Wild Oats XI cruises to victory
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 29, 2008 00:00
HOBART - Overcoming an encounter with a 2-meter shark and sailing most of the race with flotsam stuck on its keel, Wild Oats XI won its fourth consecutive Sydney to Hobart yesterday, with skipper Mark Richards saying this year's victory was the toughest "by a country mile."
Richards steered the maxi across the finish line Sunday at Constitution Dock on the island state of Tasmania 1 day, 20 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds after leaving Sydney Harbor on Friday. The time was about two hours slower than the record it set in 2005 for the 628-nautical mile race.
Another maxi, 2003 winner Skandia, led for much of Saturday across Bass Strait but finished second, 1 hour, 7 minutes behind Wild Oats.
Ichi Ban was third for the second year in a row, followed by ASM Shockwave 5, Limit and Black Jack.
On Saturday night, while dueling for the lead with Skandia, Wild Oats hit a shark, which became entangled in its rudder.
Richards said the collision had a positive outcome - having to stop and reverse the yacht to clear the shark from the rudder also removed some debris from its keel that had slowed the boat since the start.
’Agodsend’
"It was a godsend in the end because the second we got him (the shark) off, the boat was back to its old self," Richards said. "It might have been something off a spectator boat. But we just never stopped. When you are doing 20 to 25 knots all the time it's a hard thing to work out what to actually do. So we were sort of waiting for the opportunity."
It was the first time that any yacht has won four successive line honors in the event's 64-year history. Last year, Wild Oats XI equaled the record of three in a row held by Morna in the 1940s.
Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said Skandia enjoyed the challenge of staying close. "We did all we could to spring an upset but that thing is just so fast," he said.
Another maxi, 2003 winner Skandia, led for much of Saturday across Bass Strait but finished second, 1 hour, 7 minutes behind Wild Oats.
Ichi Ban was third for the second year in a row, followed by ASM Shockwave 5, Limit and Black Jack.
On Saturday night, while dueling for the lead with Skandia, Wild Oats hit a shark, which became entangled in its rudder.
Richards said the collision had a positive outcome - having to stop and reverse the yacht to clear the shark from the rudder also removed some debris from its keel that had slowed the boat since the start.
’Agodsend’
"It was a godsend in the end because the second we got him (the shark) off, the boat was back to its old self," Richards said. "It might have been something off a spectator boat. But we just never stopped. When you are doing 20 to 25 knots all the time it's a hard thing to work out what to actually do. So we were sort of waiting for the opportunity."
It was the first time that any yacht has won four successive line honors in the event's 64-year history. Last year, Wild Oats XI equaled the record of three in a row held by Morna in the 1940s.
Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said Skandia enjoyed the challenge of staying close. "We did all we could to spring an upset but that thing is just so fast," he said.