Quitters aid Nicorette

SAILING/Sydney to Hobart race: Australian maxi Nicorette claimed line honours in a punishing Sydney-Hobart yacht race yesterday after rough weather forced out almost half the fleet, including heavily favoured super maxis Konica Minolta and Skandia.

Ludde Ingvall claimed his second Sydney-Hobart title when his new 90-foot boat coasted across the finish line under spinnaker in the southern island state of Tasmania just before dawn to win in a time of two days 16 hours and 44 seconds.

Ingvall won the race in 2000 in his former boat of the same name. His new Aus $5 million (2.86 million) boat was launched two weeks ago and survived a rough passage down Australia's east coast in the 630-nautical mile bluewater classic.

Others weren't so lucky and the crew of Australian super maxi Skandia took to life rafts yesterday, while rival New Zealand yacht Konica Minolta was also forced out of the race.

Konica Minolta and Skandia had led since Sunday's start, but both suffered serious damage in Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and the southern island state of Tasmania. Meteorologists issued a gale warning for eastern Tasmania and 53 boats out of a starting fleeting of 116 had been forced out by the end of yesterday's racing.

Race officials said another 11 were sheltering in ports as thunderstorms, southwesterly winds with squalls up to 50 knots and freezing conditions buffeted the fleet.

Stewart Thwaites' Konica Minolta had gradually increased its lead over 2003 winner Skandia, but suffered serious keel and cabin damage as it bounced down the back of a big wave yesterday.

"We barrelled off the top of a ginormous wave and crashed down the other side," Thwaites said. "It was all hands on deck. The wave was twice as big as any others we've seen during this race. It was a pretty hairy night overall."

Skandia owner Grant Wharington issued a distress call several hours earlier when an hydraulic arm on its sophisticated moving keel became jammed and the boat was unable to hold a course.

The yacht, which had hit a giant sunfish on Monday, wallowed helplessly in seas of up to seven metres.

Skandia's 16 crew members took to life rafts and were safely transferred to a Tasmanian police launch. "Obviously the safety of our crew is the most important thing," Wharington said afterwards.

Later yesterday, Skandia's keel snapped off and the multi-million dollar boat capsized. Attempts would be made to tow the boat to shore today, officials said.

Since Sunday's start, the two state-of-the-art 30-metre super maxis had been engaged in a re-run of last year's gripping race, which Skandia won by 14 minutes over Konica Minolta, then known as Zana, after more than two days at sea.

Former America's Cup sailor Syd Fischer's Farr-50 Ragamuffin was dismasted and also withdrew yesterday. Fischer, who was sailing in his 35th Sydney-Hobart, reported that all his crew were safe.

While conditions were very difficult, they were not as bad as those during the 1998 race when six sailors lost their lives and five boats sank after 80-knot winds and mountainous seas hammered the fleet.