The overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart race is Min River after a protest was launched against the leader of the overall standings, BNC – my:: NET / Leon, for breaking race rules.
Min River, sailed by Jiang Lin and Alexis Loison, is the first double-handed yacht to win the overall race after the division, for boats sailed by two people, was added in 2021 and made eligible to win the cup in 2022.
Owner and skipper of Min River, Jiang Lin.Credit: Wolter Peeters
BNC – my:: NET / Leon arrived at Constitution Dock on Tuesday afternoon as the overall race leader and first in the double-handed division. The French crew โ Michael Quintin and Yann Rigal โ were greeted with champagne and met by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia commodore Sam Haynes, who also happens to be the reigning overall race winner from 2024.
But when second in the division and second in the overall standings, Min River, arrived at the dock about 54 minutes (with the handicap applied) behind BNCโs time. Min River then made the protest.
A protest is made from one boat to another when it believes that yacht has broken the rules of the race.
In this case, the protest was lodged over sheeting sails. The rules state that sails cannot be put over or through any device that means it extends beyond the width of the boat, except in some circumstances. Itโs designed to stop sailors from getting an unfair advantage.
Race Committee chairman Lee Goddard also launched a protest against BNC on behalf of the committee.
The protest was heard by an international jury convened in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in Hobart on Wednesday morning at 9.30am. The jury upheld the race committeeโs protest and imposed a time penalty of one hour and five minutes to BNC, awarding the overall race win to Min River.
More to come.
