Fickle River Derwent winds could play a huge role in determining who claims coveted handicap honours in a gruelling 80th edition of the Sydney to Hobart.
Attention has turned to the race for the overall title, after Master Lock Comanche triumphed in a supermaxi dogfight to win line honours for the fifth time on Sunday evening.
Reigning handicap winner Celestial V70, skippered and owned by Sam Haynes, inched past the finish line just after sunrise on Monday.
Haynes and crew spent about five hours crawling up a glassy River Derwent, a far cry from Comanche's flying victory in strong winds.
"It really lived up to its shutdown status," Haynes said.
"It made it extremely difficult to get across the finish line. We almost got to the stage where we thought we might not be able to cross.
"We got held up by the tide. A little bit of breeze took us across the line."
Gruelling upwind sailing over the first 30-or-so hours has made for a sluggish race - at 3.30pm on Monday just seven yachts had finished.
Of the starting 128-strong fleet, 34 crews had retired citing a range of ailments including broken ribs and seasickness, as well as hull, sail and equipment damage.
A flurry of finishes was expected on Monday night.
It could take days for confirmation of the overall winner, which is calculated on corrected times based on factors including yacht size.
Haynes managed to beat the corrected time of Lucky, skippered by American businessman Bryon Ehrhart, by less than a minute, which could prove crucial in the final washup.
Veterinarian Haynes nominated Celestial's biggest handicap rival as one of his former boats, Smuggler, which was due to enter the River Derwent on Monday evening.
The 52-foot yacht, named Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Ocean Racer of 2024, was fifth overall last year.
"They're coming home strong. It is actually quite exciting to see whether or not they can beat us," Haynes said.
Despite the early morning arrival, Haynes celebrated with a drink at the still-open Customs House pub at Hobart's waterfront.
Haynes said sailing conditions were up there with the most difficult of his 15 Sydney to Hobarts.
"The NSW coast was really uncomfortable. It took so long to get across Bass Strait, there's no cover out there and the wind was coming almost due south," he said.
Winds were on Monday pushing the remaining fleet down to Hobart but a change tipped for Tuesday afternoon is expected to again make life difficult.
NSW yacht Wind Shift and its crew of eight was yet to enter Bass Strait at the tail of the fleet and isn't slated to finish until the New Year.
Comanche skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo earlier hailed the line honours victory as redemption after they were forced to retire with mainsail damage while leading in 2024.
The 100ft yacht, built in 2014, had been locked in a three-way tussle with last year's winner LawConnect and Hong Kong-owned SHK Scallywag 100 off Tasmania's east coast.
Comanche's finishing time of two days, five hours, three minutes and 36 seconds was well short of the race record it set in 2017.
