Twelve months ago, few outside sailing circles had heard of Jiang Lin. Then she and French co-skipper Alexis Loison won the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart overall aboard the two-person yacht Min River, making Lin the first woman, and the pair the first double-handed crew, to win the Tattersall Cup.

This year, Lin returns to defend her title with Loison and a new boat, a JPK 10.50 also named Min River.

How it was won

Last year’s result was decided after the finish. The race committee protested BNC – my::Net/LEON, which received a penalty of 1 hour and 5 minutes, handing the overall win to Min River. Lin and Loison had sailed 628 nautical miles with just two people aboard, competing on handicap against fully crewed boats many times their size.

“We forgot to sleep,” Loison said at the time. “It’s crazy to win, we are proud of ourselves.”

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think this would come true for me,” Lin said.

A late start

Lin’s story is notable for how she came to the sport. She began sailing at 47, and in 2015 she was named Most Improved Keelboat Sailor at Balmain Sailing Club. A decade later she had won one of the world’s great ocean races.

Her path shows that elite results in ocean racing are not confined to people who began sailing as children. Double-handed racing, with its smaller boats and lower costs, has broadened access to the sport’s biggest events.

The defence

Lin says the opportunity to buy the JPK 10.50 came up while she was in France. “I couldn’t resist the temptation,” she said. “This will be my sixth Rolex Sydney Hobart and having been a CYCA Member for almost ten years, this race means a lot to me.”

She is not making grand predictions. “I never set out to win the Tattersall Cup,” Lin said. “For us, it’s about doing our best, enjoying the race and having as much fun as possible. Just because we won last year doesn’t mean we’ll win it again – it’s a new race and anything can happen.”

“Alexis and I had such a great time sailing together last year, and we made some wonderful memories together. That’s the feeling I want to recreate this year.”

The competition

Min River is one of 18 double-handed entries this year, a sign of how much the division has grown. They include Rupert Henry’s Mistral and Jules Hall’s Disko Trooper. Elizabeth Tucker’s First Light will also race double-handed.

The overall prize will be contested by a strong group of fully crewed yachts, including the two-time winner Alive, the three-time winner Love & War and five TP52s. Winning on handicap depends heavily on the weather: conditions that favour small boats in the second half of the race can make a two-person crew competitive, while a fast race tends to suit bigger yachts.

A wider significance

Lin’s win was celebrated well beyond sailing, and the CYCA has highlighted the 13 women owner-skippers in this year’s fleet. Lin’s example, a woman who took up sailing in middle age and reached the top of the sport, is a powerful one for clubs seeking to attract new members.

Whatever happens on Boxing Day, her place in Sydney Hobart history is secure. A second Tattersall Cup would put her in rare company.