Wild Oats XI wins 2017 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race
It was the closest finish in the race's 15 years history, but Wild Oats XI scraped throughAfter more than 40 hours of racing across the 384 nautical mile course, just 3 minutes and 31 seconds separated the top two Reichel/Pugh 100-footers in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's big winter yacht race.
The result is the race’s closest finish in 15 years and sets the tone for the next few months of competition between Wild Oats XI and Black Jack as they trade blows all the way to Hobart in December.
Speaking after the race Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said it’s always satisfying to get to the finish line first, but that it’s never easy, especially with a boat like Black Jack out there.
"It was good, beautiful racing, dead upwind the whole way — we did over 100 tacks but it was a lot of fun.
"It was a very challenging race, especially for the team. During the night we had a lot of variations in wind conditions so it got really tricky which meant a lot of gear handling and sail changes.
"We’ve done a few of these races upwind but this was the hardest by far. Just because the two boats were so close the whole way, it was so tight. It would have been great to watch.
"The pace from Black Jack wasn’t a huge surprise, we were expecting close and we got close but that’s what we’re out there for. It was great racing and those guys on Black Jack should be very happy with their result. They didn’t have much preparation time but they’re great sailors and they put in a good performance.”
Wild Oats XI will be racing against Black Jack again next week. Meanwhile, all the indications are that this year's Sydney-Hobart is going to have one of the most exciting big boat fleets we’ve ever seen in many years.
The racing continues in the Land Rover Sydney Gold Yacht Race with the remaining 54 boats of the fleet all battling up to the Gold Coast as they hunt for division and overall honours.
The start of the race was covered live for the first time through the CYCA’s drone broadcast. To watch that start and follow the remainder of the race visit see Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
Photo Credits: Via CYCA report.
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