Sydney-Hobart Race: Limerick’s Condell Takes Second In Two-Handed Class, Sunrise & Cahalane Win Div 3

Q: How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

Q: What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

Q: Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

Sydney-Hobart Race: Limerick’s Condell Takes Second In Two-Handed Class, Sunrise & Cahalane Win Div 3

30th December 2022

WM Nixon

Despite the winds going lighter on the final day for Lee Condell’s Sun Fast 3300 Sun Fast Racing, some skilled night-time negotiation of the Derwent River has seen the ex-Limerick skipper get back up to finish second overall in the Two-Handed Division

After the strong north winds which provided a rugged finish yesterday off Hobart - particularly for the winning group of TP52s – conditions eased during the night, and the morning sun brought gentler sailing for the smaller boats, which now had no chance of getting into the overall Sydney-Hobart Race podium frame, but were more than busy enough with their own in-class racing.

Aboard the 2021 Fastnet Race overall winner, the JPK 1180 Sunrise, owner-skipper Tom Kneen of Plymouth had enthused about how Offaly-born Irish-Australian ace Adrienne Cahalane – doing her 30th Sydney-Hobart Race – had been making a special input into the Sunrise tactics with her almost mystical insight into local tidal variants and wind waverings all the way down the course.

And that – combined with Sunrise’s well-proven all-round qualities – has led to a Div 3 victory of truly extravagant proportions. Sunrise completed the course in just 56 minutes over the three-day mark, putting her ahead of many much larger boats from more senior classes on the water, while taking Class Line Honours and correcting into a Division 3 lead of better than five hours over Peter Elkington’s Young 11 from Queensland, which in turn was 41 minutes ahead of the First 44.7 South Brittany from NSW.

The dawn comes up for Tom Keen’s Sunrise on Day 3 as she closes the Tasmanian coast and a Div 3 overall win of “truly extravagant proportions”. Photo: Rolex

Meanwhile out at sea one of the smallest boats in the fleet, the Sun Fast 3300 Sun Fast Racing, campaigned in the Two-handed Division by Limerick’s Lee Condell and Aussie shipmate Lincoln Dews, found that the realties of size limits had her back in lighter winds than her larger rivals already approaching the finish. Thus although yesterday she was indicated as having an overall lead, as the formerly firm wind patterns collapsed, it was all that the two of them could do with Sun Fast Racing to stay within site of a podium place, but they have managed it and better in what is now the darkness in Hobart.

Approaching the Derwent in the dark, Sun Fast racing had slipped back to third, but Condell and Dews played it so well in the river that they got back up to second overall by the finish. That’s some going for a 60-year-old skipper doing his first Sydney-Hobart Race, and it’s an eloquent salute to Lee Condell’s late father Alan, one of the leading figured in Limerick sailing. He was one of those who slipped away from among us during the pandemic lockdown, and it’s in honour of his memory that this successful Two-Handed challenge was being made

Strong winds off Tasmania for the New Zealand TP52 Caro (Max Klink). With a crew including Dun Laoghaire’e Cian Guilfoyle, Caro was first TP52 to finish, and corrected to third overall in the Sydney-Hobart Race 2022. Photo: Francolini/Rolex

Published in Sydney to Hobart

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Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual offshore yacht racing event with an increasingly international exposure attracting super maxi yachts and entries from around tne world. It is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 26 December.

This is the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 boats started the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, with 50 finishing.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - FAQs

How many Sydney Hobart Yacht Races have been sailed?

The number of Sydney Hobart Yacht Races held by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since 1945 is 75

How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6,257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

What is the estimated total crew to have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race?

About 60,061 sailors have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race between 1945 and 2019

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets post 2000?

116 in 2004 (59 finished); 117 in 2014 (103 finished); 157 in 2019 (154 finished)

What was the Smallest Sydney Hobart Race fleet?

Nine starters in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945

What was the largest number of international entries in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2015 and 2017 there were 27, including the 12 Clipper yachts (11 in 2017). In the record entry of 371 yachts in the 50th in 1994, there were 24 internationals

Who was the first winner of the Sydney Hobart Race?

Rani, Captain John Illingworth RN (UK). Design: Barber 35’ cutter. Line and handicap winner

What was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race fleet size?

157 starters, 154 finishers (3 retirements)

Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW. Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

What is the Sydney Hobart Race record?

1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche after Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour in port/starboard incident for a finish time of 1d 9h 48m 50s

Who is the oldest ever skipper to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

The oldest ever sailor was Syd Fischer (88 years, 2015).

Who are the youngest ever sailors to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

As a baby, Raud O'Brien did his first of some six Sydney Hobarts on his parent's Wraith of Odin (sic). As a veteran at three, Raud broke his arm when he fell off the companionway steps whilst feeding biscuits to the crew on watch Sophie Tasker sailed the 1978 race as a four-year-old on her father’s yacht Siska, which was not an official starter due to not meeting requirements of the CYCA. Sophie raced to Hobart in 1979, 1982 and 1983.

Quite a number of teenage boys and girls have sailed with their fathers and mothers, including Tasmanian Ken Gourlay’s 14-year-old son who sailed on Kismet in 1957. A 12-year-old boy, Travis Foley, sailed in the fatal 1998 race aboard Aspect Computing, which won PHS overall.

In 1978, the Brooker family sailed aboard their yacht Touchwood – parents Doug and Val and their children, Peter (13), Jacqueline (10), Kathryne (8) and Donald (6). Since 1999, the CYCA has set an age limit of 18 for competitors

Who was the first woman to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

Jane (‘Jenny’) Tate, from Hobart, sailed with her husband Horrie aboard Active in the 1946 Race, as did Dagmar O’Brien with her husband, Dr Brian (‘Mick’) O’Brien aboard Connella. Unfortunately, Connella was forced to retire in Bass Strait, but Active made it to the finish. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the first female skipper to finish the race

What is the oldest yacht to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2019, Bill Barry-Cotter brought Katwinchar, built in 1904, back to the start line. She had competed with a previous owner in 1951. It is believed she is the oldest yacht to compete. According to CYCA life member and historian Alan Campbell, more than 31 yachts built before 1938 have competed in the race, including line honours winners Morna/Kurrewa IV (the same boat, renamed) and Astor, which were built in the 1920s.