“FRANKFURT. This time, she and her ship held out: After the maxi yacht *Comanche* was forced to retire last year following a mishap, she prevailed in the anniversary edition of the historic Sydney-to-Hobart regatta. And she did so under adverse conditions: Wind and waves demanded everything—and more—from the nearly 1,300 sailors who initially set out on the 628-nautical-mile (1,163-kilometer) course across Bass Strait and into the Derwent River—a stretch made extremely challenging by its notorious calms—leading to the harbor of Hobart, the Tasmanian capital. After just over 24 hours, 34 of the 129 yachts that had started the 80th edition of one of the world's most demanding regattas had already retired; sailors succumbed to seasickness in the steep swells, or their vessels suffered structural damage. *Comanche*, however, made it to the finish line. Nevertheless, with a elapsed time of two days, five hours, three minutes, and 36 seconds, she fell far short of her own record—a benchmark *Comanche* had set in 2017 with a winning time of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds over the very same course.
The night preceding the maxi yachts' finish on Sunday was brutal. The vessels were forced to beat their way toward Tasmania against winds gusting up to 35 knots (Force 8 on the Beaufort scale, or 65 kilometers per hour). Among many others, the maxi *Wild Thing*—skippered by the seasoned Grant Wharington—was also forced to retire. "When you look up at a rig worth four million dollars (approx. 3.4 million euros—Ed.) looming over you like that, you tend to be a bit more cautious than usual," he remarked upon his return to Sydney. He was in good company, as other favorites in their respective classes were also compelled to retire—sails tore, one crew lost a life raft, and *Wild Oats XI* spent 40 minutes struggling to free themselves from a drifting fishing net—the crews, even the professional sailors among them, could no longer endure the waves, which towered more than three meters high. By morning, only 99 yachts were still heading south.
Then the picture changed. The sea seemed to reward those who had held out. However, the wind did not merely shift to allow the yachts to hoist their spinnakers; it also dropped significantly, causing the fleet to bunch up. The dice-rolling on the water began. "We had a comfortable lead during the race," said Matt Allen, who had chartered *Comanche*, after crossing the finish line. "Our lead vanished into thin air this morning. It was practically a fresh start all over again. I’ve never experienced anything like this in a Sydney Hobart—everyone so tightly bunched together on the second day." "We practically won the race twice."
Comanche was followed by Christian Beck’s *Law Connect*, which had led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour just the day before. With a victory, *Law Connect* would have achieved a hat-trick, following their fortunate wins in the previous two years. Third overall was Seng Huang Lee’s *Scallywag 100*, followed by the American yacht *Lucky*, owned by Bryon Ehrhart and skippered by New Zealand’s America’s Cup legend Brad Butterworth—after 24 hours of high-performance sailing, less than two kilometers separated this quartet at the finish line on Sunday morning. Despite the 47-minute lead held by the victorious *Comanche*, Beck appeared satisfied at the Hobart quay. He also recounted the challenges his professional crew had to contend with during the stormy night at sea: the instruments failed, the mainsheet snapped, the boom vang broke, and a headsail came loose from the mast—all issues the men had to resolve while beating into the wind at night amidst gusts exceeding 30 knots (Force 7; 56 km/h). Then, in the morning, the mainsail tore just as the crew was shaking out the reefs. Beck himself—competing in his eighth Sydney-Hobart race—also suffered from seasickness. "It was the toughest regatta ever."
It was likely just as tough for the German sailors led by Jost Stollmann. Sailing his snow-white *Alithia*, he kept pace with the frontrunners of the fleet. Stollmann is no stranger to life at sea: he was once the founder of Compunet—becoming a multimillionaire after selling the company—and was subsequently appointed by Gerhard Schröder in 1998 to serve as Minister of Economic Affairs in his shadow cabinet. However, Stollmann stepped down from politics; starting in 2002, he sailed around the world with his wife Fiona, their five children, and a crew—which even included a tutor. He found a second home in Australia. The family settled in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods on the bay, and Stollmann founded the payment services provider Tyro, a venture that shook up the banking sector. Following his retirement, his wife commissioned a second boat for the family to build—with the goal of circumnavigating the world's six great capes. Meanwhile, Stollmann obtained his captain's license in Australia.
*Alithia*, sailing under the burgee of the Düsseldorf Yacht Club, already had 61,000 nautical miles under her keel; the crew brought little racing experience to the table, but possessed exceptional seamanship. "As a team, we demonstrated resilience,” said Stollmann, who himself fell seasick during the night. His navigator, Jim Nixon—fearless after having already sailed 30 Sydney-Hobart regattas—had steered the 50-ton yacht far out to sea during the night to take advantage of the more favorable currents found there; however, the conditions proved even harsher. "You feel the bow lift, then the free fall in total silence, and seconds later, the thud reverberating through the entire ship," Nixon describes the wet, roller-coaster ride in the pitch-black night. Before the onset of the second Australian night, the cruising yacht—which for a few days during the Australian summer had transformed into a racing yacht—sat in 16th place within the decimated field.” [1]
1. "Wir haben das Rennen zweimal gewonnen": Bei der Traditionsregatta von Sydney nach Hobart kämpft auch die siegreiche Yacht Comanche mit den schwierigen Bedingungen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 29 Dec 2025: 27 CHRISTOPH HEIN
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą