Celestial has claimed Line Honours in the 75th Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race.
Owned and skippered by Sam Haynes, the 2022 Sydney Hobart winner crossed the finish line in Gladstone Harbour about 6:30am on Sunday morning.
Celestial finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 30 minutes and 53 seconds, a sign of the drastic change in conditions compared to last year, where it broke a race record for the fastest conventionally ballasted yacht with a time of 19 hours, 24 minutes and 52 seconds.
One crew member required treatment by paramedics at the finish line for suspected shoulder and rib injuries.
Ocean Crusaders J-Bird III, Maritimo, Mayfair and Not a Diamond had all crossed the line by 8:50am Sunday, with Kerumba not far behind.
Celestial led the fleet for much of the race, which set sail from Moreton Bay on Good Friday.
Competitors ran into heavy weather during the race and several vessels were forced to retire.
Queensland Cruising Yacht Club's Vice-Commodore Harley Cowlishaw said that, while Celestial took out line honours, other vessels were still looking likely to win overall on corrected time.
"The current standings are constantly changing, but currently we are seeing the smaller boats looking like taking overall honours," Mr Cowlishaw said.
"[Friday] night was a dramatic evening for the race fleet as they faced serious weather systems — and not the normal Easter sailing conditions for the B2G but, historically, there have been years when weather has challenged the race and 2023 was definitely one of those."
At least eight competitors were forced to retire during the race, with a range of issues from sail damage to seasickness.
The yacht Celeste was struck by lightning late on Good Friday and lost all electronics, but the crew was unharmed and continued the race.
Skipper and owner of Celeste Saskia Groen-In't-Woud said on Saturday afternoon that her crew was "all OK".
"It has been a race of attrition on our crew and the boat, but we are loving it," she said.
