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Wild Oats XI held its own against a flotilla of cutting-edge ocean racing technology, relieved skipper Mark Richards says.
Richards admits he was concerned about the likes of the rebuilt Perpetual LOYAL and the Volvo ocean racers, none of which could end Oats’s reign over the Sydney to Hobart.
“This is one of the best wins you could possibly have,” he said.
“(With) a lot of new competition and a lot of anxiety, no one had any idea how we were going to go against each other.”
Richards and his 20-strong crew expected a charge from the likes of Perpetual LOYAL as winds picked up on Saturday and they were surprised the challenge fell flat.
“You’ve got LOYAL, the new Beau Geste and the Volvo 70s and all the latest sort of thing in ocean racing and the old skinny Wild Oats dusted them up,” he said.
“To see a nine-year-old boat like this outperform all the latest and greatest ocean racing boats in the world is pretty impressive.”
Showing its age, Wild Oats had been heavily modified in the lead-up to a race it has won seven times.
Sailing master Iain Murray said Oats remained an all-rounder that could take on an expected influx in overseas maxis in coming years.
“Boats like LOYAL have come here with big reputations,” Murray said.
“It’s essentially a pretty new boat with a huge amount of investment and modifications to bring it right up to speed.
“Boats like Beau Geste, fresh off the drawing board, threaten to deliver a lot and, anyway, we’re here.”
Richards said Wild Oats XI, which owns the Sydney to Hobart race record, could be even better next year.
“We’ve still got a lot to learn from the modifications that we’ve made so I think she’ll just keep getting better and better,” he said.