We recently posted about Oli the cat, sailing with Captain Bob Williams and co-skipper  Chris Warren, on Sylph VI,  in the two-handed division of the 78th Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.  Oli and his crew finished the race, begun on Boxing Day, on January 1st at 8 AM. 

Technically, Sylph VI, a 12m (40ft) yacht built in 1960, and the oldest yacht in the fleet, was the last yacht to complete the race. (At least 18 of the fleet did not finish the race.)  So while not the fastest yacht in the 103-boat Sydney to Hobart race, Sylph VI was clearly the fastest yacht with a cat aboard — the unchallenged winner of the “feline class.”  (Oli was also the first feline seafarer in the 78-year history of the grueling regatta.)

ABC News Australia reports that the cat and crew of Sylph VI were greeted by about 40 fans on Hobart’s waterfront. The crew of another Sydney to Hobart yacht, Showdown, left Oli a personalized cat carrier so he could join in the traditional post-race beer at Customs House pub.

Oli the cat completes Sydney to Hobart yacht race

For those less interested in the “feline class” Sail World reports that Alive, skippered by Duncan Hine, has been declared the overall winner of the 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, securing the Tasmanian boat its second victory in five years.

The win is also Tasmania’s fifth in the 628 nautical mile Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s race after Hine skippered Phillip Turner’s Reichel/Pugh 66 to her first victory in 2018. Alive’s win adds extra polish to the pedigree of the boat that its owner, Philip Turner, bought the former Black Jack in 2014, with a view to winning the race. After its victory in 2018, Alive came close again in 2019, but placed fourth. Last year she finished 10th.