A Cliffhanger finish in Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
by Jane Austin / ORCV Media 30 Dec 2025 00:14 UTC
29 December 2025
Acrobatic dolphins escorting Alien at daybreak on the final day of sailing © Glen Cowan
The Westcoaster might be a 435 nautical mile ocean race from Melbourne to Hobart, but like many of the ocean races from the big island to the little island, the River Derwent may have the last laugh in dictating who raises the trophy in this year’s race.
Competition has been intense from the get-go with almost every yacht leading on AMS handicap at some point in the race, but as the last 60 nautical miles loom, the scene is set for a cliffhanger of a finish, especially if the breeze fills in behind the fleet to send them home in style.
Vagabond, the Beneteau First 47.7 skippered by Andrew McConchie and Joan Lorraine, the Beneteau Oceanis 46 skippered by Peter Garner, have again struggled to find speed overnight, making things tough going for these heavier boats.
Matt Setton’s, The Jackal, has maintained their line honours lead, despite charting a course closer to the shore which saw the Ker 11.3 encounter weaker and more fickle winds which haven’t paid off for the first-time race skipper, but what is certain is that Setton and his crew will be pushing the boat hard to ensure that they are first home.
Conversely, nighttime tactics onboard Justin Brenan’s Lidgard 36, Alien, have again paid off with the seasoned crew using the evening hours to close the gap on the leading boats, proving that pushing the boat hard after dark pays off, halving their deficit to The Jackal to just 15 nautical miles.
The Jackal’s slower progress overnight has opened the door for Matt Fahey’s Sydney 38, Faster Forward, who has chipped away at the lead and is now just eight nautical miles behind The Jackal.
But all eyes are now on who will be the handicap winner and the magnificent Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy, and at this stage, it is still anyone’s race.
Fahey spoke via Starlink satellite this morning about how the last 60 nautical miles of the race were shaping up.
“It was an incredibly dark night with poor visibility, but we have a stunning view of the coastline now under grey skies.
“We certainly hope we get a little bit more breeze, it’s been a very frustrating night, but this morning’s shown a few signs of that.
“We’ve got a spinnaker up.
“All the models suggest that we might have had northerly breeze, but the local waters forecast today suggests that we might have good following breeze all the way into Hobart, and it should build as the day goes on.
“It is still a little light, but we are moving, we’ve progressed passed South East Cape and we’ve got Bruny Island quite clear in the distance.
“We are confident that the breeze is going to build, and we’ll finish hopefully mid to late afternoon [on Tuesday],” said Fahey.
Faster Forward is sandwiched between The Jackal and handicap leader, Alien, knowing both will be hard to beat, but if energy and enthusiasm count for anything among this crew of race veterans and first timers, then they might just be the boat to shake things up.
“In this light air, we can’t get away from anybody, we need to get a bit closer to The Jackal.
“We also need the breeze to drop out a bit behind us and stall Alien, their handicap is pretty low comparatively, and they are pretty competitive, and as I said before the race, they’ll be our nemesis for a handicap win.
“I think our chances are pretty slim, but we are going to keep fighting on,” said Fahey.
A few local weather wrinkles near South East Cape are forecast which will keep skippers guessing but the breeze is expected to build to around 25 knots later in the day, with wind coming from behind the boats, which should set up the fleet for a fast and exhilarating run toward the finish, with the big downwind sails flying.
Fahey knows all about the perils of the River Derwent and will be focused on getting the tactics right on this most important stretch of water.
“This race is amazing.
“I had the opportunity to win it back in 2016 with Paul Roberts, we were neck and neck with a boat we raced all the way from Melbourne and as we entered the River [Derwent] they got a couple of miles ahead of us then sailed into a hole, and we beat them over the line, so the race isn’t done until you actually cross that finish line,” said Fahey.
“There’s no point getting despondent, we’ve just got to keep using what we have efficiently as we can and stay concentrated, and everyone is very well motivated to do that, that’s for sure,” said Fahey.
Faster Forward is one of several boats in the fleet that has newcomers onboard, with skipper Fahey making it a priority for his yacht to offer sailing opportunities to those who want to give it a go.
“They’ve been going fantastically actually.
“They’ve been flattered with some fairly moderate conditions, in fairness, which is good for them, maybe they’re the good luck charms for nice weather.
“Spirits are great, camaraderie is really good, we put a good team together and we are having a lot of fun racing together for sure,” said Fahey.
The line honours winner is currently predicted to arrive late afternoon on Tuesday.
In addition to the Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy, other prizes up for grabs include the Zeehan Trophy for the Navigator of the boat that wins the Heemskerk Trophy, the Wrest Point Abel Tasman Trophy for the winner on line honours, and the City of Melbourne Perpetual Trophy for first on corrected time on performance handicap.
The Westcoaster is one of the world’s great ocean races, covering 435 nautical miles from the start in Port Phillip to the finish line in the River Derwent in Hobart.
The race starts with a 125 nautical mile passage across Bass Strait before the fleet sails 200 nautical miles south down the West Coast of Tasmania, past Maatsuyker Island, east to South East Cape then turning northeast through the challenging waters of Storm Bay and then the fickle conditions of the River Derwent.
The monohull race record of 1 day 17 hours 28 minutes 59 seconds was set by Shortwave in 2008.
Follow the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race on Blue Water Tracks.