Comanche has moved to the front of the pack in the sailing competition from Sydney to Hobart, reclaiming the lead on Thursday. The yacht engaged in a close battle with Wild Oats XI, which had surged ahead overnight. Comanche, a strong contender for the line honours, currently holds a slight advantage of just a few miles over rivals Black Jack, Wild Oats XI, and InfoTrack.
As winds began to dwindle on Wednesday evening, the race is on course to challenge the record set in 2017, with leading boats not expected to reach Hobart in Tasmania until Friday morning. A new record would require finishing the race by 1115 GMT.
The changing wind patterns are anticipated to shift from west to south throughout Thursday. Following closely behind InfoTrack in the 630 nautical mile journey down the southeastern coast of Australia and across Bass Strait to Hobart is the female-led yacht Wild Oats X, skippered by Stacey Jackson of Australia and crewed by sailors from various countries.
Among the fleet of 85 boats, Team Hungary M3 has recently retired from the race and made its way to Ulladulla in New South Wales. Another contender, Sun Hung Kai Scallywag from Hong Kong, also withdrew from the competition on Wednesday due to a broken bow sprint.
