MAKING WAVES
NEWS, NOTES AND WHAT’S TRENDING IN THE YACHTING SCENE
The 73rd edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race saw the TP52 Ichi Ban, owned and skippered by Matt Allen, as its winner in tough conditions. When the 102-boat fleet set out from Sydney, the forecast was for a fast and furious weather window. The first 30 boats completed the race in a little over two days, and the next 50 finished during the following 24 hours, with 30 boats crossing the line within the same hour.
Ichi Ban was eighth to cross the line, but beat Quest by 20 minutes in the handicap scoring, giving Allen his first victory as an owner and skipper—and erasing the disappointment of 2016, when a five-hour dead wind quashed his hopes of victory.
Wild Oats XI was initially pronounced the winner, but Jim Cooney, new owner of second-place Comanche, protested an illegal race maneuver. After a three-hour hearing, the jury sided with Comanche, marking just the third time since 1945 that the race result was decided by a protest.