Related News
Wild Oats XI sails to Sydney-Hobart race victory
Print Edition
SUPERMAXI Wild Oats XI won its eighth line honors in the Sydney to Hobart race yesterday, officials said, to become the most successful yacht in the history of the competition.
The Mark Richards-skippered 100-footer crossed the finish line ahead of American newcomer Comanche in the gruelling 628-nautical mile (1,163-kilometer) race down the east coast of southern Australia, organizer, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said.
The nine-year-old yacht, owned by winemaker Bob Oatley, crossed the line after 2 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes and 26 seconds at 3.03pm, while Comanche finished in 2 days, 2 hours, 52 minutes and 44 seconds.
“It was our toughest race. To have a boat (Comanche) so close is always difficult, especially when they are going faster than you,” Richards told reporters in Hobart after the yacht crossed the finish line at Battery Point.
“We managed to pull it off and I just said to the guys, we have just got to hang in there, hang tough, minimize the losses and wait for the first opportunity we could to attack and we did and it paid off.”
Wild Oats XI, one of five supermaxis — the biggest and fastest yachts — in this year’s race was also first across the line every year from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
It surpassed the record of Morna/Kurrewa IV, which won seven line honors titles in the 1950s and in 1960.
But choppy seas during the race meant the leaders were unable to challenge the race record set by Wild Oats XI in 2012 of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds.
The brand-new, cutting-edge Comanche, owned by American technology entrepreneur Jim Clark and skippered by Ken Read, had a stellar start when it flew out of Sydney Harbour at the start on Friday.
Perpetual Loyal, another supermaxi, was the most high-profile retirement due to hull damage, while Brindabella, a former line honors winner, also pulled out after it started taking on excess water due to damage to rudder bearings.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
