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Wild Oats wins Sydney title
28/12/2006 15:35 - (SA)
Sydney - The Australian supermaxi Wild Oats won the 62nd Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday, becoming the first yacht in 42 years to notch up back-to-back victories in the bluewater classic.
The 30m maxi crossed the finish line at 21:52 in a time of two days, eight hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds - way off the record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds that it set last year.
Wild Oats is only the sixth yacht to score back-to-back victories in the Sydney to Hobart since it was launched in 1945, and the first boat to do so since Astor achieved the feat in 1963 and 1964.
The yacht took the lead after most of its main rivals were forced to retire or fell victim to rough weather and equipment failure during the treacherous first 24 hours of the tough 628-nautical-mile race.
It came in about 40 nautical miles ahead of second placed Ichi Ban, which snatched the position from Skandia, which fell into third position earlier on Thursday after mounting a surprise challenge against Wild Oats.
The reigning champion and bookies' favourite saw its huge lead over Skandia halved in calm conditions on Thursday, but managed to maintain a 10-nautical-mile buffer down the east coast of the island-state Tasmania.
Skippered by Mark Richards, Wild Oats temporarily lost the lead on a tumultuous first night to both rival maxi Maximus and the 21m ABN Amro, both of which were dismasted before dawn on Wednesday.
But most of Wild Oats' main rivals were either forced to retire or hobbled after falling victim to rough weather and equipment failure before the race had passed the one-day marker.
The extreme conditions that sank one yacht and forced eight others to retire did not re-materialise, but Skandia had already lost its front rudder and was generally believed out of contention.
It appeared to be the likely runner-up until it was finally passed by the 21m Ichi Ban.
Wild Oats, owned by businessman Bob Oatley, reached the finish line in Hobart's Constitution Dock late on Thursday to cheers and celebration by its crew, which included 15 previous crew members of line-honours-winning yachts.
Only 69 of the 78 yachts that made their way out of Sydney Harbour on Tuesday remain in the race.
- SAPA
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