The China Mail - Duo battle for lead as storms force eight out of Sydney-Hobart

In a gripping late-morning struggle, LawConnect edged less than one nautical mile ahead of the favourite Andoo Comanche after a "cat-and-mouse" chase, with the lead switching through the night.

But Hong Kong-owned supermaxi SHK Scallywag, which had been in a three-way battle for the lead, was the first major casualty on Tuesday evening when it suffered a broken bowsprit.

Andoo Comanche was first across the line last year and still holds the 2017 race record for the bluewater classic of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds.

LawConnect has been runner-up in the three previous editions of the race.

"We are pretty close after we were neck and neck overnight," LawConnect captain Ty Oxley said in a racing update just a couple of hours before retaking the lead.

"It's raining and there are squalls everywhere, clouds on the horizon," Oxley said, reporting winds of more than 30 knots, sometimes exceeding 40 knots, as the rivals sailed southwards across the Bass Strait towards the Tasmanian capital.

- 'Lightning for hours' -

Less than 24 hours after the fleet left Sydney Harbour, eight yachts had pulled out, most with equipment damage, including one due to a lightning strike.

SHK Scallywag crew member Geoff Cropley said the sailors had endured "lightning and thunder for hours".

The crew were now "hunkered down", he added, with the weather slowly beginning to improve. "There is a little bit of blue sky. It's quite nice out here."

First held in 1945, this year marks the 25th anniversary of a violent storm that tore into the 1998 race fleet, with wild winds whipping up mountainous seas in which six people died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued.

Vessels still on the water on Friday could face a southeasterly swell with waves of three-to-five metres (10-16 feet), the Bureau of Meteorology warned in a final weather briefing before Tuesday's start.

Last year, Andoo Comanche crossed the finish line first after one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.

But the overall winner of the race under a handicap system was 52-foot Celestial, which claimed the coveted Tattersall Cup.

Another 52-footer, Caro, and the 72-foot URM Group, are also among the favourites for overall race honours this year.

X.So--ThChM