Leader Alfa Romeo eased past the halfway point in the Sydney to Hobart race late Sunday as the line honors contenders encountered light winds and the prospect of a slow sail to the finish on the island of Tasmania. Alfa Romeo, skippered by New Zealander Neville Crichton and taking advantage of an early breeze that his competitors failed to catch, held a 15-nautical-mile (19-mile, 31-km) lead over British entry ICAP Leopard. Wild Oats XI, which is trying to win line honors for the fifth consecutive time, was in third, 20 nautical miles (24 miles, 37 km) behind the leader in the race which covers 628 nautical miles (723 miles, 1,163 km). The prospect of little wind on the field's approach to Flinders Island and the Tasmanian coast meant the winner could finish as late as Tuesday. “Oh dear, this race may prove one of the lightest and longest ever,” said ICAP Leopard owner and skipper Mike Slade. “(The) forecast is proving completely wrong and being corrected by the minute. I can only hope ... that the current prognosis for the next two days of light winds will equally prove false.” Alfa Romeo finished second to Wild Oats in 2005, the yacht's only other Sydney to Hobart, before Wild Oats' four-year reign. Wild Oats skipper Mark Richards said this year's race was a “role reversal” of 2005. St. Jude, a 42-footer from Sydney's Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, skippered by owner Noel Cornish, was leading handicap honors. The race record was set in 2005 when Wild Oats XI finished in 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, after crossing the line at Constitution Dock in Hobart. There have been five retirements from the 100-yacht field, including maxi Etihad Stadium. The expected line honors contender had problems with rigging on a new mast and didn't make it out of Sydney Harbor.
