SYDNEY, 28 December 2003 — Australia super maxi Skandia held a narrow lead over rival Zana in the 59th Sydney-Hobart race yesterday despite colliding with a huge sunfish.

Skandia led New Zealand’s Zana by around two nautical miles yesterday as the leading boats made their way across the notoriously rough Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and the island state of Tasmania. Melbourne property developer Grant Wharington’s Skandia had covered about 360 miles of the 630 nautical mile race since leading the fleet out of Sydney Harbor after Friday’s start.

Skandia, the pre-race favorite, has been engaged in a close tactical battle with Zana since the start and managed to keep its lead despite hitting what the crew believed was a huge sunfish lying just below the surface in Bass Strait.

Skandia was sailing at about 13 knots when its crew heard a loud bang and the state-of-the-art, 30 meters boat came to what navigator Will Oxley described as “a shuddering stop”, the crew racing to drop sails to minimize any potential damage.

“We stopped dead in the water and we slid sideways, we were preparing to drop sails when whatever was on our keel came loose and suddenly we were away again,” Oxley told race officials.

The leading boats were sailing into southwesterly headwinds of up to 30 knots as they crossed Bass Strait, with choppy seas and three-meter waves also battering boats.

Race officials projected Skandia and Zana would finish within minutes of each other some time tonight. Zana had sailed within sight of Skandia’s stern for most of yesterday after briefly heading the Australian boat on Friday. “It has become an incredible match race in the open ocean,” Zana’s sailing master Peter Sutton said earlier yesterday.

The heavy seas took their toll on other boats, with Swedish maxi and 2000 race winner Nicorette suffering a damaged keel and Sydney 38-footer (10 meters) Dodo pulling out with mainsail damage.

Nicorette skipper Ludde Ingvall said a retractable fin on the boat’s radical new canting, or swinging, keel had snapped off in the mishap.

Ingvall and his crew were lucky to escape unharmed when their boat was knocked on its side by a water spout, or sea tornado, during the 2001 race.

Nicorette had overtaken Australian 66-footer (20 meters) downwind flyer Grundig for third place before the incident and was back in fourth late yesterday.

Fifty-five boats remain from an original fleet of 57 after Dodo’s withdrawal. Small Australian boat Strewth was unable to start because of gear damage.

Grundig, a skiff-like boat built for downwind conditions, had been a surprise leader on Friday night after Skandia and Zana unsuccessfully sailed out into the Tasman Sea in search of strong winds and a following current.