LawConnect seizes early lead in Sydney to Hobart race

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE START OF THE SYDNEY-HOBART YACHT RACE SHOWS: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 26, 2025) (IMG – For editorial use only. No resales. No monetisation) 1. AERIAL VIEW OF YACHT CLUB IN SYDNEY HARBOUR 2. PEOPLE ON QUAY 3. TEAM POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 4. PEOPLE HUGGING 5. FLAG WAVING 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTIAN BECK, SKIPPER / OWNER OF LAW CONNECT, SAYING:      "Well, look, we won the last two, so you sort of, we’d be crazy not to have a crack even though the chances of winning are not that high." 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAROLIJN BROUWER, ARAGON CREW MEMBER, SAYING:     "It's shaping up to be, yeah, one of the tough ones. And, that's how we know the Sydney to Hobart. You know, there's always something in there that the weather throws in there that's going to make it hard for us so all the crews are going to have to be very resilient." 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GRANT WHARINGTON, SKIPPER / CO-OWNER OF WILD THING, SAYING:      "Oh it's absolutely iconic. You could go all over the world and anybody that knows anything about ocean racing just sees the Rolex Sydney Hobart as being the race they want to do if they haven't already done it." 9. VIEW OF SYDNEY HARBOUR 10. PEOPLE WATCHING FROM HEADLAND 11. LAWCONNECT LEADS 100FT MAXIS 12. VARIOUS OF 100FT MAXIS RACING 13. SMALLER BOATS AT RACE START 14. VARIOUS RACE ACTION STORY: Defending line honours champion LawConnect took the early lead in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday (December 26) as the fleet of 129 boats, led by the supermaxis, pushed out of a cloudy Sydney Harbour and into choppy seas in the South Pacific.     LawConnect was the first past the turning mark after the starting cannons fired at 1 p.m. (0200 GMT) as the supermaxi aims to win line honours for the third straight year in the 80th running of Australia's premier yachting event.     Fellow favourite Master Lock Comanche was among the leaders, sailing close behind, as crews brace for wet and wild weather.     Australia's weather bureau forecast strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots and swells reaching 4m (13 feet) after leaving Sydney Harbour, but conditions are expected to ease slightly along the New South Wales and Tasmanian coasts at the weekend.     Sailors, while passing Bondi, will pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi mass shooting nearly two weeks ago. Fifteen yachts – one for each of those killed – will scatter rose petals off the stern of their boats, the race organiser Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said.      Six 100-foot supermaxis, the largest and fastest yachts in the fleet, are the primary contenders to finish first this year, though the race includes several smaller boats competing across divisions.     LawConnect won last year's race in 1 day, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds. The 2024 edition was marred by the deaths of two sailors in separate incidents when they were struck by booms during the race.     Five-times Olympic swimming gold medallist Ian Thorpe is among the crew aboard the LawConnect this year.     Covering about 630 nautical miles (1,170 km), the gruelling annual race takes yachts south along Australia's east coast, across the notoriously treacherous Bass Strait and on to the finish in Hobart, capital of the island-state of Tasmania. (Production: Andy Ragg)

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