When the knife-like bow of the supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, carves across the start line in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on Boxing Day the 20-man crew will have an astonishing 308 starts in the classic to their credit. On top of that, three of them – skipper Mark Richards, Steve “Mothy” Jarvin, and kiwi Robbie Naismith – will have been aboard for every one of the yacht’s 13 starts since being launched in 2005. In total, the number of nautical miles covered by the entire crew in Hobart races is the equivalent of Wild Oats XI having sailed more than eight times around the world – or more than three-quarters of the way to the moon. Graham Taylor…

The Oatley family’s champion Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, is at the centre of a frenetic repair schedule after it was struck by lightning at the weekend. It is uncertain at this stage if the yacht will be in full racing trim for the start on Boxing Day. Wild Oats XI was out of the water and in its cradle at Woolwich Dock, on Sydney Harbour, when a bolt of lightning struck the top of the 45-metre high carbon fibre mast during a thunderstorm early Sunday morning. The 10 million volt-plus discharge from the lightning destroyed a significant number of electronic instruments, all of which are vital if the yacht is to maintain maximum speed…

Followers of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race might think they are seeing double when the 628 nautical mile classic starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. The reason for this is simple: on the starting line will be two yachts from the Oatley family’s “stable” that are near-identical in profile and name. First and foremost will be the famous 30-metre supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, which stands as the most successful yacht in the 72-year history of the great race. And, on the same starting line will be the 20-metre long Wild Oats X, the yacht that was the prototype for the big boat. Despite the difference in size, both boats have the potential to be among the major prize…