Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2021

 

In the early hours of Wednesday 29th December the 100-foot monohull Black Jack of Yacht Club de Monaco member, Peter Harburg, was first to cross the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2021 in a time of 2 days 12 hours 37 minutes and 17 seconds.

A total of 88 boats were on the start of this legendary crewed sailing race between the Australian cities of Sydney and Hobart.  Organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is one of the toughest in the world due to the often severe weather conditions on rough southern seas.

And this year’s 628 nautical mile course (1,163km) more than lived up to its reputation with 22 forced to abandon due to boat damage within 24 hours of the start of this 76th edition.

Black Jack flying the YCM’s burgee was almost three hours ahead of Australian Maxi LawConnect in 2nd after a fierce battle. The Hong Kong based SHK Scallywag came 3rd around 20 minutes later, despite a major technical problem with a sail at the start of the race. 39 boats remain in the competition.

Perseverance has clearly paid off for Peter Harburg who after several attempts wins the event in real time. For the first time he was not on board having decided “to let the crew do what they do best” and leave it in the expert hands of his skipper and long-time friend Mark Bradford. For Black Jack this is the second Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race victory, 12 years after winning it under the name Alfa Romeo in 2009.