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Derwent could decide line honours winner this afternoon

Home 2025 Derwent could decide line honours winner this afternoon

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Don’t mention ‘The Derwent’ to those sailing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart – it has rewarded some and robbed others of line honours and overall wins time and again - and this afternoon may be no different as three 100 footers close in on the Castray Esplanade finish line in Hobart this morning.

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Time & Date: 28/12/2025 – 0715 hours (1 day 18 hours 15 minutes)  

Three 100 footers are within sight of each other sailing east of St Helens on the Tasmanian coast this morning with little more than a mile in it in 80th edition of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s race.

SHK Scallywag 100 (owned by Seng Huang Lee and skippered by David Witt) has taken the race lead from LawConnect (Christian Beck) and Master Lock Comanche (Matt Allen and James Mayo), with all three very much in contention to claim the John H. Illingworth Challenge Cup.

Christian Beck reported from LawConnect this morning that the mainsail was badly torn. It happened when the main was reefed, “So there’s a big hole in it now,” Beck said.

It's neck and neck for the 100 footers - ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo pic.

“We have to keep going, we are sailing under full main in light air. We can all see each other. Scallywag is just in front of us.”

“It should be an interesting day,” Beck said. “We haven’t given up – the Derwent could do anything.”

The three were sailing in light air, six knots. “We are going through a breeze transmission at the moment,” LawConnect’s owner said.

“We are expecting a bit more light air and then heavier and then light again. You could see three boats on the Derwent this afternoon. This could be Scallywag’s race, because Comanche is not so good in the light air,” Beck forecast.

Master Lock Comanche has moved into second - ROLEX/Andrea Francolini pic.

“Who knows - we could still be in it,” said Beck, who predicted a 4-4.30pm finish this afternoon – weather dependant of course.

So will it be race record holder Comanche, which retired with a torn main early in last year’s race and was beaten to the punch by LawConnect in a thriller on the Derwent in 2023 - 51 seconds separating them at the finish.

Or will it be SHK Scallywag, which despite many wins overseas, has never won this race, suffering her share of bad luck, including breaking her bowsprit in the 2018 and 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobarts?

Witt at the Line Honours press conference on 24 December - ROLEX/Andrea Francolini pic.

Can LawConnect, with a hole in her main, take it on the Derwent again in light air to make it three line honours in succession?

Who knows and even a betting person, looking at the constantly changing conditions the three face, lay the odds?

Di Pearson/RSHYR media