Supermaxi yacht Wild Oats XI, owned by Bob Oatley AO and his son Sandy, is “locked, loaded and ready to go” in the Rolex Sydney Hobart race according to skipper, Mark Richards, following the big boat’s final training session off Sydney. Yet, while the 30-metre long offshore racer stands as favourite for being first to finish in the 628 nautical mile classic that starts on Boxing Day, Richards knows it is not going to be easy to achieve a record ninth line honours in 11 starts. “Our opposition, particularly Comanche, aren’t racing to come second,” Richards said. “That yacht, and the other big American entry, Rambler 88, are here for one reason: to claim top honours. And you can’t discount…

  Supermaxi takes to the water minus her bow Residents and office workers around Sydney Harbour were treated to a most unusual sight today: a 20-metre long, snub-nosed hull being towed upstream. Only the colour scheme told the tale. This was Australia’s most successful ocean racing yacht, Bob Oatley’s supermaxi Wild Oats XI, revealing in public for the first time the extent of the modifications she is undergoing. She was minus her bow. Last week, a 10-metre section of the bow was cut off, and today what remained of her once sleek, silver hull was re-launched at Woolwich Dock so it could be towed up harbour, hauled out of the water and loaded onto a truck. Overnight, this large chunk…

The crew of the Australian supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, is hanging on to hope as much as conviction in the 2225 nautical mile Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii as the majority of the fleet continues to be dogged by frustratingly light and variable wind conditions. Late today the big, silver-hulled sloop, which is entered in the classic race under a joint arrangement between American yachtsman, Roy P. Disney, and the Australian owner, Bob Oatley AO, was continuing to lead her class and make significant gains on the other divisions ahead that had started days earlier. But, with the race course being a minefield of calms and significant changes in wind direction, the 16-man Wild Oats XI crew knew…