Big maxi yachts for Gold Coast race

Two of the fastest super maxi yachts in Australia, Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI and Sean Langman and Anthony Bell's Investect Loyal have entered the 25th Audi Sydney-Gold Coast yacht race with the aim of smashing the 11 year old race record.

The line honours record for the 384 nautical mile race, 27 hours 35 minutes and three seconds, is held by the conventionally ballasted maxi yacht Brindabella. Both Wild Oats XI and Investec Loyal are more than 15 feet longer than Brindabella and have canting keels to improve their upwind performance.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia expects a fleet of more than 80 yachts to face the starter on Saturday, July 31.

Normally Wild Oats XI is drydocked for long periods between Sydney-Hobart races and the crew sails Oatley's smaller Wild Oats X. This year however, having been beaten to Hobart last year by Alfa Romeo, Wild Oats XI has been undergoing a series of "refinements" to bring her back to her previous domineering form.

"We just need to get out and do some more sailing," Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards says, "We didn't sail enough last year and it showed. We are getting back on the horse."

"These boats could flog every (line honours) record in the world but only given the right conditions."

Investec Loyal has also been undergoing modifications since the Sydney-Hobart race to improve her speed and stability. Langman says his first job was to widen the hull.

"We will use Wild Oats as a trial horse and then it will be back to the shed for a second round of modifications to make us faster sailing in a straight line," Langman says, "We are aiming to have the fittest and lightest crew for the coming season. I want to do the Gold Coast Race with 14 crew compared to the 22 we took south."

Langman, who took celebrity sailors including boxer Danny Green and former Wallabies Phil Waugh and Phil Kearns to Hobart, says he hopes to have a celebrity element aboard for the trip north."