It’s not only the other competitors Mayo and Allen have to think about,they must also contend with the weather. Beck thinks this could prove Comanche’s undoing.

“It’s good for us because from our point of view,the harder it is,the better[LawConnect is] against Comanche because they’ve got a much better boat,” said Beck. “The more that can go wrong,the more helpful that is for our odds. So I’m pretty happy.”

While the start of the race is forecast to have favourable conditions,with north-easterly winds pushing the fleet towards Tasmania,a south-westerly trough is set to hit the race hard in the early hours of Friday morning,bringing thunderstorms,wild waves,and gale-force winds.

“[LawConnect and Comanche] are very similar conceptual boats. Theirs is about four tonnes lighter ... it’s kind of better in virtually every way,” Beck said.

“So the problem we’ve got is that in a straight-out,easy race,they’re going to beat us,but when it’s harder,there’s more to go wrong. More likely of damage. More likely that they make a strategic mistake. More likely that they have arguments among the crew.

“They probably don’t like me saying it,but I think what’s really happened is that me and those two Comanche skippers have sort of become sailing bullshitters. We don’t actually do much sailing,we just talk to the media.”

Talk to the media he does. LawConnect run a sophisticated operation,with its own media team offering photo opportunities and interviews to journalists at the drop of a hat.

They run a live-stream from the yacht via Starlink during the race and have become known for holding a company lottery that selects employees at Beck’s organisation to join the crew even if they have never sailed before.

On the other boat,Comanche’s media representative is co-skipper Allen,who seemingly takes a mediator role between Beck and Mayo.

“We’re just trying to make it entertaining,” said Allen. “We’re good mates behind the scenes,but he doesn’t mind a little wind-up in front of the cameras.”

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