Beau Geste, a Hong Kong yacht owned and skippered by Karl Kwok, was declared the provisional overall winner of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race yesterday.

The win will not be confirmed until all yachts have finished, but officials said there was no prospect of it being displaced.

Beau Geste finished sixth across the line last night to take the George Adams Trophy for overall handicap winner.

Second was Sydney veteran Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin and third was Ausmaid from Melbourne which was last year's winner.