Sydney Hobart winner Black Jack could be yours, for quite a lot of money

The price? Only $US6.5 million ($A9,503,000), thanks for asking. However, for that, you get a 29.87-metre Reichel/Pugh-designed, McConaghy-built hull made from an aluminium honeycomb encased in an inner and outer carbonfibre skin, a fully engineered canting keel made from tungsten – the only one in the world, we should add – and a sail plan honed over time by some of the best engineering minds in the business.

The only thing missing is the trophy cabinet.

Black Jack did not sail in last year’s Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Instead, the Peter Harburg-owned boat campaigned in unfamiliar waters in Europe where it won line honours in the Palermo-Montecarlo Race, giving the race record a scare in the process.

It then went on to claim the 2022/23 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge championship previously won by boats including another familiar Sydney Hobart stalwart, Rambler 88.

Black Jack, originally known as Alfa Romeo II, was originally built in 2005 for Sydney-based businessman Neville Chriton. It raced in the 2009 Sydney Hobart where it claimed line honours.

Its sellers say it is one of the most technologically advanced yachts ever built, is in “superb condition”, and is “totally turn-key and ready to race anywhere in the world and win trophies”.

On board is enough safety gear for up to 19 crewmembers, heaps of cutting-edge navigation electronics from Garmin and B&G, load cells, a sail plan reconfigured in 2017, a new lighter, stiffer mast installed in 2021, and more.

As for that price? The most expensive racing sailboat currently listed on boatsales is a Beneteau First 53 priced at $1.7 million before you dip into the options catalogue.

Compared with Black Jack, the Beneteau is a lot more comfortable and user-friendly, easier to sail and park up in a marina, and won’t need you and 18 of your mates just to leave the dock.
However, it won’t necessarily fill a trophy cabinet. That’s where you’re going to need Black Jack.