Skipper and owner Christian Beck has praised Lake Macquarie sailor Chris Nicholson for his "instrumental" role in an "amazing" and "incredible" line-honours victory for LawConnect in the Sydney to Hobart on Thursday.
Perennial bridesmaid LawConnect came from behind to pip fellow supermaxi Andoo Comanche by just 51 seconds.
LawConnect, runner-up in the past three editions, edged across the River Derwent finish line in light winds shortly after 8am (AEDT).
It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982.
LawConnect and Comanche, which were in a tight battle the whole race, each had its nose in front in the dying stages.
Two-time Olympian and six-time world champion Nicholson, 54, was tactician on the winning boat, which also had Lake Macquarie's Lucas Chapman as part of the crew.
"There's two guys that really are instrumental - [sailing master] Tony Mutter and Chris Nicholson - and they have a lot to contend with," Beck said.
"Firstly the boat, I jokingly call a sh--box, but compared to Comanche it honestly is a sh--box. I know it looks good on TV, but you go up close to that boat, it's as rough as anything, and Comanche is a beautiful boat that's better in every way. It's four tonnes lighter, etc.
"So the fact that they can make that boat beat Comanche is amazing.
"Secondly, they had a pretty lean budget, and thirdly they had five corporates, including me, on the boat to deal with. None of us know all that much about sailing, so to have all of that and still win the race, it's actually an incredible feat."
Beck said his maiden line honours win in the 628-nautical-mile bluewater event was a dream come true.
"They took the lead pretty close to the line and we thought there was no way we could get it back," Beck said.
"A wind gust came around. It was a complete surprise. There were guys who couldn't watch. It was very nerve-wracking."
Pre-race favourite and 2022 winner Comanche took a lead into the River Derwent after holding the advantage down Tasmania's east coast on Wednesday night.
"It is pretty painful. We've got an amazing boat that should have won," Comanche skipper and owner John Winning jnr said.
"The other guys sailed their guts out and left nothing on the table. They beat us with an underdog boat, those guys deserve all the praise they get."
Winning jnr, whose two-year ownership of Comanche will come to an end after this race, lamented a slow start and getting caught in unexpected low pressure.
Beck said he would return to defend the win, which they achieved in a time of one day, 19 hours, three minutes and 58 seconds.
LawConnect arrived in Hobart with a red protest flag flying after they slowed for 30 minutes for Comanche who they believed was in distress. Mutter said they didn't assert any wrongdoing on Comanche's part.
Eleven of the race's starting 103-strong fleet have pulled the pin, with some reporting damage and seasickness after a challenging thunderstorm on the first night. Among the retirees was Lake Macquarie boat Millennium Falcon, owned and skippered by Rob Griffits.
The remaining Hunter boats were due to finish late Friday or early Saturday.
Late Thursday afternoon, She's The Culprit, a Glen Picasso-skippered Inglis/Jones 39 out of Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, and Mako, a Sydney 40 skippered by Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club chief executive Paul O'Rourke, were leading their PHS handicap divisions and were battling for the overall PHS title.
\Mick Martin's TP52 Frantic was 21st on line honours and third in IRC handicap division five. Two-handed NCYC boat Verite, a J99 with owner-skipper Paul Beath on debut, were 20th on IRC.
