Wild Oats early leader in Sydney Hobart race
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 27, 2008 00:00
SYDNEY - Australian maxi Wild Oats XI held a narrow lead over main rival Skandia in the early stages of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday.
Race favorite Wild Oats XI, bidding for race line honors for the fourth consecutive year, was first through Sydney Harbor Heads after the traditional Boxing Day lunchtime start, followed just over a minute later by Skandia.
At 9:00 p.m., Wild Oats XI had a three nautical mile advantage over the 2003 line honors winner Skandia as the 100-boat fleet set sail for the 628-nautical mile race down the Australian eastern seaboard for the Tasmanian capital.
By nightfall, the two leaders had cleared out to a lead of more than 10 nautical miles over the 70-foot Ichi Ban.
Wild Oats XI and Skandia were being pushed along by favorable 25 knot north-easterly winds. Ichi Ban, Black Jack and Loki were leading the pack chasing the two maxis.
Wild Oats XI yacht skipper Mark Richards said his boat was set for a fast passage irrespective of whether it could finish inside the maxi's 2005 race record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds.
"It should be under two days with a bit of luck," Richards said by radio late Friday. "It's backing off a little bit. We are a bit worried about it going a bit light around Tasman Island (located in Bass Strait), but we'll just have to see what happens."
Slowing down
"It's certainly going to slow down some parts of the fleet," Ichi Ban skipper Matt Allen said. "I think it's a little bit unclear as to which boats will be affected detrimentally or otherwise with that. I think it's actually going to make it a more interesting race in some respects." Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said the forecast was similar to last year's race, but felt it was a good one for his boat.
"We've just got to hope we don't get dropped off in the light patch in the middle. It happened to a couple of boats last year," Wharington said. This year's race marks the 10th anniversary of the deadly 1998 race when six sailors were lost at sea in a powerful storm.
Five yachts sank and 66 boats retired in a fleet of 115 in a marine tragedy that generated world headlines. A subsequent inquiry into the race resulted in a considerable upgrade of safety requirements for competing yachts and their crews.
At 9:00 p.m., Wild Oats XI had a three nautical mile advantage over the 2003 line honors winner Skandia as the 100-boat fleet set sail for the 628-nautical mile race down the Australian eastern seaboard for the Tasmanian capital.
By nightfall, the two leaders had cleared out to a lead of more than 10 nautical miles over the 70-foot Ichi Ban.
Wild Oats XI and Skandia were being pushed along by favorable 25 knot north-easterly winds. Ichi Ban, Black Jack and Loki were leading the pack chasing the two maxis.
Wild Oats XI yacht skipper Mark Richards said his boat was set for a fast passage irrespective of whether it could finish inside the maxi's 2005 race record of one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds.
"It should be under two days with a bit of luck," Richards said by radio late Friday. "It's backing off a little bit. We are a bit worried about it going a bit light around Tasman Island (located in Bass Strait), but we'll just have to see what happens."
Slowing down
"It's certainly going to slow down some parts of the fleet," Ichi Ban skipper Matt Allen said. "I think it's a little bit unclear as to which boats will be affected detrimentally or otherwise with that. I think it's actually going to make it a more interesting race in some respects." Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said the forecast was similar to last year's race, but felt it was a good one for his boat.
"We've just got to hope we don't get dropped off in the light patch in the middle. It happened to a couple of boats last year," Wharington said. This year's race marks the 10th anniversary of the deadly 1998 race when six sailors were lost at sea in a powerful storm.
Five yachts sank and 66 boats retired in a fleet of 115 in a marine tragedy that generated world headlines. A subsequent inquiry into the race resulted in a considerable upgrade of safety requirements for competing yachts and their crews.