The inaugural Yacht race that navigates the treacherous waters between Sydney and Hobart was off to a rocky start this past Sunday 26th December. Two days in and the swells have stollen victory from 16 Yachts so far with 71 still forging ahead to finish first hopefully sometime this evening.
Over the past 65 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has become an icon of Australia’s summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Davis Cup tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England. No regular annual yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage than does the start on Sydney Harbour.
The Yachts are part of the spectacle varying in age, size and design all manor of masts have valiantly battled in the ‘Blue Water Classic’. This years front runner Wild Oats XI exemplifies the modern marvels on showcase. It is a state-of-the-art 100 ft (30 m) maxi yacht designed by Reichel/Pugh with a Carbon/Nomex composite hull, features a ‘canting ballast twin foil’ (CBTF) and the only boat to have taken line honours on four successive occasions before Alfa Romeo interrupted that streak in 2009.
Significant changes were made to the sails and rigging of Oats prior to this years event predicted to make her perform better than ever upwind. Whether its luck or smart sails Wild Oats XI currently heads the fleet home maintaining a lead of close to 20 nautical miles over Investec LOYAL.
Bob Oatley’s boat Wild Oats XI on track to finish this evening 28th December, over 12 hours behind her existing mark of one day 18 hours 40 minutes, 10 seconds in 2005. Race Updates at Rolex Sydney Hobart Website
