Wild Oats XI hoping it's third time lucky in quest for double success

After failing to finish her last two Sydney to Hobart skirmishes and enduring a lightning strike in training, perennial champion Wild Oats XI is seeking to roar back into form with a double in this year’s blue-water classic – with line honours and a handicap win on the radar for her crew.

“The goal is to be first, to finish. If we can go well enough, we think we can win on corrected time as well,” eight-time line honours skipper and Wild Oats XI’s helmsman Mark Richards said.

With four super-maxi yachts on the marine starting line this Boxing Day, competition from the 100-footers will be fierce. Among them is last year’s winner – renamed InfoTrack – as well as Queensland rocket Black Jack, but the biggest threat to the Oatley family’s quest for more glory at Constitution Dock is an old rival. “The biggest challenger we see on the forecast is LDV Comanche. They have a sensational crew and she will love the running. We will be going low and fast so it’s a bit in the hands of the gods,” said Richards, whose crew members boast more than 200 Sydney to Hobart races between them.

Arguably Australia’s best mariner, two-time America’s Cup-winning skipper Jimmy Spithill, will look to take any modicum of luck out of the racing for LDV Comanche – he knows preparation is paramount. “It is the toughest battle for line honours I’ve ever seen, with a number of super-maxis having a real chance of winning. Every single one of them have spent significant time and resources preparing. All of them have the goal of being first up the Derwent, including us, but it won’t be easy,” Spithill said.

While Spithill is best known for the sprint-style racing of the America’s Cup, the celebrated skipper believes he will be able to transition towards the endurance battle of a tactical long haul that comes with the gruelling 628 nautical mile southerly odyssey. “Going to Hobart, you mentally prepare for pushing hard and not much sleep but, like in the America’s Cup, it is all about being a step or two ahead - especially at night time, or when the weather is changing. I am approaching it more like a marathon,” LDV Comanche’s marquee man said.

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It is not just the battle for line honours that the sport’s most majestic crafts crave. There is also significant energy dedicated to winning the start of the race – to be the first to clear the heads. Wild Oats XI knows landing an early psychological blow is important. “Every second counts. Yes it would be great to be the first boat out of the harbour for bragging rights. We aren’t going to take risks, we want to get her safely out of the heads, but if the chance is there we will grab it,” Richards said.

Every sailor taking part in the race knows the dangers that lurk off shore. None more so than Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, the first person to sail single-handed, non-stop around the world. “You have millionaires at one end and people with cruiser races at the other - anytime you go to sea you have to respect it,” said the commander of one of 13 clipper yachts entered in the 73rd edition of the race.

Among the 102 crafts set to start in Sydney on Boxing Day are 27 international entrants – with China playing an increasing role. “You really feel the sailing spirit has developed in China and people are getting more and more involved with sailing and they want to go sailing internationally,” Duende’s Vicky Song said.

For the youngest skipper in the race, 24-year-old British sailor Nikki Henderson, the Sydney to Hobart is a great leveller. Gender and age matter little in a Bass Strait belting. “Sailing is very male dominated,” the Visit Seattle skipper said. “While I don’t like to think of myself as a female sailor, but as a sailor like everyone else, we do need to tap onto the sailors and skippers already out there to encourage more women to get involved.

“The diversity in age and gender, profession and background is very broad and you really, really get to know the crew, especially when facing some of the most extreme conditions in the world.”

Winning your category and edging out other boats your size is still the pinnacle for a lot of entrants. That is certainly the case for Sydney-based helm Wendy Tuck. “The Sydney-Hobart means everything,” she said. “I love the race; the whole fanfare of it, the busy start, the excitement when you finish and all the different conditions we are going to come across on the way down to Hobart.”

The race cannon will fire on December 26th at 1pm local time.