LawConnect has won the 2023 Sydney to Hobart line honours in incredible fashion, in what was the second closest finish ever.
The 100-foot supermaxi sailed into Hobart harbour just after 8am on Thursday, 51 seconds ahead of Andoo Comanche.
The closest recorded finish to the race was in 1982, when Condor Of Bermuda beat Apollo by just seven seconds.
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The race came down to the wire as the two superyachts duelled over the final few miles, and LawConnect made up significant ground to overtake and then beat Andoo Comanche before the line.
Andoo Comanche had led by as much as four kilometres only half an hour earlier. Andoo Comanche was the reigning champion.
LawConnect and its owner Christian Beck had been runner-up in the race the past three years.
The yacht was first out of Sydney harbour, while Andoo Comanche ran into trouble and almost collided with fellow supermaxi Scallywag, which was forced to retire six hours later.
LawConnect wins the 2023 event in one day, 19 hours, three minutes and 58 seconds. Andoo Comanche took one day, 19 hours, four minutes and 49 seconds to complete the 628-nautical mile course.
Earlier, Beck had spoken as his yacht attempted to chase down Andoo Comanche, who several media outlets had already declared the line honours winner.
"You can watch where they go, and if they go slow, we go somewhere else," Beck told the broadcast.
"We've come second three times in a row, so we really want to win…we're obviously happy to be in the Derwent too, but we'd like to be a little closer to Comanche."
LawConnect was flying a protest flag as it crossed the finish line, which confused spectators.
Sailing master Tony Mutter later explained the crew were protesting Andoo Comanche, but may not follow through with it.
"We did notify the race committee that we were flying a protest flag… for an incident during the race that we thought affected our performance," Mutter said.
"We slowed down for half an hour… on standby for a boat we thought was in distress.
"There was no intent on their part to create that problem…we're not suggesting that at all."
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