Duncan Hine has sailed 5,500 nautical miles double-handed from Melbourne to Japan, raced across South-East Asia, and is now deep into the trip home. When Alive finally ties up in Brisbane, the crew won't have long to catch their breath before setting their sights on something far more significant: a third Overall win at the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
The 66-foot Reichel Pugh canting keel yacht, owned by Tasmanian businessman Phillip Turner and flying the Derwent Sailing Squadron burgee, won Overall honours in both 2018 and 2023. After retiring early from the 2024 race, the motivation to complete a trifecta is obvious. A third win would place Alive alongside Freya (1963-1965), Love & War (1974, 1978 and 2006), and Ichi Ban (2017, 2019 and 2021) as the only boats to claim the Overall prize three times.
Hine and co-skipper Glenn Myler spent 2025 and the first half of 2026 keeping sharp on the Asian circuit. The Melbourne Osaka Cup in March 2025 set the tone, the pair sailing double-handed in just 22 days to win in all four divisions: Line Honours, AMS, ORCi and PHS. Alive then took first on Line Honours and Overall in the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race (673 nautical miles) in October, followed by a second Overall at the 22nd Royal Langkawi International Regatta in Malaysia in January 2026. The Rolex China Sea Race in March 2026 brought first on Line Honours and fifth in IRC Division 0.
The crew of five are currently making their way home, enjoying perfect conditions and stellar sunrises on the 4,000 nautical mile passage to Brisbane.
Alive will share the Sydney Harbour start line on Boxing Day with another race legend. Christian Beck's 100-footer LawConnect has won Line Honours three times, first as Perpetual Loyal in 2016, then twice under Beck's ownership in 2023 and 2024. The 2023 victory was a heart-stopping battle up the River Derwent, LawConnect holding off rival Andoo Comanche by just 51 seconds in a margin now firmly in Sydney Hobart record books.
In 2024, Master Lock Comanche (formerly Andoo Comanche) retired on the first night, easing some pressure as LawConnect crossed the line first for a second consecutive year. Last year didn't go to plan. Despite leading the fleet out of the Heads, LawConnect couldn't match Master Lock Comanche's reading of the variable conditions throughout the race.
Beck and his crew, which often includes offshore veterans Tony Mutter and Ty Oxley, are back in 2026 for another tilt at the John H. Illingworth Challenge Cup for Line Honours.
Over forty yachts are already entered in the 628 nautical mile race, with registration open until 1700 hours on Friday 23 October.
