Sydney to Hobart: Perpetual LOYAL takes line honours in blue water classic, smashes race record

Updated

NSW supermaxi Perpetual LOYAL has stormed across the Sydney to Hobart finish to take out line honours, smashing the previous race record by nearly five hours.

Key points: Perpetual LOYAL crosses the line at 2:31am

Beats Wild Oats XI's record by 4 hours, 51 minutes and 52 seconds

Giacomo takes 2nd, with Scallywag in third

Under the cloak of darkness, Perpetual LOYAL crossed the line off Hobart at 2:31am, breaking the race record by 4 hours, 51 minutes and 52 seconds.

"I don't think anyone expected us to do well in this race, the bookies certainly didn't," skipper Anthony Bell told waiting media and well-wishers.

Bell, who has previously beaten Wild Oats XI in 2011 in his yacht Loyal, paid tribute to his 2016 team.

"This is one of the most amazing groups of people on the planet in my view," he said.

"[These are] some of the best sailors ... to go to war with and some of the best mates a guy could have."

Bell said his crew always thought they would do well in the race and the lead up to the event was a really important part.

"You shouldn't write us off too quickly and we came out of the blocks and we raced one hell of a race," Bell said.

But he quashed any hopes of him returning to defend his 2016 title, saying he had "something new and hot" to do with sailing but dodging further questions on his future.

Bell was then given the traditional dunking of the winner in the chilly waters of Hobart's River Derwent.

New Zealand's Giacomo crossed the line in second about two hours behind LOYAL, having pipped Hong Kong supermaxi Scallywag by just two minutes.

Giacomo and Scallywag also finished well ahead of Wild Oats XI's record, both beating the old mark by about three hours.

Queensland's Black Jack finished fourth, with New Zealand's Beau Geste and New South Wales yacht Maserati taking fifth and sixth line honours respectively.

The focus has now turned to the fight for overall winner honours, a prize some consider more worthy than first-past-the-post.

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore John Markos said it was likely Giacomo would take the handicap honour.

"At the moment Giacomo is at the top of the table, there's a few boats that still have to come in and if they can beat Giacomo's time then obviously they'll take the prize, it's looking more and more likely that some of them are falling away, even now we see Balance in third and Ichy Ban in fourth," he said.

Line honours record demolished

LOYAL took just over 1 day, 13 hours and 31 minutes to win line honours and snatch the record set in 2012 by Wild Oats XI.

It made its way up the Derwent followed by a fleet of media and spectator boats, while crowds gathered at Constitution Dock to watch history unfold in the great race.

"It's amazing! It looks like we're going to have all three - first out of the heads, line honours and race records, so it's an amazing achievement," skipper Anthony Bell's wife Kelly said as the supermaxi sailed into Hobart.

LOYAL triumph is Wild Oats XI heartbreak

After failing to finish the race the previous two years — suffering rudder damage in 2015 and hitting an unidentified object in 2014 — Perpetual LOYAL took the lead when the race leader, Wild Oats XI, pulled out on Tuesday morning.

Wild Oats XI, an eight-time winner, was a shock retirement from the blue water classic 20 hours into the race with a broken hydraulic ram, immobilising its keel.

It limped into safe harbour on the New South Wales coast after disaster struck Tuesday morning.

Wild Oats XI had overcome a poor start in this year's race to overtake early leader Perpetual LOYAL.

It was also on track to smash the 2016 line honours record before disaster struck.

Topics: sailing, sport, hobart-7000, sydney-2000

First posted