Wild Oats XI continues to lead in the Sydney-Gold Coast race: rival retires

Sydney-Gold Coast race record holder, the 30-metre long supermaxi Wild Oats XI, skippered by Mark Richards, won’t be bettering her time this year, but her run for being first to finish has become easier following the retirement of arch rival, Scallywag, early today.

Scallywag (formerly Ragamuffin100), owned by Hong Kong businessman Seng Huang Lee, was trailing Wild Oats XI by only a short distance when the hydraulic ram controlling the canting keel failed. The situation was considered sufficiently dangerous for the majority of the 20-man crew to be taken off the yacht and transferred to shore. The few remaining on board were nursing the yacht towards Newcastle, 150 nautical miles to the south.

“It’s very unfortunate for the guys aboard Scallywag; we feel for them,” Mark Richards said in a phone call from the yacht this morning. “We were enjoying a great race with them throughout the night. At one stage we sailed into an area of no wind and stopped, then could only watch as Scallywag came to within 200 metres of us. Fortunately we got our nose into the new breeze first and re-established a nice lead.”

Richards said that he was expecting the fickle winds to provide more frustrating times later today.

Late this morning Wild Oats XI (owned by the Oatley family) was approaching Coffs Harbour, making 6 knots in a very light breeze.

With more than half of the 384-nautical mile course still to be covered, Wild Oats XI was not expected to finish off Main Beach until after sunrise tomorrow.

Photo: Wild Oats XI skirts around Sydney’s North Head soon after the start of the Land Rover Sydney – Gold Coast race. (Photo credit: Andrea Francolini)