Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of Kinsale, racing the Sun Fast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital, were leading the 628-mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Race's two-handed division of 15 starters after nine hours of racing, and are the top-placed small boat overall, as they're logging in the upper third of the fleet in conditions which have been favouring the bigger boats.
Super-Maxi Andoo Comanche is leading overall on the water and in IRC, with her near competitors already reduced with SHK Scallywag - Grattan Roberts Jnr on board - sustaining a broken bowsprit.
Aboard the Botin 52 Caro, Gordon Maguire and Cian Guilfoyle are currently leading the TP52s and associated boats, but it looks as though they have a real battle on their hands with Sam Haynes TP52 Celestial - which Maguire, then on Ichi Ban, frequently duelled with in the past, and usually with success - as the Haynes boat has a lower rating, and a crew very determined to reverse the outcome of a year ago.
Philip Turner's RP66 Alive from Tasmania is showing very well at 6th overall with Adrienne Cahalane calling the navigational shots in her 31st Hobart Race, while Sean Langman's RP69 Moneypenny - Wlll Byrne of the National YC as bowman - is just behind at 7th OA.
The other Irish bowman, Stephanie Lyons of Kinsale on Richard Williams' Cookson 12 Calibre 12, is currently having the race of her life as Calibre leads Division 3 overall on IRC, while the strong Irish representation on Mickey Martin's veteran TP52 Frantic (Trevor Smyth (Clontarf), Conor Totterdell (National) and Cillian Ballesty (Wicklow)) are currently tenth in Division 1.