Comanche wins 2019 Hobart Yacht Race

Mon, 12/30/2019 - 8:15am

Comanche has won line honors in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with an official elapsed time of 1 day, 18 hours, 30 minutes, and 24 seconds. The win makes it the third time Comanche crossed the finish line first, after winning in 2015 and breaking the race record in 2017. Largely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world, the distance is approximately 630 nautical miles, starting in Sydney, New South Wales and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. Co-owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, Comanche was one of five Supermaxis participating in the race.

“Wonderful for me to be able to celebrate my 10th race from Sydney to Hobart coinciding with 75th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Particularly excited about the way the crew worked in this race, we've been together for a long time,” said Cooney following the race. “Everyone's just in tune with each other, it’s a fantastic group of guys to be with and everything went wonderfully well.”

Notable yachtsman Jim Clark originally commissioned Comanche to be built at Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay, Maine in 2014 with the purpose of building a sailing vessel capable of breaking records. Comanche has won numerous races since being launched and holds the 24-hour sailing record for monohulls covering 618 nautical miles in a 24-hour period and the Monohull Transatlantic sailing record with the fastest time of crossing the Atlantic Ocean (beating the previous record by 1 day, 3 hours, 31 minutes, and 14 seconds, in a total elapsed time of 5 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes, and 25 seconds).

“This year's race was particularly exciting to follow,” said Audrey Hodgdon, director of Sales and Marketing. “We’re very proud of our involvement in Comanche's build and that the yacht continues to perform so well in the world’s top races. We extend our congratulations to the owners and crew for an excellent race result!”