When John Winning hands Comanche over to his Singaporean owners after a high-profile Sydney-Hobart campaign over the past two years, there will be a touch of sadness for him.
Winning won the Illingworth Trophy on the Line last summer for his first title in the 100-foot supermaxi, and followed that up with a second-place finish behind Low Connect in the Thriller competition at the 78th Bluewater Classic. .
Recognized as the fastest monohull yacht on the planet, Comanche has broken world records for 24-hour sailings, broken transpacific records, won Fastnet races, and holds the Sydney-Hobart record and four winning lines. Masu.
Mr Winning, a Sydney-based consumer electronics businessman, rates himself at a 101 per cent chance of taking part in next summer’s race, but the 18ft-tall skiff sailor has no plans for a sea of red-hulled boats. I have no regrets about riding this monster and entering the ocean race.
“It’s a little sad to give back, but it’s balanced by the happiness of having made lifelong friends,” Winning said.
Comanche captain John Winning takes second place in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race.wallpaper james bresnehan
“The crew was amazing. Some I’ve known for a while, some I didn’t. Now we’re all great mates from all over the world.”
Comanche set the Sydney-Hobart record in 2017 with a time of 9 hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds under former captain Jim Cooney.
Comanche’s time this year was 1d19h4m49s, 51 seconds slower than Low Connect, but both could have set a new record had they not been trapped in an unusual micro-weather cell off the NSW coast on day two. Mr. Winning strongly believes that there is a
“It’s like we’re sitting inside a tornado with no wind in the center of the tornado, and every time we get close to the edge, the 48 knots of wind spins us back into the middle of the tornado. It was a feeling,” Winning said.
During the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, eventual race winner Low Connect overtook second place Andor Comanche on the River Derwent.Photo: Chris Kidd
“I couldn’t get out of there for 10 hours. It was one of the worst nights of sailing I’ve ever experienced.
“I’m not saying we could have beaten Low Connect, but if we hadn’t been stuck there, the record would have been broken by hours, by one of us.”
Comanche entered the final stage of Derwent ahead of Low Connect, only to be beaten by the post.
“I knew it was close,” Winning said.
“It ended up being 51 seconds, and 49 of those seconds we were screaming, ‘No!’
“In the end, we could have finished with 10 seconds left, but after they crossed the line, we forgot to finish. I think my dad yelled, ‘It’s not over yet.’
“But the next boat was six hours late, so it was ‘who cares?’ ”
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james.bresnehan@news.com.au