Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Master Lock Comanche wins
by Quinag 28 Dec 2025 19:55 GMT
26 December 2025
2025 Line Honours sealed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race as Master Lock Comanche crosses the finish line at Battery Point © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
Master Lock Comanche, co-skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo, has taken Line Honours in the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Crossing the finish line off Hobart at 18:03 AEDT on Sunday, 28 December, the 30.5 metre / 100 foot maxi completed the 628nm course in a time of two days, five hours, three minutes, 36 seconds.
At the dockside award ceremony, Allen and Mayo paid tribute to their talented crew: “There is so much depth in this team, and we love every challenge that gets thrown at us. Every decision we made had to take into consideration the safety of the boat. That meant doing things like changing sails at the right time. If you do not look after the boat, it will not get you to the finish. And, if you are going to achieve a great sporting achievement, you cannot do it in this sport without a fantastic team, and that is what we have.”
The pair also acknowledged the determination and commitment of Comanche’s closest competitors in the battle for line honours and the J.H. Illingworth Challenge Cup. “There was not a moment in the race when we were not looking at Scallywag, LawConnect and Lucky. It was really exhilarating the whole way. It makes it all more special to have won Line Honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race against one of the best fields of maxis ever assembled. They were fantastic competition.”
The victory goes someway atoning for last year’s disappointment when Master Lock Comanche was forced to retire after her mainsail tore. Allen and Mayo are, however, no strangers to success at the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Mayo was crew on Sovereign in 1987 when securing a famous double of Line Honours and overall victory. Allen has won the race overall on four occasions, three of which were with his own yacht, the TP52 Ichi Ban.
The Verdier Yacht Design & VPLP designed Comanche, has now secured Line Honours on five separate occasions under four different owners and several variations of the name: 2015 as Comanche (Jim Clark and Kirsty Hinze-Clark), 2017 as LDV Comanche and 2019 as Comanche (both occasions for Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant), 2022 as Andoo Comanche (John Winning Jr) and now as Master Lock Comanche (Matt Allen and James Mayo). The yacht also holds the current race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds set in 2017.
First held in 1945, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is a legendary contest. Rolex has partnered the event, organized by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, since 2002, and the annual 628nm race is at the very core of the Swiss watchmaker’s near 70-year-long association with the sport of yachting.