LawConnect repeat win in Sydney Hobart

Hobart, Australia (December 28, 2024) – Christian Beck has defied the pundits, his 100 footer, LawConnect, pulling off Line Honors in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for a second year running, crossing the finish line at Castray Esplanade early this morning at 02:35:13, in the time of 01 day 13 hours 35 minutes 13 seconds.

LawConnect’s finish time was 4hrs 19mins 49secs outside the race record of 01 day 09 hours 15 minutes 24 seconds set by LDV Comanche in 2017 in the 628 nm race. This is her third Line Honours victory – her first was as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016 when the now 16-year-old broke the race record.

On board were all but one of last year’s victorious sailing crew along with Beck’s usual few from his business, each given the priceless opportunity of taking part in one of Australia’s greatest sporting events.

“Crew continuity is a big help for us, especially if you know how everyone’s going to react in a situation, that makes a massive difference,” said sailing master Tony Mutter.

He said it came to the fore on the first night, which he said was the toughest part of the race, “executing five gybes in 35 to 40 knots winds.

“For us, 35 to 40 knots is about the upper end where we’re pushing it, but right on the limit. So, we had to execute those five maneuvers in a really good way – and we did.

“Much more than that (speed) we’re in a different mode, where we’re probably reducing sail a lot more and slowing the boat down, whereas in the in the 35 to 40 range, we’re right on the upper limit on what we can do on that boat.”

He said the race was one of the tougher ones he had sailed in, but knew there had been much tougher.

“There was challenging conditions, probably the roughest race I’ve done out of the 11 that I’ve done. But we came through okay, we didn’t break too much stuff, and people are okay, just got a few bumps and bruises. I have done much tougher races though – around the world.”

He said as forecast, it was a wild ride out of Sydney.

“All the way to Green Cape and a little bit beyond for us. There were big waves, there’s always a lot of counter currents down there, which change the direction of the waves. You’ve got to keep on your toes, and then afterwards, once the front rolled through, we obviously had a big push from the west, which added another challenge, where we had to basically slow down for about four or five hours.”

Mutter said LawConnect wasn’t without its own mishaps.

“As you saw when we went out of the Heads, led out of there, we then made a rookie error with trying to unfurl the wrong side of the sail, which created a problem. But the rest of it after that, we had to re-evaluate, rethink, just think ahead and just double check everything, and go from there. And after that it went pretty well.”

He said he never felt that slip which let Comanche take the lead out of the Heads was going to cost them the race.

“They were going to come past us anyway,” he said. “They’re way faster, probably going 3 or 4 knots faster in those conditions. So, we were just like waiting for the nighttime where we could use our skill, close in and try and be close to them for the remainder of the race.”

Mutter said he never believed the race record was a target.

“I never actually thought we’d ever get it even before the start. From what I saw on the forecast, there was no chance. Because especially once we had to slow down, once the front rolled over and we had to go across Bass Strait, we were slowing down just to save the hull.”

Mutter noted how owner Christian Beck got ill during the race, perhaps food poisoning, and got off the boat once it arrived.

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The 2024 Sydney Hobart Race extends 628-nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania. The start on December 26 takes place in the heart of the Australian summer, with 105 yachts set to take on the 79th edition.

Source: RSHYR