The China Mail - Bondi victims honoured as Sydney-Hobart race sets sail

On a cool, grey summer's day at Sydney Harbour, crowds gathered around the shore or watched from scores of boats as a starting cannon set the fleet on its way for the race's 80th edition.

LawConnect, one of five ultra-fast 100-foot supermaxis competing for line honours, led the fleet out of the habour just ahead of highly favoured supermaxi Comanche.

Crews can expect waves of up to four metres (13 feet) and 25-knot winds on the first day of the 628-nautical-mile race from Sydney to the Tasmanian capital Hobart, a meteorologist warned in a final weather briefing.

"It's going to be cold. It's going to be wet. It's going to be bumpy," race committee chairman Lee Goddard said ahead of the race.

"People are going to get seasick, and there will be incidents, and there probably will be injuries."

But conditions at sea are expected to ease off later, the weather forecast indicated, as sailors race down the east coast before tackling the treacherous Bass Strait crossing to Tasmania.

In last year's edition, two sailors died in separate incidents as gale-force winds and big seas pummelled the fleet.

This year, scores of sailors are paying a special tribute to those who died on December 14 when gunmen attacked a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and wounding scores more.

As yachts pass the beach, they are spreading rose petals on the ocean "out of respect for the tragic loss of life", said Sam Haynes, commodore of race organiser the Cruising Yacht Club of Sydney.

- 'Better than us' -

Olympic swimming great Ian Thorpe is entering the Sydney-Hobart race for the first time aboard LawConnect, which is aiming to be first across the finish line for a third straight year.

"I've spent my life in and around water, but this is a completely different test, both mentally and physically," Thorpe said.

LawConnect's rival supermaxis in the race are Comanche, Palm Beach XI (formerly Wild Oats XI), Wild Thing 100 and Scallywag. The 90-foot Lucky is seen as another strong contender.

LawConnect skipper Christian Beck has been playing down his chances, telling reporters last month that Comanche was "better than us in every way" and that he was hoping for lighter winds to even up the contest.

The wind and ocean forecast leaves little prospect of any competitor beating Comanche's 2017 record time of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds.

Weather is a critical factor in the race, which was first held in 1945, with winds often shifting rapidly in direction and intensity.

In 1998, when a deep depression exploded over the fleet in the Bass Strait, six men died, five boats sank and 55 sailors were rescued.

Last year, 30 of the 104 yachts failed to finish.

The fleet, one of the largest this century, includes Celestial V70, which last year won the overall trophy that takes into account boat size and other factors.

There are 17 international entrants, including from Germany, Hong Kong, the United States and Poland.

Among the entrants, there are 13 women owners and skippers, but only one has an all-woman crew -- First Light, captained by Elizabeth Tucker as part of her preparation for the 2027-28 Global Solo Challenge, a single-handed, non-stop round-the-world race.

K.Lam--ThChM