ZCZC
BSP-10
YACHTING-AUS-SYDNEY-HOBART
Ichi Ban takes handicap win in Sydney-Hobart yacht race
SYDNEY, Dec 29, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Ichi Ban was declared the handicap winner
of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday after an anxious overnight wait.
The 52-footer was the eighth yacht to cross the line, but beat Quest by 20
minutes in the handicap rankings calculated according to size.
Ichi Ban was forced to wait before the victory was confirmed while
officials heard a protest which stripped Wild Oats XI of the line honours
win, in favour of rival super-yacht Comanche.
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 a near-collision 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.
Ichi Ban skipper Matt Allen, who has been involved in the notoriously
tough race since 1976, praised his crew as “the best sailors in the world”.
“These guys go to the ‘nth’ degree to push the boat so hard in incredibly
challenging conditions,” he told reporters.
“You cannot imagine how rough and how wet these boats are to sail at that
speed through the ocean.”
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1214hrs