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| LawConnect crosses the finish line, marked by yellow triangular buoys, early on Saturday morning. |
By Daniel Miller
Defending champion LawConnect has taken out back-to-back line honours victories in a tragedy-stricken Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
The supermaxi, skippered by tech millionaire Christian Beck, powered up the River Derwent for an overnight finish a little after 2:30am on Saturday.
It had a finish time of 1 day, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds, well ahead of Celestial V70 and Wild Thing 100.
Claps and applause greeted the crew of LawConnect as it arrived in port at Hobart but missing this year was the onboard revelry.
Crew member Tony Mutter said celebrations would be held privately out of respect to the two competitors who died on rival boats on day one.
Mutter said the crew were informed of the deaths on the morning of day two after a busy night.
"I didn't actually hear it on the first night. I heard it in the early hours of the next morning," he said.
"We were pretty busy. We were 100 per cent focused on the race.
"Our navigator knew, and he had to just pick the right moment to let us know."
Mutter said the crew became "more sombre" after being told about the deaths.
"We were absolutely surprised and just felt for the other competitors," he said.
Beck was missing from the end-of-race press conference, with Mutter saying the skipper had suspected food poisoning and had made a dash to his Hobart hotel.
Captain gets washed overboard
Captain Luke Watkins spent about 45 minutes in the sea before being rescued. (ABC News: Chris Sheedy)
First published at ABC News, December 28, 2024
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