SYDNEY — There have been plenty of "firsts" in the history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which was first held in 1945.

An all-Filipino crew of 15 sailors will make it another when the annual ocean classic begins in Sydney on Thursday.

With veteran sailor Ernesto Echauz at the helm, Centennial 7 will embark on the 628-nautical mile (1,160 kilometers) race. One of six international entrants out of the more than 100-strong fleet, Centennial 7's crew comprises sailors from the Philippines' national team and the Philippines navy.

The boat itself is no stranger to the race. Previously, the TP52 yacht was known as Celestial and claimed the Sydney to Hobart overall handicap victory in 2022 under the helmsmanship of Sam Haynes after being runner-up the year before.

When shipping their own boat from the Philippines proved too difficult, Haynes helped keep the dream alive by selling Celestial to Echauz in September. Haynes will still contest the Sydney-Hobart race on board a new Celestial.

"I never knew that it was going to be this boat," Echauz told reporters. "We acquired Celestial right away because we were told that it's ready to do the Sydney to Hobart.

"We went through the paperwork, and the most important thing is to be able to get the whole crew, 15 Filipinos. They got surprised that, hey, we're going to bring all of the Filipinos. It's a dream come true for all of us. We never expected that we'll be able to join."

The race takes the yachts down along the south coast of New South Wales, across the notorious Bass Strait and to the island state of Tasmania, ending in the state capital Hobart after sailing the last portion of the race on the River Derwent.

Last year, LawConnect won line honors in the 78th edition of the Sydney to Hobart, holding off defending champion Andoo Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis. The pair of 100-foot yachts had dueled for much of last year's race, and were well ahead of the rest of the fleet of 103 yachts that started.

LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds. Comanche's time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, and 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982. Comanche holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set when it won the race in 2017.

In March, Echauz's crew finished second by five minutes to rival Happy Go in a close finish to the China Sea Race, after claiming line honors on board Centennial 5 last year.

Agencies Via Xinhua