Hong Kong’s Scallywag battles back in Sydney to Hobart yacht race after being slowed down by a ‘technical issue’
- The Sun Hung Kai super maxi 100 left their rivals trailing at the start but had a problem with a J2 foresail after leaving Sydney Harbour
- The Hong Kong yacht was in the mix for line honours with rivals Black Jack and LawConnect after taking a more offshore route towards Tasmania
Hong Kong-owned Sun Hung Kai Scallywag was in the mix for line honours in the Sydney Hobart yacht race on Sunday after taking an early lead before being slowed down by a technical glitch.
The Lee Seng Huang-owned Dovell 100 super maxi, skippered by David Witt and representing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, suffered a technical issue soon after passing the Heads – a series of headlands that form the entrance to Sydney Harbour.
Witt then took a more offshore route to capture the stronger winds and the crew managed to put themselves among the top three boats alongside fellow 100-footers LawConnect and Black Jack.
Black Jack was leading the fleet of 76 surviving craft in the 630 nautical mile race after 11 hours of racing with skipper Mard Bradford choosing to stay almost on the rhumb line towards the Tasmanian capital.
“Shortly after passing the heads the yacht suffered a technical issue with the J2 foresail tack fitting,” Scallywag posted on social media. “The team managed to successfully get the sail down safely and get the orange storm jib up in the air while they work to repair the problem.”