WILD OATS XI – ONLY A SYDNEY TO HOBART RACE TO GO IN TRANSPAC 2015 “We’ve got only a Sydney Hobart race to go – 630 nautical miles,” said an obviously relieved Mark Richards, skipper of the 100ft long Australian supermaxi, Wild Oats XI. He was referring to the distance remaining to the finish in the 2225 nautical mile Transpac race from Los Angeles to Hawaii; the 630 nautical mile Sydney Hobart race being the event where he had steered Wild Oats XI to line honours on eight occasions in the past decade. Richards and his cosmopolitan 16-man crew comprising Australians, Americans and two New Zealanders, had to accept days ago they had no chance of beating the record time…

  It was a much relieved crew aboard the supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, in the Transpac race from Los Angeles to Honolulu early today. Overnight they had completed two successful missions: they had threaded their way through a constantly changing weather pattern and consequently consolidated their position ahead of their rivals, and also managed to avoid a collision with anything of any significance amid a mass of flotsam and jetsam they encountered. “It’s been a tough time for everyone overnight,” said navigator Nick White. “I’ve never seen so much rubbish in the ocean. It was everywhere we looked. “Fortunately that’s all behind us. We’re off and running in a 16 to 20 knot breeze today and seeing up to 20…

The bets are in place and the dice is about to be rolled for the big boats in the 2225 nautical mile Transpac race from Los Angeles to Honolulu … and it’s anyone’s guess who will win. However, if you were a gambler, you’d have to consider putting your money on the silver bullet, the Australian supermaxi Wild Oats XI for fastest time. But, it would be a gamble. There is still no certainty as to the outcome of this event. No doubt the biggest wager to date among the big boats has been made by 88-year-old Australian sailing veteran, Syd Fischer, with his 100-footer, Ragamuffin. He and the skipper, David Witt, decided to take the blue-and-white boat further to…