Hong Kong-owned yacht Sun Hung Kai Scallywag retired from the Sydney to Hobart race yesterday with a broken bowsprit.
The super maxi, regarded as one of the contenders for line honors, withdrew off the New South Wales state south coast about six hours after the start of the race.
"The team are obviously very disappointed given the great progress we were making but thankful no one was injured and that we could safely recover the sails that were in the air at the time," a statement from SHK Scallywag said.
"The team are currently making their way back to Sydney."
Super maxi LawConnect was the first out of Sydney Harbour in a close and dramatic start to the annual race.
Rival 100-foot yachts SHK Scallywag and Andoo Comanche, the defending champion, followed in that order as light winds made for a challenging start to the race. LawConnect has been runner-up in the last three Sydney to Hobart races.
Comanche flew a protest flag from the start, accusing Scallywag of tacking too close to her as the yachts made their way out of the harbor and through Sydney Heads. Scallywag later made a 720-degree penalty turn in order to avoid being disqualified.
Seven hours into the race, Comanche led LawConnect by six nautical miles. Wild Thing, the other remaining super maxi in the race after Scallywag's withdrawal, was in third place.
The fleet of more than 100 yachts will sail down the New South Wales state south coast and across the often treacherous Bass Strait to the island state of Tasmania. The finish line of the 628-nautical mile race is at Constitution Dock in the state capital of Hobart.
The line honors record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds was set by Comanche in 2017.
Comanche also won last year's race with the second-fastest time in history.
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SHK Scallywag sets out from Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart race. AFP
