Comanche returns to Sydney Hobart as Bell's Tribeca LOYAL

Comanche, arguably the fastest monohull on the planet, is back in Australian waters. She returns as Anthony Bell's Tribeca LOYAL, with line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race firmly in her sights.

The 100-foot maxi will line up on Boxing Day under Bell's LOYAL program for the 628-nautical-mile race south. The campaign will again support the Humpty Dumpty Foundation. LOYAL and the LOYAL Foundation continue to raise funds for life-saving medical equipment for children in hospitals across Australia.

A proven winner in a proven boat

Bell last raced the Hobart a decade ago. He took line honours on Investec LOYAL in 2011 and again in 2016 on Perpetual LOYAL, which set the race record at the time with 1 day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds.

Now he has Comanche, one of the race's most decorated yachts. She holds the current record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds set in 2017 (as LDV Comanche) and has claimed five line honours victories (2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2025). Tribeca LOYAL will be one of the leading contenders for the Illingworth Challenge Cup.

The crew

The lineup brings together sailors from three different line honours-winning campaigns.

Tom Slingsby is Sailing Master. He is the Bonds Flying Roos SailGP CEO and driver, an America's Cup winner and an Olympic gold medallist. He sailed with Bell from 2013 through to Perpetual LOYAL's line honours win in 2016. Anthony Nossiter and John Flannery also return from the original LOYAL program.

Mark Bradford of North Sails manages the program. He skippered Black Jack to line honours in 2021 and brings Black Jack crew including Liam Woulfe and Will McCarthy. Andy Green is navigator, returning from Comanche's 2025 line honours win. Also back from that campaign are Andrew Henderson, Andre Vorster, Craig Garnnett, Clinton Evans, Pablo Arrate, Sam Newton, Will Parker and Phil Jameson.

The confirmed Tribeca LOYAL "super sailors" are Anthony Minichiello and Phil Waugh. Minichiello is a former Sydney Roosters captain and NRL premiership-winning captain, who played 11 State of Origin matches for New South Wales and 19 Tests for Australia. Waugh is a former Wallabies captain, a 79-Test veteran and the current Rugby Australia Chief Executive Officer.

Built for breeze

The Hobart is known for unpredictable conditions, but Slingsby says a favourable weather window could put the maxi in contention to challenge its own record.

"Every boat has a certain condition that they're going to be strong in," the 3-time Rolex World Sailor of the Year said.

"Previously, people who've watched a Sydney Hobart, you've got your Wild Oats (XI) and your Black Jack's and boats that are very fast in lighter winds, and then you've got the boat that was previously LOYAL (most recently LawConnect) that likes a lot of wind.

"Comanche (Tribeca LOYAL) likes more wind. It's probably a bit more versatile than the old Loyal they had, in that it can go in lighter winds a little bit better, but the stronger the wind, this boat just keeps wanting to go faster and faster.

"My last ocean race I did was 2021, and I did it on this boat in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, which is starting in Malta, go up around Sicily, racing around Sicily and Italy, and back, and we broke the race record by nine hours, and they said that that record would never be broken.

"That just shows the capability of this boat if it gets the right conditions and that goes for the Sydney Hobart.

"This boat already owns the Sydney Hobart race record, but the conditions we could get if we get the right conditions, we can break that record by a lot.

"So, fingers crossed, you're dealing with Mother Nature, but I think this boat wants strong winds, and if we get the right conditions, we could definitely break that record by a bit."

The 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart starts on Saturday 26 December at 1300 hours AEDT. The start and finish will be broadcast live on the race website and on the CYCA's YouTube channel, CYCATV.