Final forecast leaves race wide open as 75th Sydney to Hobart begins

Sydney to Hobart entrants have been treated to blue skies over Sydney Harbour for the start of the race, but will likely hit smoke haze later on the race.

As the fleet of 157 headed out of the harbour in perfect conditions, concerns over a potential delay due to smoke haze were quickly forgotten.

Four starting lines were required to accommodate the huge number of entrants for the race's 75th year. It is the largest fleet since the 50th anniversary total of 371.

InfoTrack led the pack in a two-horse race with Scallywag heading out of the harbour, with Wild Oats tracking behind.

While InfoTrack won the race out of the heads, Comanche quickly recovered from her poor start, taking advantage of the suitable conditions for the boat and leading the race through Thursday afternoon.

Scallywag and InfoTrack were locked in a two-horse sprint in the race out of the harbour. Credit:James Brickwood

Before the cannon fired to start the blue-water classic, entrants were given a final briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology, with forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse warning crews of potential smoke haze as they left Sydney.

"There's quite a few fires that are burning. There is one particularly large fire, down to the south of Jervis Bay. So if you're inshore, you may see and experience some smoke haze. It will be more likely that it will be thicker during the overnight and early morning period in that area," Ms Woodhouse said.

There are bushfires through eastern parts of Victoria, with the bureau warning that smoke may move over the Bass Strait.

It was an incident free start to the Sydney to Hobart, as InfoTrack won the race out of the heads. Credit:James Brickwood

As predicted, the race started in north-easterly winds of 10-15 knots. A high-pressure system across the Tasman will bring northerly winds and calm conditions as boats make their way down the coast, with gusts of up to 20 knots.

There was concern about a potential southerly arriving at this section on Thursday, but the bureau told crews the system was milder than first thought.

All eyes are on a small trough expected to move across Tasmania on Saturday, which is predicted to bring stronger and "variable" winds of up to 30 knots through the Bass Strait. The change was also expected to shift the winds westerly.

Higher wind speeds are better for heavier boats, such as line honours favourite Comanche and underdog InfoTrack, who soared to the front of the pack at the start of the race.

With the wind forecasts better than initially thought for the wider boats, InfoTrack owner Christian Beck is hoping for a "Steven Bradbury moment".

"It's looking really good for us, it's nice conditions really, good for wide boats," he said. "Boats do break down, and not that we hope that happens for them, but for us to win against Comanche, that sort of reasonably needs to happen, unless they make a mistake."

Wild Oats XI tactician Iain Murray said how each crew handled the weather changes would determine the race.

"I'm sure there's going to be a bit of cat and mouse in all this," he said. "Sailing at night is very difficult; it's hard to see the weather and everyone's tired. I think the really important parts of this race, you need to be on your game. "

Source: Read Full Article