2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race | Start – Live broadcast

Watch the live broadcast of the start to the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

To drop them or not makeing a really good tag all right one tacking over that’s all happening down at water level hey what are you doing 630 nautical miles 1,100 km from the heart of Sydney to the DT River in Hobart welcome to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race welcome to Sydney Harbor for one of the great days on the Australian sporting calendar the 78th edition of the Rox Sydney Hobart and it is a magnificent day on the Harbor a fleet of just over 100 yacht about to begin the great race the incredible Adventure South to Hobart

Hi everyone I’m Mark peretta along with Peter shipway shippers you’ve done 31 of these races five-time line honors winner why is this race just so special well I think markets are race that all ocean racing Sailors want to do worldwide especially in Australia the Australian yachtsman every state this time is

Represented um got 10 overseas International Representatives so it’s a race on the calendar for every yachtsman around the world P we’ve been hearing about the conditions here and and it sounds like it could throw anything at the fleet it’s been very tricky the last week and even today at boxing day we’re

Still unsure of what conditions these boats are going to get it’s going to be tricky out of the harbor it’s going to be tricky down the coast and I don’t think there’s going to be a race record this year right and just the way we like

It nice and tricky and a bit of an adventure all right let’s go to a man who knows a fair bit about Adventure out on the water for us today he’s a two-time America’s Cup winning Skipper Jimmy spittle afternoon Mark afternoon Pete and to everyone at home to this year’s

Rolex Sydney to hobot Yacht Race well I can tell you we’re out on the start line now very very unsettled conditions throughout the morning scattered showers scattered Sunshine but the most important ingredient today is the wind and right now not a lot of it we have a

Forecast of a very light easterly for 1:00 for start time the other big condition that these 100 plus teams have to deal with will be a full run out tide so we’ve all seen the Christmas Tides but at 300 p.m. today it’s a dead low so

Something to be very very careful of as a skipper when you’re trying to start this race four start lines to separate the 100 strong teams as per usual the big boats get the best end of the deal they are on the start line closest to Sydney heads the smaller boats well they

Get the short end of the stick they are on the start line further in up the harbor they’ve them got to fight their way up through all that Disturbed air wakes of the boat and all of that spectator wash that’ll be out there so it’s going to be an absolute fascinating

Day to watch this start can’t wait to see how it unfolds hey thanks Jimmy great to have Jimmy spitt’s expertise for us on the seven cometry team a man who holds the race record on board and do kamanche speaking of kamanche we’ve been able to for the first time actually

Put a reporter on the boat to take us inside the strategy and everything that’s happening from the start line on board the favorite for this year’s race Lisa Daran Olympic silver medalist is on board for us Lisa how is it on board Kaman it’s amazing to be on board commi

Mark and for most of the time I watch at home like everyone or up on the Headland to to actually be on 100t supermaxi is incredible we’re going up and down the harbor the 24 team crew is setting up for an amazing ride South it’s going to

Be a tactical job to get out of the harbor but everyone’s buzzing it’s so exciting and I tell you what from the back of the boat the front long way so when they’re doing those tight crosses I don’t know how they do it but I’ll tell you

Soon well there’s the course map four different starting lines as Jimmy mentioned then to different turning marks at the heads and just offshore to equalize the distance between the different starting lines then down the New South Wales Coast across bass straight which will caus some ripples

This year I think east coast of Tasmania and then to storm bay around Tasman Island then 30 Mi across the bay to the entrance to the dent River the iron pot Lighthouse around the John shs and then the finish at Battery Point in Hobart and look at that weather Mark it’s

Raining heavily on the Harbor Pete unbelievable current temperature 26° that wind you’re mentioning easterly 3 to 5 knots at the moment little bit unknown but this has just happened a storm has just rolled in we’ve had Thunder we have had lightning that the satellite map at the moment so you can

See what’s coming this way but this was unexpected Pete it certainly was but as Jimmy said that the forecast has been all over the place and here it is a very light southeasterly at the moment so it’s going to be a very slow exit out of the harbor all right let’s find out

What’s happening at water level Jimmy spittle what’s going on down there yeah right now guys I’m pretty jealous of that studio you’re sitting in we’ve just had this thunderstorm make its way over the top seen some lightning uh but what it’s actually done is increased the breeze a bit uh initially

Was out of the South we’ve now seen it rotate around to the east seen a bunch of the OTS just doing their practice runs to the start line checking the big Code Zero sales the big question is what’s going to happen once this thunderstorm clears what will the wind

Do be very very interesting to see yeah it looks incredible Jimmy thanks for that great to have Jimmy spittle with us of course two time Sydney Hobart winner and current race record holder on commane that race record set in 2017 and uh that is the defending Champion

Right there uh Pete they’ve done a lot of work leading up to this race plenty of time out on the water and uh Lisa is down there for us now Lisa how things on command she well it’s a little bit wet but lucky one of the guys that let me one of their

Jackets but the team they’ve been really preparing we’ve we’ve set a couple of sales and the thing is we’re talking about depth and we’re talking about what’s happening in the sky because these rain crouds are really going to affect the race everyone’s super excited there’s a a little bit of nerves mostly

Excitement this start line is going to be really tight and um it’s going to be really tricky to get out the harbor and you know what in 20 minutes we could have completely different winds so stand by for everything everyone’s ready to go here and um I’m pretty ready too yeah it

Certainly got interesting Lisa thanks for that uh Peter what does this mean to the start well it’ll mean a relatively slow exit out of the harbor as I said earlier and slow for the first 4 to 6 hours perhaps and that’s going to really play tricks with this race record it’s

Going to be close the record I said in the open that it might not be possible this year but if these big boats can get a jump down the coast this afternoon there’s a big fresh eastly awaiting them in bass straight but they’ve got to get

Down to it if they can get wriggle their way down the coast at good speed today they’ll hook into that eastly and a record is possible but highly unlikely at this stage but kaman’s record is 33 hours and 15 minutes 1 day 9 hours and 15 minutes at an average speed of 18.9

Knots and to break the record she’s got to finish finish by 10:15 tomorrow night in Hobart and this is one of the big contenders for line on is Skelly wag as well you can really see that rain pounding down now Pete well scallywag this is her first big race since she’s

Been remodeled really Mark they’ve moved the M back uh half a meter they’ve got all new sales they got a new mask they’ got a terrific crew on board and here’s L connect one of the boats that will push I’m sure the big Maxis very close Victory she’s been runner up for the

Last 3 years for Christian Beck he’s been close he missed out by 27 minutes last year when uh Kaman got the the job done and uh again a very very powerful crew Tony mat will be the skipper Chris Nicholson two-time Australian yachtsman of the year on board as the 2ic she’s

Been uh very consistent in these early races in Harbor race she won that is uh and Welcome to our viewers joining us from the boxing day test you joined us on a rainy day on Sydney Harbor conditions were looking good earlier on and this storm has just come in and hit

The harbor in the last 10 minutes so we’re now just about 20 minutes away from a start but this has been unexpected this storm and uh the wind at the moment not a lot around Wild Thing making the most of it at the moment as Grant Warrington and his crew get set

And make final preparations but this P really changes strategies for a lot of people and you know we’ve not known leading into this race exactly what the weather would give to these yachties but we just knew it was going to be something tricky yes nine times out of

10 we normally get a sparkling seab Breeze nor easterly but it’s far from that today with the rain tumbling down and we’re watching wild think last year she was an 80f footer this year she’s an 100 footer she’s they’ve extended the boat at the stern and in the middle the

Same mass but they’ve got bigger four triangle area and uh loow she’s 100 footer she’ll find it hard to keep Pace with uh this sort of boat in andu Kaman the line honors favorite and the line Hors winner in four previous editions of the Rox Sydney Hobart race yeah it’s a

Magnificent boat an incredible crew they are the fastest Super Maxi in the world two-time winner here race record holder here they are going to take some beating once again they really are the The Benchmark but boy there’s some some interesting competition this year and you mentioned L connect earlier on

Skelly wag Wild Thing they’ll all be coming at kamandi yes it’s a tricky weather so it’s going to be a real opportunity for other boats to got that to have a go there’s David Wht the skipper of scallywag we’re on board scallywag there just getting their wet weather gear on

You can see that rain tumbling down at the moment on the Harbor now here’s the race favorite for handicap urm she’s been in outstanding form this year she’s won the Gold Coast race the fenders Island race and the bird Island race Four Brothers aboard the owners they are

The Anthony Andrew Nick and David Johnson Marcus Ashley Jones the skipper an outstanding crew America’s Cup winning Navigator Grand simmer aboard Anthony marrington a former winner of this race Alice Parker the Navigator and Steve Moy jarvin he’s 34th race to Hobart 14 line Hors wins and two

Handicap wins they’re going to be hard to beat urm and as we look again at the uh recently growing wild thing 100 for Grant Warrington and Grant’s got two of his children on board Ole doing his second race in Georgia his daughter doing her first race and Pete you talk

About handicap the overall win the tles cup is the one the most coveted trophy in Australian yting is the one that all the Skippers want to win and Celestial the defending Champions at a big chance again absolutely she uh first last year second the year before after she got

Relegated after a protest that lost pushed her down from first to second but it is the handicap priz mark because in reality there’s only about three or four boats that come win line honors but there’s a lot of boats that can win handicap probably 50 or 60 boats can win

The handicap prize the ttis will cup now here’s another former winner alive a very very good chance of winning this race again to give her her second Victory she won in 2018 she was 10th overall last year a very very good crew uh Adrien Cahalan on her 302 Sydney

Hobart race an outstanding lady Navigator she’s done more races uh to Hobart and any other woman Stu bantine Duncan Hine twirler Jones and Gavin Brady just add real strength to This Crew she’s a boat that could easily win it and have another win for Hobart as we look at Juan V the Navigator

Aboard scallywag a wet ju Veer he’s won this race twice in line honors before aboard wild and he’s also won the around the world race and David Whit Wht has got him aboard as na if anyone knows the weather and where to go he is certainly

One of those guys and Pete you talk about overall and how important that is to an inter you look at Blue Sky now up above the the fleet as they get set to go but the the formula for working at an overall winner and correctly handicapping is is complicated but very

Effective well it gives every boat a chance really mark because they take everything into consideration the size of the boat the weight of the boat the width of the boat the depth of the boat the sail area it’s all put into a computer comes out with a handicap for

Each boat so the little boats have got as much chance as the big boats the weather will be the final determinant though and we’re getting plenty of weather right now Lisa’s down amongst it on kamanche how are things down there Lisa it’s pretty hectic to be honest

Everyone’s gearing up but it was a big Scramble for the jackets and and now the sun’s coming out again so I think the thing is that the plans always changing you’ve got you know you got a group back over here they’re all discussing what the plan is for the start but every

Moment it’s changing so there’s a lot of discussion going on at the back but then and that coms has to get all the way to the front what’s the plan and change and update so you hear a lot of yelling at the start and you wonder why it’s

Because it’s such a big boat there’s so much noise going on when these winches and the electronics and they all move there’s just so much noise coming out of this massive boat so yeah really incredible to see the teamwork and I’m sure rent just can’t wait to get at the

Start line it’s just is going to be in Rain H and shine we’re going so yeah it should be a good one now Lisa you have the best seat in the house but I need to remind you while you’re trying to stay dry you are going to have to jump off

Kamanche when they get round near Bondi in order for them to go to Hobart and use stay in Sydney so how you feeling about that well that’s a thing I didn’t know if I needed the jack on or not but I thought um may as well for now stay

Dry and yeah it’s going to be fine I think when we’re healing over we we had a little bit of a practice run I didn’t jump off but we’re nice and healed over it it’s a big jump and uh I can’t wait uh to see how it goes well of all the

Things you’ve done in your sailing career in your Olympic silver medal this will be something a little bit different we can’t wait to see it what what a great thing Pete to be able to put someone on board kamandi on this incredible yacht and just have this

Experience at the start and give us a real insight it’s very unique isn’t it and it’s a great thrill for Lisa but another family affair on andu Kaman the the winning family Herman winning is scooping the boat his father John’s on board and his sister Jamie’s on board so

Uh another family affair aboard kamanche as it is aboard uh Wild Thing 100 and a lot of Father and Sons and father and daughters spread amongst the fleet yeah it’s one of the great things about this race we hear a big Rumble of Thunder come through on this course round about

15 minutes to go to the start time we’re going to take a break stay right there the start of the 78 Ric Sydney Hobart is coming up on [Applause] [Applause] Seven what W than Welcome back to the 78th Rox Sydney Hobart you can see this enormous flotilla lining the edges of the start course here for the race today and besides that millions of people on the banks on the shores of Sydney Harbor just taking this once in a year incredible spectacle more than 100

Yachts getting set at start lines now we are inside 12 minutes now to the start there will be a 10-minute warning Cannon a 5minute warning Cannon and then we get things going so interesting times here at the moment uh the weather has been complex to say the least we have had

Lightning thunder rain and not a lot of wind all in the last 20 minutes or so at the moment you can see Sun just popping out well here’s teasing machine from France a very good chance for handicap honors she’s been here before and she finished uh well back in 2017 in

2017 rather and she’s from France Eric durkheim he’s won the transatlantic twice with this boat and the Middle Sea race a very good french crew and there’s maritimo 52 two maritimos in the this race maritimo 52 and on board this boat Skipper by Michael spe is Scott Kaufman

Who did his first race to Hobart in 1960 in 60 years ago and 50 years ago he was aboard sealed three when they won the handicap honors so Scotty Kaufman 50 years ago and 60 years ago did this race Michael spe’s a well-known name to Peter

Has been a great mentor to a lot of young Sailors as well standing by for the 10minute gun Sam Hughes fires the 10-minute gum former senior search and rescue official and honoring his services to the race and here is the oldest boat in the race it’s a two-hander called Sil 6 she was

Launched in 1960 did her first race in 1961 Bob Williams and Chris Warren the crew are two-hander but they’re carrying a cat on board called olle so it’s two guys and a cat and uh she’s going to be one of the slower boats to Hobart and uh

Hopefully the cap will be well fed I just love it Pete it’s fantastic the two extremes of this race from the super Maxis to this all right let’s go down to Jimmy spittle Jimmy less than 10 minutes to go how’s it looking yeah well great news that thunderstorm has now made its way

Offshore and what is left has been a nice eastly around 10 to 12 knots right now we’re seeing all of the boats doing their practice pre-start work checking out their runs to the line it still looks a little bit marginal down towards southe head where there could be some

Pockets of wind but otherwise looking much much better than it did about 20 minutes ago all right J Jimmy spittle there one of Australia’s most successful Sailors on the world seen a two-time America’s Cup winning Skipper let’s go down to Lisa actions picked up there on command she

Lisa yeah we’ve just done a jant so what we’ve been doing is we’ve been doing practices of the start so lining up at the top end of the line where we saw the gun just go and then also at the bottom of the line where those Spectators are

Lining the shores so the team’s just really trying to figure out where to start the wind is moving it’s I mean as you can see it’s quite quite hectic out here I’m trying to hang on but yeah the team’s just trying to do those real run-ups probably do a couple more and

Work on time on distance cuz that’s the trickiest thing with a yacht like this what’s the wind going to do how long is it going to get you to take to the line because really it’s about trying to get to the line at at good speed and we’re

Just crossing the pin now we just got to do it correct in about 10 minutes time Lisa what’s the atmosphere like on board is it calm are they on edge is there tension on board it’s super calm I think everyone’s pretty excited everyone’s just doing their jobs but um yeah it’s it’s um

Everyone’s high-fiving wishing each other good luck and a good race and I think this fol they’ve just done so much training they’ve had a fantastic run so far this year and in all the leadup races so there’s a lot of confidence um and I know that there’s talk about the

Race record but they think if they get it right you never know they could do it all right thanks Lisa great to have you on board comman that’s incredible Insight uh that is really diving inside the Formula 1 pit crew team isn’t that incredible view of what’s happening out

There and uh some great stuff this is on board law connect as they get set to go one of the big Enders Pak to absolutely they’ve uh they’ve been trying for so long they’ve won at once uh LW connect uh the line honors but that was a long

Time ago Christian Beck has tried three times as I said earlier has been runner up can this be year but just on the starting lines Mark there’s 22 boats on the first line 31 on the second line 30 on the third line and 20 on the fourth

Line so those boats on the back lines are somewhat at a disadvantage because because of all the Disturbed air but on the front line 22 of the big boats will fight it out for first out the heads and that honor and we’re watching scallywag there’s Dave Whit at the helm he’s never

Won this race and boy is he determined to give it a go this year they’ve revamped this boat and ha here’s a boat that I think could give it a big Shake on handicap MRA rubert Henry he won the two-handed division last year he’s been an outstanding form this year Jack

Boutel comes uport to replace Greg OA this year Jack boutel twice winner of the round the world race on dong fong in 11th Hour racing and rubert Henry one of the great short-handed Sailors both here in Australia and in Europe if it’s a little boat race this boat will take

Some shaking for the overall prize the official number for the starting Fleet is 103 there are 10 Internationals three strong boats from New Zealand there representatives from Hong Kong including Skelly wag Germany Ireland new calonia and the United States okay well there’s w 100 and very first race for this boat in

Her revamp form just going a stern of scallywag there you can see they those heads those big reaching sails and their conventional heads all on roller furlers they’ll unfurl them just prior to the start whereas the smaller boats uh don’t have that luxury and just to the left

From the big V on the saale is Bumblebee 5 that won the race in 2001 and on board Jimmy spit Hill’s brother Tommy spithill and one of Australia’s leading female sailers Stacy Jackson they’re all they’re down on that Eastern uh western side of the harbor at the moment and we’re coming up to

The 5minute gun to theil there it goes and fired by kendi Kellen wife of the well-known Dave kellet and a life member of the cruising Yacht Club of Australia and here’s L and Ward to 294 three-time winner of this race W in 1974 78 and

2006 Simon CTS the son of the late Peter CTS is the skipper and his son Philip CTS Peter’s grandson is on board very strong crew they’ll will not like the lighter conditions today they were looking for strong southernly winds well they might be blessed with those in

About 24 hours time but one of the finest yachts in this race 49 50th year it’s 50 years since she’s done her first Hobart race and there’s the fleet they’re starting to line up on their respective starting lines and that’s the runway they’re looking at that’s what

They’ve got to look at to go down to the heads to their respective turning marks you can see The Spectator Fleet across to each side of the harbor on the western side and the Eastern side that’s what I wanted they going to over roll it

Here Sammy give me a half step on this side your help just F back up F back up the action here on the water there’s the main starters Kami L connect wag three of the big ones the aerial shot for you the start line from the official boat

Where the start Cannon will be fired in 3 minutes and just over 40 seconds and of course that view of Sydney Harbor still a little bit of mist and drizzle in the air as well by the way state by state 58 entries from New South Wales 14 from Queensland 13 Victorian seven from

Tazzy couple from wa and one from South Australia that’s the state by state breakup and if you’re watching for someone in your state there’s plenty there to follow in this year’s race and on the international front there’s three from New Zealand two from Hong Kong one each from the United States Germany

France Ireland and New Caledonia and the boat from New Zealand Caro a strong chance to give New Zealand their fifth overall Victory there’s one of the start lines there we can see Wild Thing 100 going back they’ve unfurled their head L connect just standing up into the breeze

A bit just to slow down with about 2 minutes 50 to go there’s the starting vessel nerves would be starting to jangle now Mark absolutely as we go down to Lisa aboard andu Kaman you want to go halfway it is so hectic down here at the moment everyone’s gearing up those Jitters are

Really coming on but what’s crazy there’s so much noise on this boat but they’re trying to yell at another boat to get out of the way because they’ve got rides and I know the start is in a couple of minutes time but it has really started already because it’s about

Getting the ideal position to be able to approach to the line so yes super hectic right now love it it’s fantastic Lisa who’s used to Olympic saing in hectic conditions this is something else uh Jimmy spittles downstairs at water level for us Jimmy yeah just starting to see a couple

Of the big boats looks like they’re favoring the bottom end of the line right now got scallywag right next to me here down on the western side of the start line interestingly enough that thunderstorm that we saw earlier on has made its way offshore and also South so

Even know these guys don’t have to deal with it right now that’s exactly where they’ll be heading once they clear the heads it’s going to be interesting Jimmy thanks for that inside 1 minute 40 seconds now as we head towards the start Peak tense times yes indeed the starting

Gun to be fired by dick Sergeant one of Australia’s great yachtsmen he was aboard seal 3 50 years ago when she won outright honors and she won he was a crew on our first sailing gold medal in the 1964 Olympic Games with Bill Northern there’s dick ready to fire the

Cannon a great thrill for him as we see all the starting lines starting to line up now the big boats just holding up into the breeze we got a minute 12 to go and you see just a few boats back on those back starting lines but here the

Big Fellas L connect wants the Eastern side of the harbor that’s for Sure well one minute to go one minute to go got a bit nervous I’d say but anyway the boats say what’s going on here there’s dick there but anyway okay andu and L connect getting close together here on this Eastern side of the harbor off neelson park for those that KN know the

Harbor 30 seconds down at the Western end of the harbor as Jimmy mentioned is scallywag and in the middle is uh Wild Thing 100 scway is going to have that Western end to herself connect and Ando starting to put the BS down now for the start okay 15 seconds to go L connect

Right at this pin end here that’s the yellow boy of the Nelson Park blinker to the right there starting L above the committee boat here we go okay foots down and we’re away bang away they go in the 78th RX Sydney hob the great race South is underway Len got the start

Up here at the Winward end and down at the Le end it’s scallywag David wits boo it’s its first major race not much Breeze out of the East as Jimmy said so reasonably slow progress down the har you can see the four distinct starting lines from that great overhead shot but

It’s scul wag top left of screen that’s going to have a good angle of attack down the harbor L connect and andu quite slow up at the top end of the harbor okay there’s the action aboard scall there’s Juan V looking at his computer screen 13 is a good of wind Ang looking

At true wind angles to get the maximum speed okay there’s L connect dropping their headle they got the leaving the big reaching headle up they got the jump on andw commi there Tony M at the helm okay we’re back here on Kaman what it’s Ian Murray there in the

Middle now here’s Scag Ling to L connect that leads and she’s got good Pace up here at the Eastern end here’s the French boat here teasing machine she got a very good start very good french sailers board andu Kamari punches out underneath her much bigger boat of course a 54

Footer versus 100 footer that’s the nelon park blinker they’re racing down the harbor now on the Eastern side few spiners starting to come out in the middle of the fleet but that’s the view that andu command you’re looking at L connect he was first out last year can

He repeat this year yeah it is a it’s a game of chess at the moment to try and find that win in this part of the harbor and if you wonder why they’re racing so hard the closest Finish was in 1982 when Bob Bell’s Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo

By 7 seconds in hobar so every second counts in this race this is going to be interesting when these two Vates converge in scallywag and L connect who’s in front but L connect certainly Lo leads andu Kaman at the moment and there’s Herman winning the blond-headed Herman winning at the wheel and Ian

Murray wouldn’t be far there’s Ian just hanging on at the back there they are in race mode at the moment it is all happening here at the 78th Ric Sydney Hobart you take over what am I doing yeah K picking up pace now and you can see actually in the top left corner

There that’s um our camera person on board and Lisa tucked up there you go Lisa what a seat he what a seat Lisa what’s it like under race conditions there yeah it’s amazing I think I mean the team was a bit disappointed that they didn’t turn down on that start ride

But there was a smaller vot smugler trying to hold us out so now the discussions on board are really like what sales and and when when do we deploy more sales but obviously we got to do that turn outside the head so it’s all on we’ll put the pressure on law

Connect and um as know anything can happen when they got to turn in a corner all right Lisa thanks for that Jimmy spittle what did you make of that start what do you see now well we saw two different strategies we saw La connect andu kamanche really

Fighting for the Eastern side of the start line David Whit and a bunch of the other mini Maxis down on the western end it’s too close right now to call it could go either way and right now I’d say maybe scallywag has a small Edge but

We’re going to be very very tight at this first turning Mark yes I think from the overhead shot that we saw that Jimmy said scallywag leads I think she might be just marginally ahead she’s got a better angle of attack at this turn for the Turning Mark the big other two Andre

Kaman and L connect they got to put B down so they’ll be lacking a little bit of pressure where David Whit could put B up and go hammer and Tong for this turning Mark what a thrill that would be for David Whit but there’s not going to

Be much in this scallywag there there’s middle head see the now starting to gain a bit of speed with her talking about the center boards on these boats but you can see the heel angle on scallywag Kami she’s much more healed than L connect is’s very upright there’s

David Whit I think he’d be liking what he’s looking over his shoulder at there’s the channel marker there she’s just going past his LW connect it’s the speed they’re doing 13.7 knots a wind angle of 60° these they’ll furl these big reaching sails and then put conventional

Heads on to go through the heads where it’s going to be very light and there’s Grant warington Wild Thing 100 doing a pretty good job down to leard of scallywag as they approach middle head and here comes L connect converging with scallywag there’s not going to be much

In it scallywag’s just got a bit of a wle on as has L connect so if they get to the mark together L connect will have right away she’ll have boy room or Mark room as they call it let’s get the out so they’ll unfur the conventional head and get ready to

Roll up the big reaching asymmetrical s it’s LW connect at the moment I think’s got the job done here they’ve got picked up a bit of speed through the breeze through the heads this East starting to pick up okay let’s get rid of it here J2

Out J2 out J2 out that’s the jib going out on scallywag I think it’s the voice of Dave Whit they’ll unfurl that but there’s the Turning Mark and I think it’s law connect is going to turn first to go out to his respective C Mark yes

Nice lead by L cono the Eastern Shore paid and here’s the view from scallywag as L connect will roll up that big sail they’ll fur that sail okay here’s the action on law connect great job by Tony mut and Chris Nicholson there they go there’s the furl

Coming up and andw kamach is going to roll over the top of scallywag here so the order is going to be La connect andan Scallywag they’re in trouble they have a f here that’s right they’re in trouble for sure L connect can’t get the F done what’s going on on L connect the J both hsel are flapping there they can’t shoot the smaller one in and Do’s nice and comfortable they got the F done

There some in you ready plenty of room plenty of room they’ve got to give a room though there’s the Turning Mark David Whit won’t take any prisoners here that’s close they’re on the wi tell okay when you can tell me when you can that are we

Clear there’s v v very cool there okay who’s telling me to ATT there’s a lot of action who’s telling me the t is Herman winning a lot of gas L getting a lot of gas a bad air off L connect that’s what he’s worried about thank you tacking in three two one

I’ll go slow for7 T okay look tack now and get away from the bad air of more connect more connect I I thought they tried to F that head they’ve kept it unfurled for the moment as andu tacks on to Port oh it’s light air you can see the BS just

Bouncing up and down so there’s Wild Thing 100 is fourth out and fifth out alive and next after her urm those two boats hot favorites for handicap honors but it’s quite light L connect what’s she doing she’s doing it she’s pulling away Into The Spectator F to furl the

Headle I think that’s what she’s trying to do or is she doing a penalty she would be doing a penalty turn I wouldn’t think what’s happening on more connect there’s some action here interesting Dr early on for L connect I didn’t see her infringe on anyone but maybe she

Did still can’t get that sail in I no they do one penalty turn if they hit a mark but I don’t think she hit the mark all right let’s get down onto Kami with Lisa now going over late Zulu on the way back well we are out in between the

Heads at the moment I tell you there even though the wind is not quite up there the waves are massive and every time we bounce over Wave It’s like a shudder through the boat um lots of tactics going on around that Mark and deciding when to really get out of

There um so yeah it’s going to be pretty tough cuz we’re going to have to tapack back but we will have rides as uh we have approach scul all right let’s go to Jimmy spittle Jimmy um did you see what happened with L connect any feel for what they’re

Doing yeah well firstly great job by Tony Mar and Chris Nicholson really nailing that start as they came to the Turning Mark they started the procedure of rolling that huge front Code Zero Sail up halfway through it was like the furling line failed and then it it came

Straight back out again then you saw them as they sailed up they actually had to perform a jive because had they have tried to attack that large sail they would have risked punching all the rigging right through it so they were forced to do a job now they’re back on

Track and no doubt they’re trying to solve that problem with that furling unit yeah I think that’s what happened the furling line did break and made impossible to furl that sail up but here’s the battle for one and two honors as andu Kamari taks onto starbo and

David witch this is what he’s looking at uh that’s the view from andu kamachi andu has all the rights on starbard D listen to the action oh some yelling oh that’s close Wy that’s close oh G protest protest they’re calling tacking Too Close will they go ahead with it y protest sey

J the tactician B andu Kaman they’re calling protest now if scallywag thinks they’ve infringed they can do two penalty turns before they get to Bondi now that would be the prudent thing to do I would think you wouldn’t want to go to Hobart with a protest hanging over your head we’ve seen that

Become a problem for Wild Oats a few years ago but anyway we’re settling down now they’re both boats on Staring yeah got so just to clear that up Pete if you do a double turn here before Bondi you wipe the Slate clear you absolve yourself at the

Penalty but you can see how light it is and as Lisa said the waves are quite big and it’s a bit sloppy water as we call in sailing these boats are punching through it and it will suit a narrower Hull like scallywag ando’s very wide scallywag very narrow it’s looking like

Putting a knife through butter scallywag or a spoon through butter like andw kamachi one’s flat and one’s very SHP direction there’s no problem we keep keep this tack for a little bit longer that’s the view of voice of Juan V the Navigator there he is bottom right there’s Ian Murray on Kamari there’s

John winning senior looking back it’s a battle of two great tacticians at the moment isn’t it you see skag has got his bow up a little bit and and’s got a suck down into Scag not a good position to live for Andrew Kaman he’ll be getting dirty air now off scallywag as

The boats is starting to attack there’s Wild Thing 100 in the background going across with a purple paint down the side and there’s aive very much in the picture here coming back on Port as well and there’s L connect still having having trouble with that big head she’s

Now tacking with it she’s got to get it through the four stay oh she is rolling it she is furling now okay so that’s good news she’ll get through the tack and then unfurl so some early drama on law connect it’s a lot of sa to pull around

That for day je that’s heartbreaking after it with such a good start Pete yeah there’s the both speed down to very slow in these tacks you can just see how light it is through the head so it’s going to be a very slow exit and this is going to hurt the race

Record they have to average about 18 knots to break the race record they’re doing a lot less than that as you see scallywag punching out in front of andu Kaman can she be first to the next turning Mark and then put the BS South towards Hobart it’s a magnificent side

Isn’t it it’s a slow sight but a magnificent sight one of the great sights in Australian sport one of the great sights in the world of yachting but it’s very slow a light East southeasterly Breeze an outgoing tide oh and here’s andu she had to T away from scallywag who’s really getting Disturbed

A see all the crew going up the bow to lift the stern out of the water in these light conditions all the heavy weights go up the B there’s John winning Senor he’s not going out of the cockpit but you can see this lumpy Seaway look at

The bow and Kami just going up and down speed is not great here it’s going to take him a fair time to get to the next turnning Mark there it is the Turning Mark for these big boats turning Mark Zulu that yellow Mark no King I’m chopping wood see

Chopping wood that’s what Herman winning say you can see the boat just going up and down there’s the Navigator Justin shaer there just looking under the boom all the crew up the B there’s Jamie winning up there as well so he’s got his sister up there now what’s he’s doing

Have look at more connect I think is the close to L Conn I think I’ve got it I’ve got it yes I’ve got n yes L connects cross him okay with that big hle wow give me the wheel please stop holding the Lord wheel he’s got two steering wheels and someone’s holding

The other one so nerves are jingling and jangling out there as L connect slides across in front of them this is unbelievable these conditions will suit scall as I said earlier long narrow hole in sloppy water conditions you can see L connect and andw Kami just going up and

Down not making much progress instrument all over the I’m not moving and it’s bouncing 20° I’m looking at the headl it’s going 42 to 68 so the instrumentation in these conditions is very tricky now will we see a big unfurl on Andrew kamachi well they go their bigger

Hitle at the moment doesn’t look like it but L connect is doing okay with that big hsel so maybe it’s rather fortuitous that the furling line broke but at the moment David wit on the scallywag team are leading this 78th edition of the Rolex Sydney the Hobart YT race very

Who’s leading the race is it um we we head up there get a shot hang on hang on Welcome back to the 78th Ric Sydney Hobart and what a drama f start we have seen already the protest flag is out on andu kamanche Lisa tell us more so andw commi got really back into the race at the Mark after L conect had that bit of the blunder um but what

Happened is we were approaching scallywag again they weren’t tacking I I mean I thought we were going to go straight into them these this team here almost had to avoid and because of that scags late action they’ve actually they were yelling protests but now they’ flown the flag which means officially

That they want SC to do a turn they’re quite out ahead at the moment now it’s quite hectic right now but I’m going to try to sneak up to Ian maray and see if he’ll have a chat to me um he’s facing the other way but uh Ian um how did you

See that incident with scell wag oh well it’s a classic you know Pon starboard taking too close you know 100 footage you can’t do that you know we wore it with Kani and Wild Oak many years ago so you know we’ll see it’s pretty tough

Out here with the waves and Light um to get this boat rumbling yeah is we’re really struggling to get the the speed on in this wind so you know it’s got to get out of all this chop in these boats and stretch our legs perfect they leave you to it

Cheers okay well that’s the news from for Andrew kamachi so the the key thing here we to see whether scallywag acknowledges they infringe and does penalty turns which she’s got to do 720° turns so two turns she’s got to do to absolve herself as she’s just very light

Winds you can see scallywag now she’s rounded her outer turning Mark but she’s got to get the turns done before they get down to basically Bondi so Pete if you were ski of Kelly wag right now do you do the turns or do you take the punt

And go on to hobot i’ certainly wouldn’t take the punt I’d go a bit further to see whether the breeze a bit more stable and the sea is a less chopped up from all the spectator boats when you got a bit more way to do your turns so I would

Certainly be doing them if I was David Whit because it sounded to me muray was very they T too close but what we’re seeing now is L connectors punched out on Star is tacked onto Port with the big Hensel and starting to rumble and she’s

Going to be very close if not in front of scallywag andu Kamari is expected to unfill her biggest sale but it’s law connect with Tony M at the helmet a very very world-class Navigator and Chris Lewis doing the navigation job he’s right on the job today and he really

Wants to win this Hobart race for Christian Beck at the moment you can see the three Big Fellas they’re fighting it out but alive right in the pitchure that boat second from the right and urm most right hand boat two handicap favorites right in the mix these boats now in the

Breeze of probably an eastsouth easly of about maybe 8 to 10 knots at best maybe 11 but it’s LW connect and scallywag going to come together scallywag has ride of way but it doesn’t look at this stage that she’s doing any penalty turns so here’s the action of board

Scway you see this lumpy sea up and down she goes and here comes L connector across on Port now L connector is pulling away to go behind scw away from that spectator no mistakes here on more connect Tony M Chris Dickson of E’s the sails coming behind

Scag just see them bouncing up and down in these light ears up she goes now this absolute impecable judgment AB but aboard scallywag interestingly is a couple of guys that Mark Bradford who last year SCA Skipper Blackjack he’s aboard scallywag the head of North sales in Australia and Alby Pratt doing his

25th Hobart race also works for North sales Luke Parkinson and Phil hmer very successful round the world Sailors so he’s put together a very good crew David wh so can they hang on all the way to Hobart 628 Mi to go it’s a long way

Still to go but at the moment they’ be pretty happy with progress yeah the gamesmanship and the strategy has just been incredible from the start what we’ve seen today is is one of the great starts but you just wonder you know why the pressure is on at this stage where

They got so far to go well the reality is this race is one in seconds the closest margin ever 7 Seconds what do we see this year but stay tuned and don’t don’t forget to keep your eye on the yacht tracker as well we’re going to

Take a short break we’ll get you back with more of the action live from outside Sydney heads in the 78th Ric Sydney Hobart The 78th edition of the roic Sydney Hobart certainly has not disappointed what a start it has been we are 26 minutes 30 seconds into the great race South and the big three have emerged kamane Skelly wag L connect all in a neck and neck tussle as they head down

The New South Wales Coast they’re heading towards Bondi and we are watching Skelly wag Peak because the interesting thing that we want to know right now is will they do the penalty turns and absolve themselves as they head towards hobot let’s go down to Jimmy spittle

Jimmy yeah guys I got to say I was very surprised with David wit taking that amount of risk I mean the last thing you want to do when you’ve got over 600 mil to go and you clear Sydney head heads is to just have that question into the back

Of the head of did I break a rule there so yeah very surprised not to see him do those turns at the same time a real blessing in disguise for L connect they had the problem where they couldn’t get rid of that big sail uh very soon after

Making that turn at the Turning Mark the weather and the breeze actually got lighter so suddenly that sail came back into range and brought them right back up there with the other two Front Runners we’re just starting to see the smaller bloats clear the heads now and

All in all was actually a pretty fast exit for these little boats because the best Breeze was in Sydney Harbor all right Jimmy thanks for that there’s uh naos one of the smaller yachts in the fleet and this is where the real the real meat is in the fleet

This is where the big numbers are and uh 103 yachts in this entire fleet and they are made up of all shapes and sizes down to the minimum length which is just over 9 m in length the smaller shots this year two of them 9.1 M here’s Mo from

The Newcastle yard Club just these smaller boats will be enjoying these conditions and to Le of her is bardi just going out of sight there no boat has done more Hobart races than bardi she’s on her 30th Trip South Paulo Rock steering moo but these boats are attacking between the sea

Marks it’s slow progress for them launched in 1977 Mardi and uh she was second to love in war in 2006 designed by Doug Peterson 44t up and Pete just while we’re mentioning boats that have done a lot of races what about Lindsay may his 50th consecutive Sydney Hobart that’s a massive milestone

For Lindsay today too yes it’s a a real uh record that’s going to take some breaking Lindsay aboard antipodes Jeff Hills uh Santa Cruz 72 and here’s scallywag still on Port Tac and they don’t look as though they’re into any movement to do these penalty turns and

Uh Jimmy said why you take that risk and not do them I don’t know but it’s the old story Mark you can’t win the race in the harbor but you can lose it yeah it’s a big gamble isn’t it it is a massive gamble but what’s happening the as the

Boats get away from the the heads and the breezes strengthen somewhat and uh oh here’s the oldest boat in the fleet Sil six two crew and a cat and silver Fern just coming into view here a lovely big cruising boat appropriately from New Zealand and they’re going to have a comfortable if

Not slow trip to Hobart all the crew gathered in the cockpit probably having a cup of coffee and a bit of Christmas cake to celebrate but her progress slow as well in contrast to the two-handers there 18 two-handers in the fleet this year and and quite a battle there uh Mr

All you’re seeing there one two keep an eye on as well yes she’s my favorite for two-handed honors and if not overall honors but the the trick now is Mark is these for the big boats to get South and somewhat East as quick as they can because there’s a strong easterly

Awaiting them in B straight but that’s moving slowly away from them but they’ve really got to make good progress to pick it up if they pick it up record pace is available for them but at the moment it’s slow going in this uh probably eastsouth easterly Breeze flying fresh

Aross from the Sailing School uh out of middle Harbor yach club club a lot of uh trainees from that sailing school take them each year Drew takes them each year to Hobart and she’s just putting up her stacil she’s got a double-headed rig she’s very comfortable boat 50 footer

What a what a great experience to be doing your first Sydney Hobart 2 in the 78th edition of this incredible race all right we’re going to take a short break when we come back more of the great race South the Rox Sydney Hobart continues here on seven All the other one and the other one look this race start just never disappoints always excitement always high action incredible energy and they are underway we are now closing it on 35 minutes into the 78th Rox Sydney Hobart and it has been incredible but there’s one of the beautiful yachts of this race

Wild Oats P yes the famous name original boat for Bob Oley built in 1985 a two-time winner of the race and under Skipper the late Roger Hickman a far 43 from Sydney slow progress for those boys at the moment and uh the bigger boats Get Away In This southeasterly breeze

It’s still light a lot of sloppy water and you can see the uh boats just going up and down and we’ll have a look now at the incident that caused all the drama at the heads between andu kamanchi and scallywag is scallywag tacking on the andu on starboard

Scallywag so the here pet is that Kaman had to change course and T and skallywag tacked too close that will be the claim from the andu kamachi boys that skallywag came up tacked Too Close into the water of andu Kamari and caused them to laugh up to avoid a collision and of

Course Ian Murray who’s on board kamandi this time knows all about it because he was on the other end when it happened to Wild Oats a few years ago that’s correct and uh boy do they pay a penalty they beat the record by 27 minutes when were penalized by 1 hour so

Uh that really hurt in 2017 but the race goes on and here’s scallywag we try to pick up L connect she’s away in the distance so she stayed on Port Tac with that massive Genoa on she’s down off uh getting down towards Bond here she is L

Connect all the crew on the weather rail she’s making good progress here speed about 10.4 knots CRS through wind speed about 10 knots here’s here’s Denali Daman parks’s tp52 from Sydney severely damaged 2 years ago and uh last year she was finished about 37th I think Damian Parks

He’s on his 37th race to Hobart and his daughter an Marie is aboard the crew so another father and daughter combination actually interesting Pete you mentioned that 121 female Sailors in the race this year and nine female Skippers in the Sydney Hobart and when we looking at the smaller Yachts the the

Two it’s a dead heat for the smallest yacht in the fleet this year carong at 9.1 M and Nixon at 9.1 as well tiny boats but there’s urm she would like these light up wind conditions she’s very good up wind this boat and she’s been uh highly modified

In the last couple of years to really strengthen her performance but she’s down off mcquarry light and there’s a fair Gap now to L connect who’s edging her way down towards Bondi there she is still surrounded by spectator craft that’s massive head and he want to tack they’re waving The Spectator boats

Out of the way because they’ve got a tack job now as they’ll furl that big headle to get it round that for day and then they’ll unfurl it on the next tag so this will be interesting when she TS onto star but how she goes when she converges with scallywag and also

With uh Andrew kamachi all right have a look at last place at the moment here here the girls on carang they were 100th to finish last year 20 Minutes to Midnight Kathy ve the skipper on this twoh handed boat the only two women all girl crew if you like Bridget Canon on

There Cannon yeah and uh boy that’s going to be another long trip to H out for these girls this little 31 footer sister ship had won the hobot r way back in 1981 but they’re making very slow progress and these light winds between the between the heads Building 9 and 74

Pete caran okay now here’s L connect tacking this goes from the smallest to the largest you’ll see they’ll partially roll that headle up to get it through the four stay and then through onto another Tack and they’ll unfurl as quick as they can to gain speed they lose so much time when they

Tack these big boats with that in these light airs with those big headles still not down off Bondi so normally at this time of the year in a good norista Mark they’re down off botney Bay so you can just see at the moment how this record is probably

Slipping away like keep saying one day 9 hours they got to be in Hobart by 10:15 tomorrow night it’s going to be a big askk all right let’s jump down on to commi now for a final update Lisa thanks well that’s it for me I think I’m

Going to leave these guys to it it’s time for me to pack up jump off because I got a play to catch the H cuz we’re going to cover the Finish make sure you follow the tracker and we’ll get all the action in Hoban a good on you Lisa great

Job fantastic to have that Insight from actually on board command what a great year to have it because we got an incredible Insight the great race South is well underway The Big Three Kaman Skelly wag and L connect leading them it has been a thriller once again stay

Right there we’re going to take a break back with more from the 78th rolling Sydney Hobart right after This Right he Yeah The 78 rolling Sydney alart now Lisa and Mel mcferson our camera person there on the left uh they’ve been out on the boat capturing all the images in the commentary from Lisa we need them back and the crew don’t want to take them to hobot so just watch This Is How They

Remov themselves from Kaman a short time ago uh they are watched from the air by a chopper so that Chopper which you’re watching now sits over top of them and then our boat comes straight in they’ve got the gear off earlier and now we get

The two of them off uh and just a great process that’s what you call a good girls day out right there they love this and Lisa of course a Olympic silver medalist in sailing this is her bread and butter and Mel does that every year

Mel mcferson she uh she makes a point of being available to do that they’re both good in the boat and they were on board uh kamanche on board Skelly wag was Tim nury and uh Tim has his camera gear there so time for him to come home from

A good day’s work and Tim just stepping himself off find the right moment off he goes so Tim’s in sends the uh sends the guys on their way gives some bit rev up go that’s it go go go you guys go Skelly wag I’m good and rescue boat is right

There for Tim as well so that’s how we get you those great shots from on board and of course Lisa’s commentary and insight which was fantastic this year first time we’ve been able to put someone actually on board one of the super Maxis to have that experience and

Tell us all about it it was great and that’s how we recover them and get them back home safely so a good job and I can tell you they love doing it as well Pete an incredible experience a great Insight yes was watch the leaders dicing

It out and urm has really made some big in roads this 72- footer is caught right up to these Maxis it’s l connect standing out to see on Star attac trying to get Southeast as quick as possible to pick up that easterly flow but the breeze probably gone back into the right

A bit now into the South Southeast L connect well ahead of andu Kaman and we’re just trying to pick up where scallywag is she’ll be somewhere in the Mist I would think but it’s l conect standing out onto star but I they’ll want to get on to Port because that’s

The the uh long leg that will take them down the coast and here’s pretty Pretty Woman Richard Hudson’s yacht from the Royal Prince Al Alfred Yacht Club he takes a lot of young Sailors with him to Hobart over the years Richard he’s been a very good performer out of Royal

Prince Alfred and this yacht’s done about seven Hobart Richard’s done 16 Hobart races and a young crew with some experience aboard as well so he will be enjoying these um milder conditions at the moment it’s a very good far design boat built by car Marine in the United

States all right well let’s go down and catch up with Jimmy spittle for the final time today Jimmy thanks for your great work today uh give us your insights into the race what did you see and and what have you learned about today I think one of the most

Interesting parts of any City to Hobart is how it’s different every time and I think this start just proved that really challenging conditions right now we’ve actually seen that thunderstorm move to about 10 20 mi off the coast but it’s dragged the breeze round to the South so

So that’s not going to help those Front Runners in terms of a race record we just saw the ladies on carong just clear the head so we’ve got all boats out safely which is great news but I believe all of these teams are going to be in

For some bad weather I think there’s a low pressure system down south and they will definitely be pulling out that wet weather gear in a day or two’s time hey Jimmy all the best mate uh thanks for your time today and massive year for you now you’re really dive into America’s

Cup campaign how’s that looking yeah really exciting time you know with South GP in the Americas Cup coming up in October over in Barcelona very very busy but what an absolute trick to get down here on Sydney Harbor for one of the biggest events on the on the sporting calendar so yeah just

Fantastic and very privileged to be part of the team thanks guys good on you Jimmy and you carry all our best wishes from the nation mate we’re really proud to have you there as an Australian representing Us in the americ cup good luck go well thanks very much he is a legend

Great to have him with us Pete isn’t it Jimmy spittle always a great Insight yeah one of one of the very best uh sailers on the planet and uh it All Began up at the raw Prince Alfred Yacht Club on pit waterer and uh now he is a

World class sailor as we go aboard L connect still with that massive big hsel up true wind speed only 8 Knots boat speed about 9 knots true wind angle 39° so that’s what they’re sailing to the wind just adjusting a few things there and uh as we watch scallywag it’s very Misty and

Out there mark you can see not a clear sky but there’s L connect leading scallywag and andu Kami quite convincingly at the moment as they Point their Bells towards Hobart at a slow rate it has been an incredible race incredible start so far we’re closing in

On the first hour of racing hope you’ve enjoyed it so far we’ll take a break back in just a Moment for oh [Applause] ah beautiful view of law connect and Christian Beck’s boat which has been up and down in this start they started beautifully LED for a while off the line and then got into some trouble with s changes now got back out in front and I

Just wondered Peter ship way if few Christian Beck on board there I wonder what what you’d be thinking at the moment well you’d be pretty happy after that little drama they had at the inner turning Mark what happened was they they went to furl that big hsel to put up a

Conventional hsel and the the line that furls it broke and uh as Jimmy said and we looked at they had to do a turn to try and get the Sail furled by jibing rather than tacking but they had to leave it up and by leaving it up it’s

It’s paid Ence because it ended up the right sail to have up and get good speed and that’s what they’re doing now as Tony M just looks behind him probably talking to Chris Nicholson there in the the white shirt without the oil skins on and uh they’re leading this Fleet now

And Christian Beck so we’ve set a number of times he’s been run uh runner up three times in a row on this boat but uh it was just a simple thing as a furling line brok broke and that’s the line that furls that gear at the front of the boat

And allows the hsel to foil up and here’s a couple of there’s Wild Thing 100 and here’s teasing machine the uh top boat from France light conditions you can see this crew sitting to L and the waves probably stronger than the wind waves and it’s uh hard to punch

Through this but this French crew are very good in light air and that’s what they’ve got now no white caps at all and think can see the lot of boats just coming out on Star attack to try and get away from the Sydney heads and here’s another race favorite Caro the tp52

Third last year won this year’s fast out race and if she wins this Hobart which you could easily do she’ll be the first and only boat to have won the Fast Net and the Hobart race in the one year mark blink very strong crew on board

Her and here we go another of the middle siiz boats and here is Celestial Sam Haynes the vice C of the cruising y Club of Australia boy it’s light here Cru sitting to lure just to lean the boat over one last year and second the year before scul wag and L

Connect punching out to Star to try and get in this stronger Breeze but if anything this Breeze has got lighter certainly seems look very calm in front of L conect now yeah getting more so too and this is the battle for the JH illingworth trophy that’s awarded to the

Line honors winner and that’s what these three in particular will be fighting for that’s what their are on that big prize but um shippers I got to hand it to you give us great insight into the strategy and what’s happening almost think sometimes you got a direct line to some

Of these boats the information you’re able to get for us but uh well done law connect uh going great that was a great recovery by them they were in some trouble earlier on Pete yeah a very good crew always get you out of trouble and and that’s what the all these top boats

Have as uh we look now at one of the the smaller boats just coming out all on Star but as I say trying to get away from the shore where it’s light and joggly winds but very Misty you can see and that’s thunderstorm passed over the fleet just

Before the start and the wind is dissipated look at andu Kamari she’s just up and down in these waves and hard to get these big boats 31 tons you got to be pushing through the water here it’s hard going that’s these monstrous saes to try and get some horsepower the

Keel cans it moves from side to side so they’ll try and get some heel to fill the sails and get some feel into the Helm of these boats what did John winning call it chopping wood just up and down yeah well that’s what they do a not a a spoon through butter here’s

Franic one of the TP 52s Mickey Martin the former WBY Australian Rugby Union player just won the recent Auckland Sydney to Ackland yacht race one of the great characters Mickey Martin but would like some more wind that’s for sure see that new on stalled haven’t they yeah the breeze as the sun’s come

Out and the land’s heated up it’s uh certainly stalled the wind and it’s collapsed as they’re trying to that’s Bondi just going out of sight there so progress as we keep saying is very slow at the moment contrasting other years Pete isn’t it where we’ve seen the field

Really stretch out once they get out of Sydney heads but you know obviously the whole the fleet is very much stayed together well in the traditional nor Easter as I said earlier they’re down off botney Bay by now and probably south of that doing 18 to 20 2 knots but see

These windless patches here in the water as LW connectors really suffering here she’s sailed into a hole and hardly making any progress you can see the light spots on the on the water there’s just no wind at all and these boats are struggling to make progress and this

Will suit the smaller boats on corrected time on handicap cuz these big boats have got to give him so much time handicap wise Ando is starting to get a bit Riggle on now and he’s got himself back into the pitcher with uh L connect Pete if you had to pick a

Favorite overall this year do you have a a favorite as we look at gunshot here she’s a Cy ker and she’s um Dave Walsh on board Skipper of her he was on board scallywag when they won in 1982 and over overall winner well question without notice urm or

Caro and perhaps MRA right for handicap honors and that’s the prize everyone wants to win as I said earlier only if three or four boats can get line Hors 60 or 70 boats can win the Tal’s cup the overall handicap prize and we’re watching L connect very slow boy this

Has slowed right down here there’s going to be your race record almost going out the window isn’t it Peter at the moment you can see it hey what a great start once again uh always a fantastic day here on Sydney Harbor and uh some great great highights

Once again we will stand by and see what unfolds with the protest from kamanche on Skelly wag that’ll be interesting Pete but uh magnificent day hope you’ve enjoyed it thanks for your company from all of our team who’ve been working out here on Sydney Harbor for you today

Enjoy don’t forget to keep an eye on the yacht tracker and you’ll see all the action but thanks for your company we’ll see you Soon Attacking in three two one give me the wheel please stop holding the long wheel E