A “sombre” LawConnect has delayed celebrations after claiming back-to-back line honour wins in a Sydney to Hobart race marred by the death of two sailors.
The Christian Beck-skippered supermaxi was first across the River Derwent finish line at 2.35 a.m. on Saturday in a time of one day, 13 hours, 35 minutes, and 13 seconds.
The usual champagne and boisterous cheers were absent, in respect to two men who died at sea during rough weather on Thursday’s first night of sailing.
South Australian Nick Smith, 65, was aboard Bowline when he was thrown across the yacht and hit his head on a winch.
In a separate incident, Roy Quaden, 55, from Western Australia was struck by the sailing boom while on Flying Fish Arctos.
“We’re not doing any celebrations on the boat. We'll be doing that quietly later on,” LawConnect crew member Tony Mutter said.
Mutter spoke to the media instead of Beck, who got knocked about with food poisoning in the final few hours of the race and rushed to a hotel.
Mutter said he was told about the fatalities the morning afterwards.
“We were pretty busy. We were 100 percent focused on the race,” he said.
“Our navigator knew and he had to just pick the right moment to let us know.
“[The mood onboard] absolutely became more sombre. We were absolutely surprised and just felt for the other competitors.”
An investigation will be held into the fatalities—the first deaths in the event since 1998 when six sailors perished in wild storms.
Mutter said the conditions were the worst of his 11 Sydney to Hobart races.
“I know my wife appreciated my texts from the boat, as did my adult kids,” he said.
“They were very grateful to hear that we were okay.”
LawConnect’s hopes received a boost when rival and fellow supermaxi Master Lock Comanche retired with mainsail damage early on Friday morning when leading the fleet.
Strong winds forecast pre-race prompted some to predict the record time of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes ,and 24 seconds would fall, while Beck tipped yachts would be damaged.
At 2 a.m. on Saturday, 27 of the 104-strong starting fleet had retired citing problems including electrical issues and crew injuries.
Mutter said LawConnect escaped sail damage, with his crewmates only picking up “bumps and bruises.”
NSW 70-foot Celestial V70 was on track for a second-place finish in the 79th edition of the 628 nautical mile event, with supermaxi Wild Thing 100 in third.
It could take days for the overall handicap winner to be decided.
LawConnect was the first yacht out of Sydney Heads on Boxing Day, but Comanche powered ahead down the New South Wales coast in a blustery north-easterly.
After finishing second in three consecutive races, LawConnect pipped Comanche by just 51 seconds in 2023 in a battle up the River Derwent.
It is the third time LawConnect has claimed line honours, after initial success in 2016 as Perpetual Loyal.
