Final boat crosses finish line in Sydney to Hobart

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is over for another year with the 74th and final boat reaching the finish line this morning. Salt Lines was cheered on by friends and family as a tumultuous chapter of the iconic race came to a close.

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00:00On the sparkling waters of the River Derwent, Saltline sails into Hobart, becoming the 74th

00:09yacht to cross the finish line.

00:16After five days and 20 hours at sea, it was an emotional reunion for loved ones.

00:21It's been very stressful.

00:23We haven't slept either.

00:24I miss him.

00:25Obviously, we're at the tail end of the fleet, so to finally get in, it's a fantastic bit

00:32of a boyhood dream to compete, so it was nice to be a part of it.

00:36The crew had hoped to reach Hobart for the New Year's Eve celebrations, but calm conditions

00:41delayed their arrival.

00:43We thought, yeah, it was a chance to make the fireworks, but no.

00:48We had a little tot of rum and a little celebration on New Year's Eve just to celebrate.

00:53Yachts have been arriving in Hobart since Saturday, some making it just in time for

00:58the fireworks.

01:00It was getting close.

01:01Six hours out, we had 30 miles to go, so we had to average five knots, and we had half

01:05hour to spare, so we thought we were pretty lucky with that one.

01:09This year's race has been marred by tragedy, with the deaths of two sailors.

01:14Challenging conditions, forcing 30 yachts to retire, but dozens of others successfully

01:19completed the epic journey across Bass Strait and the east coast of Tasmania.

01:24Law Connect claiming line honours, and Celestial being declared the overall winner.

01:30Salt lines might have been at the tail end of the fleet, but simply finishing the race

01:34is a victory for the crew.

01:36There's a lot of these guys, some of them have never sailed before, you know, aside

01:40from our training weekend, so it's a massive accomplishment for them.

01:44An accomplishment worth cheering for.

01:47Pour it on the skipper!

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