht Club of Australia commodore Sam Haynes’ Volvo Open 70, Celestial, formerly known as Willow. He won the 2022 race with his TP52 of the same name and placed second in 2021.
There are six 52-foot sailing yachts vying for the Tattersall Cup including Smuggler, Sebastian Bohm’s TP52. It leads the CYCA’s Audi Blue Water Points with two races remaining including the Sydney-Hobart event.
Caro, a Botin 52 commanded by Max Clink is a threat. She was third in the 2022 race and won the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race and claimed victory in the recent CYCA Bird Island Race.
Twenty-one Double Handed entries are entered including Gizmo, which is co-skippered by Tuck and Meg Niblett, one of three all-female teams competing.
In addition to the women who are crewmembers, there are 16 female owners or captains and/or co-skippers.
Competitor breakdown:
- 108 total entrants
- 60 are from New South Wales
- 13 from Victoria
- 8 from Tasmania
- 15 from Queensland
- 4 from South Australia
- 2 from Western Australia
- 6 from overseas
Extra information
- The 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart starts in Sydney Harbor at 1 p.m. on Thursday 26 December
- This is the 79th 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
- The race is 628 nautical miles
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