Wild Oats XI Wins at Rolex Sydney Hobart Race
FRIDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2007
The Sydney maxi Wild Oats XI, skippered by Mark Richards, captured her third consecutive line honors victory and made yachting history after crossing the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race yesterday morning.
Wild Oats is the first yacht to do such achievement since Claude Plowman's Morna made it three in a row between 1946 and 1948, making her one of the most successful yachts in the history of the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
She completed the race in one day, 21 hours, 24 minutes and 32 seconds, the third fastest time for the 628 nautical-mile course.
Bob Oatley's 30m maxi Wild Oats was the pre-race favorite and has dominated since the opening minutes of Australia's premier yacht race, which started from Sydney Harbour at 1 p.m. on December 26. She led the fleet out of the Harbour and never looked back.
British maxi City Index Leopard, skippered by Mark Slade crossed the finish line next to Wild Oats. Currently in third place is Matt Allen's modified Volvo 70 which bore down on Grant Wharington's Melbourne maxi Skandia, which limped to Hobart under jury rig after snapping the top of its mast.
For more details on this news story, please visit www.sail-world.com.
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