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Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards welcomes the challenge of a tough upwind slog as his supermaxi crew seek to re-establish themselves as line honours supremos of the Sydney to Hobart fleet.
The Christmas Eve forecast for the Boxing Day start suggested the fleet of 87 would face strong southerly breezes for a 36-hour period starting on Sunday evening, before the wind moderated on Tuesday.
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Garry Linacre was confident the fleet was prepared to handle the conditions, that could include gale force winds in Bass Strait on Monday morning.
Richards, who is seeking a fifth line honours win in six years after being beaten to Hobart by Alfa Romeo in 2009, said the forecast wasn’t ideal for his boat.
But he pointed out Oats handled 45 knots of breeze in the 2006 Hobart and even heavier conditions in the Mediterranean.
“The preparation has been great, the boat is in great shape and we’re actually looking forward to the upwind slog, a good solid Hobart for a change,” Richards told AAP.
“People forget 2006 was probably worse than this first night …… I love sailing this boat upwind especially in big seas.
“It’s a real challenge and the boat seems to like those conditions.”
Bob Oatley’s imperious 100-foot yacht remained a strong betting favourite for line honours, with fellow supermaxi Investec LOYAL (LOYAL) considered the only major threat.
Fourth across the line last year, LOYAL has undergone over $2 million worth of upgrades and added several world-class professional sailors.
The crew is studded with high achievers from other sports including seven-times world women’s surfing champion Layne Beachley, swimmer Geoff Huegill, former Test cricketer Matt Hayden plus former Wallabies Phil Waugh and Phil Kearns.
“I believe I’m going to win it (line honours) one year, hopefully it’s this year,” said Investec LOYAL skipper Sean Langman, who has notched two seconds and a third.
“I’m looking forward to a really good contest because I believe both of these boats are well prepared and there’s other maxis out there as well, who obviously will be there if we have breakdowns.”
Should Oats and LOYAL fail to make it to Hobart, the 2003 and 2004 line honours winners, Wild Thing (then Skandia) and YouZoo (then Nicorette) respectively, could finish first.
“Every forecast is getting softer, my guesstimate is that the race will be a tough one but not impossible,” YouZoo skipper Ludde Ingvall told AAP.
Fancied United Kingdom handicap contender RAN (RAN) finally got her full complement of crew on Friday when the last two sailors delayed by European snow storms arrived in Sydney.
“We’re fortunate that the people that were late coming in have all sailed on the boat the past two years,” RAN sailing master Tim Powell told AAP.
“They know the boat very well, so I think we are in good shape,” added Powell, who believed the latest forecast favoured boats smaller than his 72-footer.
He believed the mid-sized boats were still the prime contenders for handicap honours.