Sailing: Five super maxis lead Sydney to Hobart fleet

Only two boats had been forced out during the first half of the Sydney to Hobart race. Photo / Getty Images

InfoTrack and Hong Kong super maxi Scallywag were neck-and-neck for the lead in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race midway through sailing yesterday as the boats entered Bass Strait on their way to Tasmania.

All five super maxis in the race held the top positions and were separated by only 11 nautical miles.

InfoTrack, which led the 157-yacht fleet out of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, was marginally ahead of Scallywag.

Two-time race winner and record holder Comanche was in third, Monaco-based Blackjack fourth and nine-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI fifth.

Wild Oats XI, which was built in 2005 and recently underwent extensive repairs after sustaining mast and rigging damage in a race last month, made good progress after having been slowed by light winds overnight and dropping out of the top 10.

With 26 hours of racing completed, the fleet remained at 155 boats, with no additions to the retirements of Hollywood Boulevard and Faster Forward on Thursday afternoon.

The 628-nautical-mile race takes the yachts down the south coast of New South Wales and across the Bass Strait to Hobart.

Two-time winner Comanche set the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes in 2017, a record that won't be in danger of being broken this year.

With a predicted increase in favourable winds, the leading yachts are expected to reach Hobart by midday today.

- AP