HOBART, Australia — Leader Alfa Romeo eased past the halfway point in the Sydney to Hobart race late Sunday as the contenders encountered light winds and the prospect of a slow sail to the finish on the island of Tasmania.

Alfa Romeo, skippered by New Zealander Neville Crichton and taking advantage of an early breeze that competitors failed to catch, held a 19-mile lead over British entry ICAP Leopard.

Wild Oats XI, which is trying to win line honors for the fifth consecutive time, was in third, 24 miles behind the leader in the race that covers 723 miles.

The prospect of little wind on the field's approach to Flinders Island and the Tasmanian coast meant the winner could finish as late as Tuesday.

"Oh dear, this race may prove one of the lightest and longest ever," said ICAP Leopard owner and skipper Mike Slade.

"(The) forecast is proving completely wrong and being corrected by the minute. I can only hope ... that the current prognosis for the next two days of light winds will equally prove false."

Slade said he would be surprised if Alfa Romeo didn't capture line honors.

"At the moment if your money is on Alfa then you are a happy bunny," Slade said, adding that the New Zealand boat got its break midmorning Sunday.

"There was no breeze whatsoever and it's always the case that someone will get that puff.

"Wild Oats didn't get it; we didn't get it, and Alfa was on the right side of it to get it and off they went, putting 10 miles on us very, very quickly."

Alfa Romeo finished second to Wild Oats in 2005, the yacht's only other Sydney to Hobart, before Wild Oats' four-year reign.

Wild Oats skipper Mark Richards said this year's race was a "role reversal" of 2005.

"We were just a little unfortunate this morning to get left in a hole before the nor-Easter built," Richard said. "Alfa Romeo got going well before us and basically put 15 to 20 miles on us before we knew what had happened. That's just the way yachting goes."

St. Jude, a 42-footer from Sydney's Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, skippered by owner Noel Cornish, was leading handicap honors.

The race record was set in 2005 when Wild Oats XI finished in 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, after crossing the line at Constitution Dock in Hobart.

There have been five retirements from the 100-yacht field, including maxi Etihad Stadium. The expected line honors contender had problems with rigging on a new mast and didn't make it out of Sydney Harbor.