Yachting: Sydney to Hobart Off to Flying Start

Newcomer Comanche was off to a blinding start in Australia's 70th Sydney to Hobart yacht race Friday, blitzing all rivals including seven-times line honors winner Wild Oats XI in Sydney Harbor.

The 100-foot Comanche was ahead of Wild Oats, also a supermaxi, to the first mark as 117 yachts set off on the 628 nautical mile endurance race down Australia's east coast in scorching summer conditions.

With the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House as a backdrop and thousands of spectators on boats and harborside vantage points, the yachts enjoyed a 15 to 18 knot southeasterly breeze which helped them off in what is thought to be a record start.

They have now turned south towards Hobart into a stiff southerly which is testing boats and sailors with uncomfortable seas, with four yachts retiring so far -- including one with hull damage and another with a damaged rudder.

"It's very rough, sailing upwind in 25-27 knots of wind and pounding hard into short steep waves," said Peter Isler from onboard RIO 100, one of five supermaxis in the race -- the biggest and fastest boats in the event.

"It's like riding a bucking bronco. These are boat-breaking conditions, though we expect the wind to ease by midnight. Until then though we will hang on and keep pushing," he said.

Among the retirements was the competitive Tina of Melbourne.

"We were trucking along nicely, just settling into the race. The sea was very confused though and we fell off a wave," said skipper Andy Doolan.

As the boats turned south into the rough conditions, Comanche was part of a leading group which included fellow supermaxis Perpetual Loyal, Ragamuffin 100 and Wild Oats XI in choppy seas.

"We're ready," said Ken Read -- skipper of the wide-bodied and cutting-edge Comanche which is owned by Netscape co-founder Jim Clark and his model wife Kristy -- shortly before the start of the race.

"To me it looks like a nice sailboat racing day. A little breezy, a little lumpy, but if our boat can't handle 25 knots and a little bit of bump then something's wrong." 

Weather conditions are crucial for the Sydney to Hobart where boats can experience everything from towering waves and gale force winds to calm conditions in which they struggle to move at all.

"We hate the light stuff and certainly like the heavier stuff," said Anthony Bell, skipper of Perpetual Loyal, before the race started at 0200 GMT. 

The 70th Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic, which runs down the east coast and across the Bass Strait into Hobart, has drawn its biggest fleet since 1994 with 117 yachts, including 10 international entries.

The international contingent comes from New Zealand, the Cayman Islands, Britain, Poland, Germany and the United States. 

Given the weather conditions, officials are not confident that the record for line honours, set by Wild Oats XI in 2012, of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds will be broken in this year's race. 

"Going into a southerly on the first day is always a challenge, especially for the big boats," Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said earlier this week.

"We're going twice the speed of the smaller boats in those conditions, so it's a real challenge to keep the big boats in one piece."