Comanche Returns as Tribeca LOYAL for 2026 Sydney Hobart Race

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

Comanche Returns as Tribeca LOYAL for 2026 Sydney Hobart Race

27th October 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Record Breaker – The 100-foot maxi Comanche returns as Anthony Bell's Tribeca LOYAL for the 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart, aiming for a sixth line honours victory Credit: Ashley Dart

The legendary 100-foot maxi Comanche is returning to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race under a new name, Tribeca LOYAL, with Australian skipper Anthony Bell targeting line honours and potentially another race record.

Bell's campaign brings together experienced offshore sailors, including Olympic gold medallist and SailGP star Tom Slingsby, for the 628-nautical-mile race, due to start on St. Stephen's Day, 26th December.

The yacht already holds the Sydney Hobart record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, established in 2017 under the ownership of Irish-Australian Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant. Cooney's family roots are in Ballivor, Co. Meath, a connection previously highlighted by Afloat's coverage of the record.

Comanche has won Sydney Hobart line honours five times, most recently in 2025, when she raced as Master Lock Comanche.

Bell Returns with Winning Crew

Bell previously took Sydney Hobart line honours aboard Investec LOYAL in 2011 and Perpetual LOYAL in 2016. The latter set a then race record of one day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds.

Slingsby joins Tribeca LOYAL as sailing master, reuniting with Bell after their 2016 success. Anthony Nossiter and John Flannery also return from the earlier LOYAL programme.

Winning Pedigree – Anthony Bell and the Perpetual LOYAL crew celebrate their record-breaking 2016 victory, with several veterans of the LOYAL programme returning for the 2026 campaign. Photo: Kurt Arrigo

North Sails' Mark Bradford, who skippered Black Jack to Sydney Hobart line honours in 2021, is managing the programme. Liam Woulfe and Will McCarthy are among those joining from that campaign.

Navigator Andy Green returns from Comanche's 2025 victory, alongside Andrew Henderson, Craig Garnnett, Pablo Arrate, Sam Newton, Will Parker and Phil Jameson.

Former Australian rugby league international Anthony Minichiello and former Wallabies captain Phil Waugh will also join the campaign as celebrity crew members.

Night Rider – Anthony Bell's Perpetual LOYAL powered to line honours in the 2016 Sydney Hobart, setting a race record that Comanche would break the following year. Photo: Kurt Arrigo

Record-Breaking Potential

The maxi's record-breaking credentials extend beyond Australian waters. In 2021, Comanche set the Rolex Middle Sea Race monohull record of 40 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds around Sicily, a benchmark still standing in 2026.

Slingsby believes the yacht could improve on her Sydney Hobart record if the weather is favourable.

“Comanche (Tribeca LOYAL) likes more wind. It's probably a bit more versatile than the old Loyal they had, in that it can go in lighter winds a little bit better, but the stronger the wind, this boat just keeps wanting to go faster and faster,” he said.

Recalling his 2021 Middle Sea Race passage aboard the yacht, Slingsby said: “That just shows the capability of this boat if it gets the right conditions and that goes for the Sydney Hobart.”

Back for More – The 100-foot Comanche, now Tribeca LOYAL, will have Olympic champion Tom Slingsby as sailing master as she targets a sixth Sydney Hobart line honours victory. Photo: Ashley Dart

“This boat already owns the Sydney Hobart race record, but the conditions we could get if we get the right conditions, we can break that record by a lot.”

Bell's LOYAL campaign will again support the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, which raises funds for medical equipment for children in Australian hospitals.

The 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart starts at 1 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, 26 December. The race organisers' website and CYCATV will provide live coverage of the start and finish.

Published in Sydney to Hobart

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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.