Reports suggest that Wild Oats XI clinched victory in the 74th annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday, securing line honors for the ninth time. Mark Richards, the skipper of the super maxi, crossed the finish line in Hobart just past 0800 local time, equivalent to 2100 GMT on Thursday, after overtaking the defending champions, Comanche, before daybreak.
The triumph follows Wild Oats XI’s disqualification from line honors in the previous year’s race, due to a rule violation that resulted in a time penalty which ultimately handed victory to Comanche. Subsequently, other super maxis trailed behind Wild Oats XI into Hobart’s Constitution Dock.
Black Jack secured second place in the race, finishing approximately 28 minutes after Wild Oats XI, with Comanche coming in third and Infotrack in fourth. The fifth position was claimed by Alive, while Wild Oats X crossed the finish line in sixth place, nearly seven hours after the victor.
Wild Oats X notably boasted the first all-female crew in the race, led by Australian skipper Stacey Jackson alongside crew members from the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. A controversy arose later on Friday when the owner of Black Jack alleged that the electrical tracker aboard Wild Oats XI was either malfunctioning or intentionally disabled.
Peter Harburg claimed that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) of Wild Oats XI was allegedly deactivated towards the conclusion of the yacht race. Wild Oats navigator, Juan Vila, informed local media that the AIS had been activated and assumed to be functioning throughout the race, suggesting a possible malfunction in the tracking system.
