Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours won by Master Lock Comanche in nail biting finish
Master Lock Comanche (Matt Allen & James Mayo) has won Line Honours in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart after a nail-biting finish in the final hours.
Master Lock Comanche (Matt Allen & James Mayo) has won line honours in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the 80th running of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s classic 628-mile offshore race.
The current race record holder (since 2017) finished the race at 18.03.36 on 28 December (local time) after 2d 5h 3m 36s to claim the title (though the upwind conditions meant that was nowhere near her record time of 1d 9h 15m).
The 2025 edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race set off on Boxing Day, 26 December, in strong headwinds. Combined with a 2-3m swell and confused wind-driven waves, the fleet faced two days of potentially boat-breaking conditions as they beat towards the Bass Strait en route to Tasmania.
Start of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Kurt Arrigo/Rolex
First across the line was last year’s line honours winner LawConnect, holding off from Master Lock Comanche and the fast 88-footer Lucky at the first turning mark, with Palm Beach XI (formerly nine-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI, making its race debut in its new livery after a major refit) just behind.
Many of the 129-boats entered scattered rose petals as they passed Bondi Beach in a tribute to the victims of the recent Bondi terror attack.
With no fewer than six 100ft super Maxis taking part this year (LawConnect, Master Lock Comanche, SHK Scallywag, Wild Thing 100, Palm Beach XI and the performance cruiser Maritimo 100) competition for line honours went to the wire.
Initially Christian Beck’s LawConnect (Christian Beck), the two-time defending champion, took the early lead, chased hard by SHK Scallywag 100 (skippered by David Witt, for Hong Kong) with the 88ft Lucky (Bryon Ehrhart, USA) impressing in 3rd.
LawConnect (nearest) and Master Lock Comanche at the start of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Photo: Kurt Arrigo/Rolex
Problems beset many boats in the fleet after a tough opening section, with 14 retiring.
Christian Beck, skipper of LawConnect commented after the first night: “We had problems last night. We broke the mainsheet and that took a while to fix. Then we broke the halyard. The J1 came down twice. It’s mildly disappointing. If we didn’t have these issues, all would be fine. Everything’s good, though.”
Wild Thing 100, skippered by Grant Wharington was among those to retire after suffering damage to the runners on the first night.
Comanche was not immune – their bowman was injured with suspected broken ribs in the early stages, and another crew member fell out of their bunk in the rough sea state, with the Maxi’s 11-metre beam making it particularly challenging to move around.
Boat-breaking conditions in the early stages of the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart – here Elizabeth Tucker’s Class 40 First Light takes off over a wave. Andrea Francolini/Rolex
Over the second day Comanche pulled ahead, but the approach to the finish in Tasmania – frequently a twist in the tale of this race – saw an almost complete restart in light winds.
Going into the final miles Master Lock Comanche had stretched out a lead of around seven and a half nautical miles — not conclusive by Maxi standards, but enough to suggest a degree of confidence. Then, without warning, the breeze shut down. The fleet closed up rapidly, with LawConnect, SHK Scallywag 100 and Lucky all within a few 100 metres of each other.
“It’s not good,” Matt Allen recalled. “You’ve had a handy lead, and then you’re watching it disappear. We had to work hard to get it back in the later quarter of the race.”
The Master Lock Comanche crew opted to defend their inshore position. “We stuck to our game plan,” Mayo said. “We wanted to be closer to the coast. We could see something developing there. The breeze filled in from inshore, we got moving first, got the lead back, and then we were able to extend.”
“There was just no wind — it totally dissipated,” he added. “The boats behind caught us, brought the breeze back down, and then we all parked up for a while. But everyone stayed calm.
“We saw puffs developing near the shore, started moving, and suddenly we had a proper boat race. We were only a length apart for close to 100 miles. That was special.”
Master Lock Comanche crosses the finish line in Hobart to claim line honours at the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Photo: Kurt Arrigo/Rolex
Once into the Derwent River, where light winds and smooth water allowed the Comanche team to enjoy the final sail to victory.
“The run up the Derwent was the best I’ve had in 33 races,” Allen said. “The sailing was superb, and the welcome in Hobart was unbelievable.”
Thousands lined the waterfront as Master Lock Comanche eased into Constitution Dock, greeted by cheers, applause and a sense of shared relief. “Tasmania embraced us,” Mayo said. “That’s something I’ll never forget.”
Second was LawConnect by 47 minutes and four seconds, with SHK Scallywag (David Witt) some 24 minutes behind.
Currently leading IRC overall is the double-handed JPK10.30 Min River skippered by Chinese/Australian short-handed sailor Jiang Lin with Alexis Loison, 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race and La Solitaire du Figaro winning skipper.
You can follow the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet on the live tracker.
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