John Florence Finishes Fourth* In Sydney To Hobart

Last week we were shocked to see John Florence, our 2x World Champion, entering the world’s most lauded and prestigious yacht race. Well, I guess we weren’t that shocked. John does own his own 48-footer and spends his spare time sailing rather than training surfing. 

John wasn’t fortunate enough to be aboard one of the super maxis which take line honours without fail. But he was a part of the crew of Winning Appliances, a 60-foot yacht owned and captained by John Winning Junior whose name is an apt indicator of his sea and sailing expertise. 

John Florence was the tenth and very last minute addition to the Winning Appliances crew, and judging from their race performance fit in well on board. Despite John referring to himself as “the low man on the totem pole” in his post-race Instagram post. 

Winning Appliances was the first non-super maxi out of the Sydney heads, came in fourth at Hobart when the IRC handicapping rules are taken into account, and scraped into the top-ten for line honours with a few last minute overtakes heading into Hobart.  

“I’m looking forward to the experience of it. I think it will be pretty miserable at times, but I’m pretty excited for the whole thing overall, just to be a part of it and to be learning from these guys is really cool.” John Florence told the AAP before the race. 

“Just helping with whatever I can. I’ll be sitting near the bow helping the bowman with stuff.”

And according to the skipper, John Winning Jr., Mr. Florence could switch to a career in sailing if need be. 

“If it didn’t work out for him in surfing, I think he’d be able to get a career in sailing. He definitely pulls his weight and holds his own in the crew for sure.”

Flick over to John John’s Instagram story for a few POV takes from the 2x World Champ’s time aboard the Winning Appliances vessel.