Lightly crewed Grundig AAPT overcame an early setback to lead favoured super maxis Zana and Skandia on the first night of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Sydneysider Sean Langman's Open 66 yacht held a five mile advantage over New Zealand's Zana as darkness fell on the opening night.

Victoria's Skandia was close behind as most of the 56-strong fleet, the lowest in more than 30 years, passed Wollongong and headed down the NSW South Coast.

Although renowned as a downwind specialist, Grundig headed the fleet into a east to south easterly headwind of about 13 knots.

It was a stirring fightback from Grundig, which lost valuable time in the first few minutes of the race when her spinnaker caught on her spreaders.

Skandia and Zana cost themselves valuable time during the afternoon when they erred by going further out to sea than most of the fleet in search of stronger breezes.

The tactic didn't pay off and it took the fancied super maxis several hours to catch up to some of the smaller boats in the early leading group, including Grundig, Ichi Ban, Yendys and Volvo 60s Andrew Short Marine and Seriously TEN.

Grundig, which finished second across the line to Alfa Romeo last year, carries a crew of just eight aboard compared to Zana, which has three times that amount.

The smaller boat has undergone a recent $250,000 revamp which included being fitted with retractable rudders.

Andrew Short Marine and Seriously TEN rounded out the top five.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP