Comanche clinched its fifth line honours victory in the 2024 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, crossing the River Derwent finish line at 6:03 PM on Sunday. Masterful skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo drove the yacht meticulously over a treacherous race course. They completed the race in just more than two days and five hours, edging their nearest competitor, LawConnect, by an estimated 10 nautical miles. That didn’t mean the race was free of challenges for most participants.
Even with this amazing finish, Comanche was rocked by great challenges throughout the race. The dealbreaker was that the boat was forced to retire early due to mainsail damage. From running rigging defects to broken genoa sheets to water leaks, it came under persistent attack. On top of that, the crew faced a lithium power tool battery fire, compounding T/V Golden Rule of Water’s woes.
Comanche’s time was almost 30 minutes short of the overall race record. The current record is one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017. It is no surprise that this year’s race came to be an incredibly demanding course. 33 boats retired from the race, an indication of the brutal conditions that many competitors faced.
It was a long journey full of challenges for Frances Beaumont and Tim Binns and their 45-year-old yacht Titoki. After addressing a host of other problems, they finally decided to retire her. Both Beaumont, 57, and Binns, 63, told me they experienced mild hypothermia from the punishing conditions.
They have claimed post-retirement that the decision was a difficult one. Neither of them was eager to face that decision. People often express that they first felt relief when they realized they’d made it off the water unscathed. They confessed to being “very tired, very wet” from their ordeal.
David Jacobs, one of the other sailors in the race this year, had this to say about how competitive this year’s event was. “We’ve had five boats essentially match-racing all the way down the course since pretty much Sydney Heads,” he noted, reflecting on the level of competition that characterized the race.
