LDV Comanche was named the line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in dramatic circumstances Thursday when Wild Oats XI was stripped of the title over a near-collision. Wild Oats crossed the line in record time late Wednesday, but an international jury handed the crew a one-hour penalty after Comanche protested over an incident between the 100-footers early in the race.
It is just the third time the result of the annual race, which has been held since 1945, was decided by a protest, and the first since 1990. Comanche owner and skipper Jim Cooney said the complaint was about a near-miss involving his super-yacht and Wild Oats, which appeared to tack too late when exiting Sydney Heads on Tuesday. An international jury convened on Thursday heard evidence from both crews before finding in favour of Comanche, saying Wild Oats had "failed to keep clear (of Comanche) while tacking".
The jury's chairman John Rountree said Wild Oats also did not comply with the rules requiring the super-yacht to make a two-turn penalty after breaking the initial rule. "Wild Oats XI is... penalised a time penalty of one hour to be added to her elapsed time," he told reporters in Hobart. Comanche finished 26min and 34sec behind Wild Oats' 1 day, 8hrs, 48min and 50sec, enough to seal victory after the one-hour penalty was imposed. Comanche's time of 1 day, 9hrs, 15min, 24sec now stands as the new race record, breaking the previous time set last year by several hours.
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