First woman to win Sydney Hobart Race

An angry forecast issued prior to the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race lived up to the billing for the December 26 start as a heavy sea state provided relentless upwind conditions in the opening stages of the race. Ultimately, 35 of the 128 yachts would not complete the 628nm course.

Predictably, it proved to be a slow race, and while conditions would ultimately become more manageable, it was the big right turn up the Derwent River that scrambled the final push to Hobart:

• Line honors: Master Lock Comanche, the elapsed record holder since 2017, finished the race in the time of 2 days 5 hours 3 minutes 36 seconds, far off her record time of 01:09:15:24. Master Lock Comanche (Matt Allen and James Mayo), LawConnect (Christian Beck), and SHK Scallywag 100 (owned by Seng Huang Lee and skippered by David Witt) each took the race lead on the final day. – Full report

• Overall honors: Seven of the top ten teams were double handed with a protest deciding the overall winner. Michel Quintin and Yann Rigal held the lead on BNC- my::NET Leon (JPK 10.80), but media imagery near the finish caught the duo in an illegal sail configuration. After a 1:05 time penalty, the victory went to Jiang Lin and Alexis Loison on Min River (JPK 10.30), becoming the first double handed crew to win overall. Lin is also the first woman to ever win the race. – Full report

Details – Results – Tracker

The 2025 Sydney Hobart Race extends 628-nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania. The start on December 26 is in the heart of the Australian summer with 142 entrants signed up for the 80th edition.