Comanche has taken back the top spot in the sailing contest from Sydney to Hobart earlier this week on Thursday following a fierce battle with the Wild Oats XI, which surged ahead overnight amidst a close competition involving the remaining four supermaxis. Currently, Comanche is the favored contender for the prestigious title and holds a slight lead of about six miles after distancing itself from Black Jack, the nine-time winner Wild Oats XI, and InfoTrack in the line honours category.
As the wind began to subside on Wednesday evening in 2017, the 1 day and 9 hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds record set during the race appears to be safe, as the leading vessels are not expected to reach Tasmania’s Hobart until Friday morning. A new record requires them to cross the finish line by 1115 GMT.
With the focus now shifting to wind patterns, there are expectations of a shift to westward winds before veering toward the south later on Thursday. The Wild Oats X, skippered by Stacey Jackson of Australia and crewed by sailors from New Zealand, Britain, the Netherlands, and the US, is trailing InfoTrack by just 20 nautical miles in the 630-nautical mile race along the southeastern coast of Australia through the Bass Strait leading to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.
Team Hungary M3 has become the most recent of the four boats to withdraw from the 85-strong fleet, making its way to Ulladulla on the south coast of New South Wales. The Hong Kong-based supermaxi contender Sun Hung Kai Scallywag was one of the two boats to retire on Wednesday after sustaining damage to its bow sprit.
