While the weather forecast for the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart on Boxing Day suggests it will be “a typical Hobart”, where fast downwind will be brought to an abrupt halt by a stiff southerly change, the bigger picture leaves little doubt supermaxi Wild Oats XI’s race record time for the 628 nautical mile classic could be lowered by some three hours, possibly more. In 2012 the 30-metre long “silver bullet”, owned by the Oatley family and skippered by Mark Richards, posted a race record time of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds. The current weather outlook for the start is for a fast run south from Sydney on the face of a 25 to 35…

After the unique experience of being on the bridge of the 152,000 tonne cruise liner, Queen Mary 2, and guiding her out of New York Harbour, Dan Oatley’s life is about to go to another extreme: being in the wet and water-logged “sewer” of the 28 tonne supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, for the Rolex Sydney Hobart race. Remarkably, he’s more excited about the latter than when he was as a 22-year-old at the helm of Queen Mary 2. “From the day Wild Oats XI was launched I’ve wanted to do a Hobart race as part of the crew, but unfortunately my career path towards becoming a master mariner prevented me from being involved,” said Dan, who is the grandson of…

Every aspect of the record-breaking Wild Oats XI story is as good as it gets, writes Rob Mundle. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA FRANCOLINI In the spectacular world of international ocean yacht racing, there are three ultimate challenges: the Fastnet race out of England; America’s Newport Bermuda race; and the event most see as the greatest contest of all — the 628 nautical mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Across its 71-year history the Hobart race has been laden to the gunwales with drama and excitement. Everything about it is unique. It is the only major offshore racing event in the world that starts on a harbour and finishes in a river. And no other similar event attracts so much media interest, or number…