EUROPE ON THE CARDS FOR BLACK JACK

AUSTRALIAN supermaxi Black Jack may have raced its last Sydney-Hobart this year with skipper Mark Bradford revealing it would be taken to Europe in 2023 and might not return.

After winning the SydneyHobart last summer and finishing third this time, the Queensland-based 100-footer will be shipped to the northern hemisphere to contest the European circuit.

Black Jack completed the 77th Sydney-Hobart in 1 day 12 hours 40 minutes 34 seconds, a day faster than its winning time last year and 44 minutes behind 2022 line honours winner Andoo Comanche.

A podium finish was pleasing enough.

“It was a great race, totally different to last year,” Bradford said. “This was an easy downwind race with no real dramas.”

By contrast, the start on Sydney Harbour was packed with drama.

“I feel like the exclusion zone was pushed right on to the race course and there wasn’t a lot of room to move either side of the centre line of the course,” Bradford said.

“That was pretty unusual, because you can usually use a few shifts and get right out to the sides.

“This year we were getting pushed around by the boundary line.

“I don’t know whether it was in closer or whether there was just a bit more breeze, but we felt really hemmed in.

“Our goal was just to get out of the harbour in one piece.”

The four-way supermaxi battle with Comanche, LawConnect and Wild Oats was a thriller.

“Halfway through Comanche had a healthy lead and then it came back in to 12nm to us and 6nm to LawConnect,” Bradford said.

“I think that’s a fair result for everyone, to be honest. Comanche is a great boat with a great crew and to be 12 miles behind her after 628nm in what was their conditions, we were pretty happy with that.”

Black Jack won the SydneyHobart in 2009 as Alfa Romeo and broke the TransPac race record the same year, and was defending champion this trip.

“We’ve etched ourselves into the tapestry of the Sydney-Hobart but this will be the last race for us as Black Jack,” Bradford said.

“We are heading to Europe next year. We’re going where the winds are light and do some racing around the Mediterranean and the world championships and stuff like that.

“We feel like we’ve achieved everything we set out to achieve here and it’s time to move on.”