Master Lock Comanche and URM Group Dominate SOLAS Big Boat Challenge - 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Two big rivals — Comanche vs LawConnect

James Mayo and Matt Allen’s 100-foot Maxi Master Lock Comanche strengthened her position as favourite for Line Honours with a commanding victory over her most obvious rival, LawConnect, the two-time defending Line Honours champion owned by Christian Beck. It was a result that resonated well beyond the finishing line. Beating LawConnect decisively in pre-Hobart conditions is never routine, and on Sydney Harbour it sent a clear message: Comanche was fast, sharp, and very much back with unfinished business. The previous Sydney Hobart had ended in heartbreak for the Comanche camp, when a torn mainsail in the early hours abruptly ended a meticulously prepared campaign. Twelve months on, the scars remained — but so did the resolve. “As Victor Kovalenko would say, the greatest Olympic sailing coach of all time, we’re ready to race,” Mayo said at the time, summing up a campaign built on methodical preparation and collective belief. “We’d put a lot of work into this program over a number of training camps, and they’d been really successful. We had a tremendous team. Together, everyone achieves more — and that’s exactly what we’d built.”

Redemption drove the Comanche campaign Mayo did not shy away from revisiting the disappointment of the previous year, describing the moment when everything unravelled offshore. “It was brutal. We were incredibly well prepared, had a great team, and then suddenly — bang — it was all over in the middle of the night,” he said. “That hurt. But a year on, I genuinely felt we were in really good shape. It felt good. We just had to go out on the 26th and sail the best we possibly could.” While the rivalry with LawConnect was impossible to ignore, Mayo maintained that Comanche’s focus stayed firmly inward. “Competition’s great — the more, the better,” he said. “But our job was to look after our boat and our crew. If we put our best performance on the water, we were quietly confident.” By crossing the line first in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge, Comanche also secured Line Honours in the Australian Maxi Championship, having won four of the five legs contested across an intense week of racing.

URM Group emerged as serious Tattersall Cup contenders If Comanche stamped authority at the front of the fleet, URM Group arguably did something even more significant — announcing themselves as genuine contenders for Overall honours in the Sydney Hobart. Owned by waste management magnates Anthony and David Johnston and skilfully skippered by Marcus Ashley-Jones, the Reichel/Pugh Maxi 72 dominated the Overall Division of the Australian Maxi Championship. Their performance was measured, consistent and relentless — exactly the qualities required to win the Tattersall Cup. With four consecutive Overall race wins, URM Group left no doubt about their credentials, finishing clear of the chasing pack, with No Limit and Moneypenny tied for second overall. Anthony Johnston was understandably buoyant as attention turned south. “Really, really happy,” he said. “Four wins in a row was a first for us, so we were absolutely stoked.” Timing it right for Hobart URM Group’s momentum was all the more impressive given the challenges faced earlier in the season. After losing their mast the previous year, the team opted for patience rather than rushing back into competition. “We started the season a bit slow,” Johnston explained. “We didn’t do the Sydney to Gold Coast race. We took time to get used to the new rig — and we started to come good at exactly the right time.” That timing proved crucial when the fleet turned left at Sydney Heads on Boxing Day. Adding a deeply personal dimension to the campaign, Johnston sailed to Hobart alongside his four brothers — David, Nick, Andrew and Nigel — a tradition that continued to define the spirit of the URM Group program. “I love doing Hobart with my brothers,” he said. “It’s a privilege to sail with them in the first place. To win together would have been something really special.”

The stage was set

With Master Lock Comanche firing on all cylinders and URM Group peaking at precisely the right moment, the narrative heading into the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was already clear.

By the time the fleet reached Hobart, the picture was clear. LawConnect had taken Line Honours, turning early promise into hard miles offshore. Others took lessons, stories and scars south with them — reminders that Hobart is never just about who arrives first, but about how the ocean chooses to let you arrive at all.