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John Williams skippered yacht Calm claimed line honours in the Boxing Day Dash across Port Phillip Bay.
The traditional precursor to races across the Bass Strait had 81 starters take off from Melbourne to Blairgowrie in light winds.
A largely slow race was led early by 42-footer Simply Fun skippered by Phil Coombs, before the bigger boats took over.
eXtasea took the lead from the benefit of bigger winds after choosing the western side of course but the Transpac 52-footer Calm was first to the Brighton turning mark.
After mixed breezes brought different leaders during a period of tactical racing, Calm was able to power home when the southerly change kicked in and finish just after 4pm AEDT.
Finishing shortly after Calm were Peter Blake’s Goldfinger and Simply Fun.
Pre-race favourite and largest boat in the fleet Gusto was a captive to the light winds and struggled to make an impression.
The race, renamed after the internet age disagreed with the “Cock of the Bay”, is the feeder event to Melbourne to Launceston and Melbourne to Hobart races beginning on Friday.
The trio of events – to Launceston and the Tasmanian capital via Tasmania’s west and east coasts – have drawn 28 entries from the Boxing Day Dash field.
Both Gusto (7th) and Simply Fun will back up for the Launceston race, while eXtasea (4th) and Shamrock (6th) tackle the rugged Tasmanian west coast.
The sole frontrunner to race the slightly longer east-coast route is XLR8, which finished 5th across the Bay.