The 50-foot yacht Victoire was Monday named the overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart ocean race, after the only boat still at sea that could beat her ran out of time.
Supermaxi Wild Oats XI won line honours in the challenging 628 nautical mile race on Saturday night, storming home ahead of the fleet in a time of two days, six hours, seven minutes and 27 seconds.
But the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said Monday that Victoire had taken out handicap honours, which take into account the size, weight and length of each boat and the time they took to complete the gruelling race.
“It’s an amazing achievement,” said Victoire’s owner, Sydney plastic surgeon Darryl Hodgkinson.
“It’s also having the right equipment. Crossing the line in one piece... I had a personal taste of the water.
“It can be a dangerous race, but the boat is so solid – and my crew – they are so good. I thought it would be a two-year programme before I had a serious chance to win.”
Victoire, a 50-foot Cookson/Farr design, arrived in Hobart on Sunday morning, becoming ninth across the line from the original starting fleet of 94 yachts which headed out of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day.
Her time was two days, 19 hours and 32 seconds.
She followed the 100 footers Wild Oats XI, Perpetual Loyal, Ragamuffin 100 and Wild Thing as well as Volvo 70s Black Jack and Giacomo, 80-foot Botin Beau Geste and Carkeek 60 Ichi Ban.
Victoire was named overall winner after the only other yacht which could technically beat her, Wild Rose, was still at sea early Monday after slowing down in frustrating conditions.
Veloce, a 44-foot cruiser which was the 16th yacht to cross the finish line with a time of three days, two hours, 36 minutes and 11 seconds was second in the handicap honours.
While the Rogers 46 Celestial, which had just pipped Veloce home with a time of three days, one hour, eight minutes and 22 seconds, was third.
It is not the first success in the race for Victoire, which under previous owner Chris Bull was named Jazz and finished the Sydney to Hobart second overall in the 2010 race and fourth in 2011 and again in 2012.
This year’s Sydney to Hobart, the 69th edition of the race down Australia’s east coast, began in uncharacteristically light conditions, with the boats struggling to catch much of a breeze in the initial stages.
But by Saturday night gale force winds set in and the fleet was pounded for the following 24 hours particularly as they crossed the Bass Strait, with one yacht dismasted and a crew member on another vessel breaking his leg.
Officials said conditions had eased overnight and the boats still completing the course were in for better conditions.
“It’s a relief for the yachts at sea and also for the race organisers that the weather did abate,” the Cruising Yacht Club’s Bruce Montgomery told broadcaster ABC.
Some 46 boats have now completed the race, with 38 still making their way to Hobart. Ten yachts retired from the contest.
sport@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
