SHK Scallywag 100 skipper David Witt bemoans mechanical issues that may have cost his team Sydney to Hobart race

A frustrated David Witt has expressed disappointment after finishing the Sydney to Hobart race in third behind winner Black Jack and LawConnect, after a series of mechanical and technical issues slowed what was initially a race-leading start.

Black Jack crossed the finish line early on Wednesday morning to win line honours, finishing in 2 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes, 17 seconds. It was the slowest line honours time since 2004.

LawConnect finished second in 2:15:11.44, with Scallywag, which led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour on Sunday, less than 20 minutes behind in third.

“The crew did an amazing job, we probably don’t deserve to have a 100-footer here in the condition the boat ended up in the first night so it was a credit to the team that the boat got here,” Witt said after finishing in Hobart.

“We broke the J2 tack coming out of the harbour, and then we broke it again. The two times cost us about 20 miles.”

Those critical miles may have cost Witt the line honours he has been chasing over 25 years of racing the Sydney to Hobart, and the skipper could not hide his frustrations over the result.

“It’s really disappointing. We’ve been trying to win (line honours) in this race for a long time. A lot of money [has gone into it] and the sponsors have spent a lot of money on the boat,” he said.

“Covid has really bitten us on the arse, so to speak. I live in Hong Kong. I don’t live here [in Australia]. We’ve had to leave the boat in Australia and haven’t been able to prepare it as well as we would have liked.