An all-Filipino crew composed of 15 sailors will gun for a piece of history when it competes in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2024 starting Thursday.

With veteran sailor Ernesto “Judes” Echauz as skipper, Centennial 7 will embark on a 628-nautical mile — or roughly 1,160-kilometer — race as one of the six international entries out of the 100-strong fleet.

Actually, it will not be the first time for the boat to see action in the prestigious event that started in 1945.

In fact, it claimed an overall handicap victory in 2022 when it was still known as Celestial under Sam Haynes. Prior to that, it emerged as runner-up, proving that it has what it takes to take on the best boats in the world.

Haynes, however, eventually let go of Celestial and sold it to Echauz in September. Although Haynes will still race in the Sydney-Hobart event on board a new Celestial, his old boat — now known as Centennial 7 — had emerged as a force to be reckoned with as it will be manned by a powerhouse cast composed of personnel from the Philippine Navy and the Philippine national yachting team.

“I never knew that it was going to be this boat. We acquired Celestial right away because we were told that it’s ready to do the Sydney to Hobart,” Echauz said in a report.

“We went through the paperwork, and the most important thing is to be able to get the whole crew, 15 Filipinos. They were 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 the New South Wales state south coast, across the often 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 Derwent River.

Last year, LawConnect won line honours 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 the race and were well ahead of the rest of the fleet of 103 yachts that started last year’s race.

LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in one day, 19 hours, three minutes and 58 seconds. Comanche finished just 51 seconds behind.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after the Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982. 

Comanche holds the race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set when it won the race in 2017.

Last 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.

“We’ve been sailing with each other for years, for decades,” Echauz said.