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Fleet of 69 sets off in 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race

Fleet of 69 sets off in 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race
SAILING - Cabbage Tree Island Race 2022 - Cruising Yacht Club of Australia - 2/12/2022 ph. Andrea Francolini/CYCA START LINE ©Andrea Francolini

Fleet of 69 sets off in 2022 Cabbage Tree Island Race

A fleet of 69 boats is heading north in the 172 nautical mile Cabbage Tree Island Race after an exciting twilight start on Sydney Harbour.

It was an eventful pre-start sequence off Point Piper as the packed fleet jostled for position, with an 11 knot sou’easter setting them on their way.

Hamilton Island Wild Oats, one of four 100-foot maxis in the fleet, was over the line early and subsequently recalled as Black Jack and Andoo Comanche broke away, with LawConnect in pursuit.

It was the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Line Honours winner, Black Jack, that was first out of the Heads around 24 minutes after the start.

URM Group, Hamilton Island Wild Oats, Alive and Moneypenny featured in the chasing pack, followed by the remaining mini maxis and TP52s, led by KOA and Zen.

Enterprise Next Generation, Anthony Kirke and Andrew Nuttman’s Botin Carkeek GP42 from Western Australia, got off to a good start, keeping pace with the 52s.

The lead two-handed boat was Mistral, Rupert Henry’s Lombard 34, co-skippered by Greg O’Shea, with the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Two-Handed Division winner Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth (Jules Hall/Jan Scholten) not far behind.

The two smallest boats in the fleet – Gun Runner and Currawong – were out of the Heads inside an hour as rain drizzled down, with lightening breeze set to provide a challenging night for the smaller boats.

The Cabbage Tree Island Race is the penultimate race of the 2022/23 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore and the opener to the 2022 Australian Maxi Championship.

Follow the fleet via the live tracker and view the live standings (available approximately three hours after the race start).