wild oats yacht fire

Wild Oats XI family’s multi-million dollar cruiser destroyed in blaze at Sydney dock

An investigation has been launched after a multimillion-dollar boat went up in flames in an affluent Sydney suburb overnight.

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A multimillion-dollar motor cruiser once owned by the family behind the Wild Oats XI yacht has been destroyed in a massive fire in Sydney’s north.

Emergency services were called to Woolwich Dock about 8.10pm on Saturday following reports of a boat fire.

NCA NewsWire understand the boat, Andiamo - which is estimated to be worth between $5 and $10 million - was once owned by Sandy Oatley, the son of the late Australian yachtsman and businessman, Bob Oatley.

The family is best known for owning the nine-time Sydney-Hobart-winning yacht Wild Oats XI.

Upon arrival, the boat was found to be fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters worked for some time to extinguish the massive fire, a difficult task given the extent of the fuel load.

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the boat was filled with 4000 litres of diesel when the fire broke out.

“It took so long [to extinguish the fire] because it’s a large vessel, and we had no access onto the yacht itself, it just wasn’t safe to get on board,” he said.

Police have confirmed the fire is not being treated as suspicious.

There are no reports of any injuries.

The Oatley family have been spending time on Hamilton Island for the tourist hot spot’s annual race week, hosted from August 19 to 26.

They are celebrating 20 years of owning the iconic island destination, after the Oatley patriarch purchased the island in 2003 for $200 million.

It is understood two other famous boats usually docked at the Woolwich Dock - where the Oatley’s own the lease - Wild Oats XI and Andoo Comanche, were both docked on Hamilton Island at the time of the fire.

Law Connect - which came in second to Comanche in the 2022 Sydney to Hobart race - was moored at the

dock on Saturday night but was not damaged by the fire.

Officers attached to the Marine Area Command have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Anyone with information into the incident is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Cause Sought in Sydney Yacht Fire

Sydney police are investigating a fire that destroyed a yacht reportedly owned by a prominent Australian resort and maxi racing family.

Firefighters arrived Saturday night to Sydney’s Woolwich Dock to find M/Y Andiamo engulfed in flames. Nearby boats were threatened as firefighters got to work.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald , the yacht is owned by Sandy Oatley, son of the late Bob Oatley, who owned popular Great Barrier Reef destination Hamilton Island. According to the newspaper, the Oatley family also owns Wild Oats XI, the nine-time line honors winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

Fire and Rescue New South Wales Superintendent Adam Dewberry said that crews were able to contain the fire and damage to other vessels was prevented, but that the vessel was ruined and mostly sunk.

“Initial firefighting efforts were to not only extinguish the fire, but stop it spreading to a number of high-value vessels that were moored alongside the motor yacht. A young dockworker on-site at the time moved those other vessels away from the fire,” Dewberry said.

“It took so long [to extinguish the fire] because it’s a large vessel, and we had no access onto the yacht itself; it just wasn’t safe to get on board.

“The fuel loading of these vessels is quite high – fibrerglass, plastics, foams, polyurethanes, any number of things you would associate with any [vessel] of luxury that has accommodation facilities.” The vessel had been filled with 4,000 liters of fuel earlier that day.

Dewberry said that while investigations were continuing, the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

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not dead yet, just resting

For the first time in almost two decades, nine-time Sydney-Hobart line-honours winner Wild Oats XI will not be heading South on Boxing Day. Stripped of her keel and rig, the legendary Reichel/Pugh 100 sits wrapped in plastic, forlornly tucked away against the far wall of a Sydney shed.

Normally at this time of year, WOXI and her red-shirted crew would be gearing up for the short series of offshore races that lead into the Hobart, but the yacht suffered some kind of accident or structural failure during the Hamilton Island Regatta in August. Apparently, the damage to the deck and internals is a complex and costly fix. The yacht’s owners have sensibly decided to “take a breather” before settling on the appropriate course of action.   

The truth that dares not speak its name is that, even if fully repaired, Wild Oats XI would no longer be a line-honours certainty. The other 100-footers – Comanche , Law Connect and Scallywag have all been upgraded. The last time WOXI was first home in the Sydney-Hobart race was back in 2018. Long-serving skipper Mark Richards and his team would not savor the prospect of being also-rans. 

Oats has always been a shop-front project for the Oatley family and for the wine brand they own that carries the yacht’s name. But after patriarch Bob died in early 2016 some members of the family reportedly began to lose enthusiasm for the expensive racing program. The recent total loss by fire of their 90-foot motor cruiser Andiamo would not have helped.   

So, what to do with this icon of Australian offshore sailing that dominated the sport from the moment of its launch in 2005? 

The traditional Elephant’s Graveyard for Australian maxis is the day-sailing charter fleet at Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. Once great old racers – now with ragged sails and peeling topsides – are crewed by assorted boat bums for the enjoyment of holidaying backpackers. 

A yacht of WOXI ’s distinguished provenance deserves better in her twilight years. In any case, it’s doubtful whether the Oatley family would allow such an ignominious decline. Nor is it likely that they would simply sell the silver supermaxi to the highest bidder and watch her race under a different name. 

When King George V died in 1936 his beloved yacht Britannia was towed out and sunk near the Isle of Wight. Nobody makes such grand sentimental gestures these days. But perhaps, if she’s never to race again, the 100-footer could be donated to the National Maritime Museum in Sydney as a floating public exhibit. After all she’s achieved, WOXI certainly deserves a gracious retirement.

– anarchist David

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Luxury yacht owned by billionaire destroyed by fire in Sydney

Firefighters couldn't stop the $10 million luxury yacht, owned by the billionaire behind Wild Oats, from being destroyed in Woolwich.

Added Sep 3rd, 2023

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Watch: Fire destroys billionaire’s luxury yacht in Sydney

Monday, September 4th, 2023

Written by: Marine Industry News

Fire has destroyed a luxury yacht in Sydney’s Woolwich Dock.

The destroyed AUS$10 million luxury cruiser Andiamo is reportedly owned by Sandy Oatley, son of the late Australian wine pioneer Bob Oatley. According to the Sydney Morning Herald , the billionaire Oatley family also owns Wild Oats XI , the nine-time line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

“Initial firefighting efforts were to not only extinguish the fire, but stop it spreading to a number of high-value vessels that were moored alongside the motor yacht. A young dockworker on-site at the time moved those other vessels away from the fire,” says fire and rescue NSW superintendent Adam Dewberry. While crews managed to contain the blaze, the vessel was ruined and sunk into the harbour.

No one was on board when the fire broke out, and there were no reported injuries.

Dewberry says the yacht was filled with 4,000 litres of diesel, causing ongoing concern for fire crews.

“It took so long [to extinguish the fire] because it’s a large vessel, and we had no access onto the yacht itself, it just wasn’t safe to get on board.

“The fuel loading of these vessels is quite high – fibreglass, plastics, foams, polyurethanes, any number of things you would associate with any [vessel] of luxury that has accommodation facilities.”

Dewberry says it is too early to tell what caused the blaze, but it isn’t being treated as suspicious.

Curtain booms have been installed at the entry to the dock to contain debris from the destroyed vessel, and any contamination from firefighting foam used to extinguish the flames.

Yacht fires are not rare. Recently, seventeen people were rescued from the luxury yacht  Irmao , as the 88-foot vessel was engulfed in flames (12 August 2023). The incident occurred off the beach of Es Cavall d’En Borràs in the Ses Salines Natural Park, Formentera.

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One response to “watch: fire destroys billionaire’s luxury yacht in sydney”.

I wonder about li-ion charging. Could the fire have been caused by chargers for laptops, phones, radios, bicycles, water toys.

Should ALL chargers now have a timer-cutoff device by international decree? I think it should be looked at, along with fire-proof boxes in which casual small devices are left on charge.

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By SuperyachtNews 04 Sep 2023

Yacht destroyed in Sydney Harbour

Australian authorities have launched an investigation into a fire that destroyed a yacht on saturday night….

Police and fire investigators are looking into the cause of a fire that destroyed and sank a yacht in Sydney Harbour, Australia. The vessel is reportedly 59m  Andiamo  from Azzura Yachts, however, this is yet to be confirmed, with images of the incident appearing to show a yacht under 30m.

Authorities were called to the scene at around 8pm on Saturday night to find the vessel engulfed in the blaze.

“Initial firefighting efforts were to not only extinguish the fire but stop it spreading to a number of high-value vessels that were moored alongside the motor yacht,” says Adam Dewberry, Superintendent, Fire and Rescue NSW. “A young dockworker on-site at the time moved those other vessels away from the fire.”

Firefighters worked through the night to put out the blaze, which was eventually extinguished around 6am on Sunday morning. Dewberry says the yacht was filled with 4000 litres of diesel on Saturday, which added to the extremity of the fire.

“It took so long [to extinguish the fire] because it’s a large vessel, and we had no access onto the yacht itself; it just wasn’t safe to get on board,” he says. “The fuel loading of these vessels is quite high – fibreglass, plastics, foams, polyurethanes, any number of things you would associate with any [vessel] of luxury that has accommodation facilities.”

The multimillion-dollar yacht is reportedly owned by Sandy Oatley, the son of the late Hamilton Island owner, Bob Oatley. The Oatley family also owns Wild Oats XI , the nine-time line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

No one was injured during the incident. Marine Area Command is continuing the investigation into the cause of the fire.

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Luxury yacht owned by billionaire destroyed by fire in Sydney 9News Latest Stories Season 2023

9news latest stories season 2023, luxury yacht owned by billionaire destroyed by fire in sydney.

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Bob Oatley, owner of Wild Oats XI, dies aged 87

Bob Oatley, the multimillionaire winemaker and owner of supermaxi Wild Oats XI , has died at the age of 87. He has been recognised for his distinguished service to the Australian wine and tourism industries and to the sport of yacht racing.

The 30 metre Wild Oats XI is a regular contender in the famous Sydney Hobart yacht race. She is also the most successful, with eight line honour victories and the race’s fastest time. Unfortunately she suffered a ripped mainsail during the recent 2015 Sydney Hobart and was forced to retire.

A keen sailor, Oatley also looked into entering an Australian team into the 35th America’s Cup . Team Australia was the first to challenge Oracle Team USA when the Americans defended the Cup in September 2013. However the team from Hamilton Island Yacht Club then decided to withdraw in 2014 after being unable to negotiate rule changes with the defending champions.

Oatley began by exporting coffee and cocoa beans from Papua New Guinea in the 1950’s and 60s. In 1969 he spotted an opportunity and planted the first vineyards at the Rosemount Estate in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. 15 years later his Rosemount wines had become prominent in the global market.

In 2001 Oatley sold the wine company to Treasury Wine Estates for a cool 1.5 billion Australian dollars and turned his attention to Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday’s . Having spent quite a bit of time in Porto Cervo in Sardinia, Oatley had a particular vision to try and do the same thing in Australia.

He bought Hamilton Island for AU$200 million in 2003 and invested a further AU$350 to make it into a world-class luxury resort. The island paradise in the Whitsunday’s now attracts sailors every year for the Audi Hamilton Race Week.

Oatley is survived by his wife Valerie and three children Ros, Ian and Sandy.

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The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Has a Boat-Size Absence

Wild Oats XI, a crowd favorite that is one of the most successful yachts in the event’s history, will not compete this year pending repairs and rethinking.

By Kimball Livingston

When the hundred-foot Maxi yachts hit the starting line for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, one absence will loom as a powerful presence.

There will be no Wild Oats XI, and Wild Oats XI is more than a boat.

Speculation is inevitable when a crowd favorite is missing. The report from the boat’s skipper, Mark Richards, is straightforward, but it won’t put an end to wondering. Of the boat and its owners, Richards said: “We had a structural failure in the bow and are having that addressed. The Oatley family are re-evaluating how to progress forward in our sport and they have just decided to have a break this year while they work it out.”

That resonates because in this race, Wild Oats XI has taken line honors (first boat to cross the finish line) nine times, set records three times and, beyond that, won the hearts of Australians.

“Kids 6, 7, 8 years old know the name,” Richards said.

No one dares use the past tense in speaking of Wild Oats XI, but questions arise when a boat that is synonymous with the Sydney Hobart, and that has been rush-repaired in the past to make a race, is absent.

Last year, the boat finished fourth at the Sydney Hobart after a sail ripped underway. It was in August of this year during a race in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands that the hull failure occurred.

In 2005, Bob Oatley commissioned the build of Wild Oats XI and set the standard — the boat swept all honors in its first Sydney Hobart race, only two weeks after launch. The boat would win line honors seven more times before Oatley’s death in 2016. His son Sandy, also passionate about sailing, carried on.

“I’d love to get one more crack,” Richards said. “I guess we’ll know more next year.”

Steve Quigley got his first crack as a crewman in 2012 and felt “daunted” joining the famously accomplished crew. Then, “We were first over the finish line, we set another course record, and we won our division on handicap,” he said. “I should have retired from racing then and there, but it wasn’t until I went walking around Hobart in my team shirt, with strangers asking for autographs, that I understood that Wild Oats XI had become the people’s boat.”

What next? Richards said, “The boat is still very capable.”

Quigley, a naval architect, was part of a team responsible for a bold 2015 redesign that bought the boat some time. In Quigley’s recollection, “I was the one in the meeting who had to tell Bob, ‘You may have the fastest Maxi in the world, but if you want to keep it that way, let’s chop it in half,’” he said.

Then they chopped it twice.

To respect the 100-foot maximum limit for the Sydney Hobart race, length was removed from the stern and added in a new bow section that accommodated bigger sails. Wild Oats XI.2 proved effective across the wind range, and success continued as the boat won line honors again in 2018.

Imagining a 2024 race, Quigley said, “Given the right combination of wind strength and direction, we could find a window to win, but the newer boats have a wider window.”

Design DNA in 2023 is different from 2005. Boats are now wider, yielding stability to carry taller masts and more sail. The maximum width of Wild Oats XI, 17 feet, is 45 percent less than LawConnect, winner of the most recent lead-up regatta series and yet not the newest or widest.

Sandy Oatley did not respond to a request for comment. More than one member of his crew spoke of the team as a “family,” so any decision is charged with emotion: Do you throw money at an unlikely Wild Oats XI.3, or would it satisfy if the boat slipped into the role of sentimental favorite and long shot?

The citizens of Hobart cheer for all, but it doesn’t hurt to arrive on Wild Oats XI. Andrew Henderson, part of the crew since 2005 and a 25-race veteran, said: “Anyone who can get a boat to Hobart deserves respect. The town offers the warmest reception in Australia. All of us understand how special that is.”

This year, however, after many years racing, he said, “I’m spending Christmas with the kids.”

Mark Richards and Sandy Oatley unveiled Wild Oats XI's latest modifications.

Mark Richards and Sandy Oatley unveil newly modified Wild Oats XI

Mark ‘Richo’ Richards and Sandy Oatley have unveiled Wild Oats XI’s newest modifications at Woolwich Dock. The supermaxi has just undergone major reconstructive surgery after chopping 35 feet from the bow and 7 from the stern to create a longer bow.

Wild Oats XI has been in the sheds at McConaghy Boats in Mona Vale since returning from the Transpac Race earlier this year. Mark Richards described the modifications in terms of plastic surgery, breast augmentation, nose job, ear tuck and more, but was sure we would see the maxi launch out of the water on Boxing Day.  And when asked why they didn’t build Wild Oats XII he explained the cost difference, “It would cost $25m to build a new boat, this cost us $2m.”

And as Sandy Oatley put it, “It would look exactly like this.” 

Wild Oats XI is expected to have her first sail this weekend, she will then be training throughout December and competing in the  SOLAS Big Boat Challenge on December 15. 

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Wild Oats XI: A giant of Australian racing

The supermaxi yacht Wild Oats XI is here at the museum for a short visit. Wild Oats and its crew have become an Australian sporting brand, recognised by the public as Australia’s premier racing yacht and team through their dominance of the iconic Sydney to Hobart yacht race, since Wild Oats XI was launched in 2005.

Wild Oats XI in full flight. Image: Rolex – Carlo Borlenghi.

The supermaxi yacht Wild Oats XI is here at the museum for a short visit . Wild Oats and its crew have become an Australian sporting brand, recognised by the public as Australia’s premier racing yacht and team through their dominance of the iconic Sydney to Hobart yacht race, since Wild Oats XI was launched in 2005. This is Australia’s team, in the eye of the public Wild Oats XI is defending the country’s pride in the nation’s major ocean race – and its public adoration is thoroughly deserved.

Wild Oats XI . Image: Rolex – Daniel Forster.

Triple Crowns and breaking records

The national focus of the Sydney to Hobart is always on the boat to finish first, and in this regard, Wild Oats XI has an impressive scorecard. It has claimed eight line honours wins – at one point, with a run of four in a row! Twice it has achieved the Triple Crown: line honours, handicap win AND a race record. Wild Oats XI is one of the most successful yachts in the history of the arduous event and her helmsman, Mark Richards, is recognised as one of the race’s most successful skipper.

Wild Oats XI was launched just days before its first Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht race in 2005, and despite a limited warm up, it sprinted to the finish line and into history taking the Triple Crown for the first time since 1945, and that was when Rani won the race that began the annual event. Wild Oats XI’s record time for the completing the 628 nautical mile course was 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, and 10 seconds. In 2012, Wild Oats XI shaved 16 minutes, 58 seconds off that record and pulled off another Triple Crown, an unprecedented result. Since then the record has been taken by arch-rival Perpetual Loyal, but   Wild Oats XI is ready to maximise the opportunity again  if the right conditions are present on the 26th of December this year and try to reclaim that record.

Beneath Wild Oats XI’s elegant silver-grey hull is a racing machine. The crew operate an engineering masterpiece and remember, long distance blue water ocean racing takes place over a matter of days, not hours. The team live and work on board, it’s like a military vessel where their off-watch habitation quarters are fitted around a high tech structure, first and foremost designed for racing (and winning).

Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Regatta Yacht Race 2016. Image: Andrea Francolini/Wild Oats XI.

Designed to win

Wild Oats XI was commissioned by well-known winemaker the late Robert Oatley AO in 2005, the largest in a series of successful ocean racers he had owned and sailed on. It was designed by celebrated team Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design in San Diego USA. A protégé of Doug Petersen, John Reichel’s partnership with UK yacht designer Jim Pugh has produced a long series of successful ocean racing craft.

When the IMS rule took over from the IOR in the late 1980s as the means of handicapping offshore racing yachts it lead to cleaner/leaner and fairer hull shapes, assessed by computers for their potential speed rather than handicapped around a series of measurement points to produce a rating. Reichel/Pugh took advantage of the new direction in sleek racing yachts to create a sled like hull that dominated the local Trans Pac event from Los Angeles to Honolulu – a sleigh ride under spinnaker.

In 1999, their design Pyewacket for Roy Disney Jr (yes, Walt Disney’s nephew) grabbed the race and everyone’s attention, a narrow flat skateboard that was unstoppable. In 2004, Oatley invited Reichel Pugh team to produce his Wild Oats X, a 66-footer but wound up the ante with a canting keel, his perseverance with that concept helped pioneer the technology in ocean racing. When authorities drew the limit out to almost 100-foot maximum length for offshore ocean racers, Oatley and Reichel Pugh answered the challenge with Wild Oats XI,  a super maxi sled optimised to the nth degree and built in Australia. The builder McConaghy Yachts at Mona Vale Sydney is a world-class yacht builder and Wild Oats XI  speaks of their superior skills in crafting fine vessels.

Happy with the concept, the team had Oatley’s support to keep Wild Oats XI up to date. Sail and rig modifications are never-ending, but almost every year the hull and appendages were given a makeover, to the point it was known as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’: new and improved canards, hydrofoils, rudder and canting keel. Lighter is faster too – the keel can be angled 40 degrees sideways, so the modest amount of mass in the bulb, 12 tonnes, creates the same stability out wide as something almost 50% heavier would if stuck on the centreline. The downside is a loss of keel efficiency, so a canard profile centreboard just forward of the mast brings back the balance and lift. Better still Wild Oats XI has two centreboards, one each side, and they only put the leeward one down as required for even more effectiveness.

Heading up the Derwent River, towards Line Honours. Image: Andrea Francolini/Wild Oats XI.

One of the biggest updates was putting a longer bow on the yacht in 2015, which meant taking the extra length of the back end to keep to the required 100-feet. It’s stopped the tendency to dive into waves downwind. The team can drive her harder now, and have abandoned the hydrofoils sticking out horizontally, meaning less drag and more speed in racing conditions.

A huge square top mainsail, a massive Code Zero headsail for light weather, gigantic asymmetric spinnakers (which the crew control using hydraulic winches) and, the entire time the boat is racing, the engine is running to power the hydraulics. All this is handicapped severely, in fact, the boats elapsed time is pretty much doubled to create it’s handicap time, yet Wild Oats XI can still win. In favourable conditions, with the wind behind or abeam, the super maxi can keep up with the moving weather and optimise it’s race strategy around that one pattern, whereas the slower boats start in one system and then have to negotiate another before they finish.

Wild Oats XI can reach speeds of over 30 knots and boasts an average speed of 15 knots for the course – which is a remarkable achievement as many of the competing fleet can’t even reach that at their maximum speed. It’s in another league, and races just a few other similar size yachts each year, but in battle, it takes no prisoners.

Super maxi Wild Oats XI being toed from Woolwich to Sydney City Marine to undergoing radical changes for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2015. Image: Andrea Francolini/Wild Oats XI.

Ready to race

The 2015 Sydney to Hobart saw Wild Oats XI retire for the first time, due to a gear failure, while its recently launched nemesis, the skiff-like Comanche from the USA, got its revenge by winning line honours in a rough and damaging race. In the 2016 race, it was up against three other 100-foot long rivals, the modified 2008 designed  Perpetual Loyal , Scallywag ( ex- Ragamuffin 100,  launched 2014) and the newcomer  CQS  (the radically modified Nicorette,  first launched in 2004 when it won line honours as a 90-footer, now its 100-feet long). Bad luck struck again, and whilst in lead,  Wild Oats XI had to retire again, and the eventual line honours winner Perpetual Loyal  and set a new race record.

Wild Oats XI is by no means outclassed by the newer rivals, the different design and configuration approaches have their strengths and weaknesses and these advantages can even out over a long course, but Wild Oats XI has one strength over many others: over ten years of teamwork and spirit, which is recognised and adopted by the Australian public. All of which just adds to the team’s determination to win again.

— David Payne, Curator of Historic Vessels. 

Take a tour aboard  Wild Oats  10am-12pm and 1-4pm, 26-28 January 2018. See our website for details .

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David Payne

David Payne is Curator of Historic Vessels at Australian National Maritime Museum, and through the Australian Register of Historic Vessels he works closely with heritage boat owners throughout Australia researching and advising on their craft and their social connections. David has also been a yacht designer and documented many of the museum’s vessels with extensive drawings. He has had a wide sailing experience, from Lasers and 12-foot skiffs through to long ocean passages. Since 2012 he has been able to work closely with Aboriginal communities on a number of Indigenous canoe building and watercraft projects.

• Meet the Team

Launched in 2005, Hamilton Island Wild Oats is owned by the Oatley family and skippered by Mark Richards. The famous supermaxi is best known for its nine line honours win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

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MEET THE TEAM

This year’s Wild Oats XI Rolex Sydney Hobart crew is not one to be messed with. The team of 20, lead by Skipper Mark Richards, is comprised of some of the world’s most talented and applauded sailors, including numerous America’s Cup, Olympic and Volvo veterans. With nearly 250 combined races between them, the key to this yacht’s impressive history has undoubtedly come down to picking the right crew, and sticking with them.

While Wild Oats XI owners, the Oatley family, have kept the boat competitive through continuous modification, the winning formula has been keeping the crew turnover to a minimum, ensuring that everyone onboard knows the boat inside out and works effectively together as a team. Under the guidance of Mark Richards, the team is vying for a record breaking 10th line honours win in this years edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Meet the team >

TOUR THE BOAT

Recent News / View All News

2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart: ‘A pretty tough race’

“Skipper Mark Richards and his Hamilton Island Wild Oats team of 21, … took one day 13 hours and 38 minutes to complete the 628 nautical mile passage in fast downwind conditions” writes Lisa Ratcliff from the Whitsunday News. Read the full article for more.

HAMILTON ISLAND WILD OATS’ SHOT AT 10 LINE HONOURS IN THE ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE

In any other sport, a scoresheet listing nine line honours wins and a combined 238 Rolex Sydney Hobarts among the crew of 21 would suggest that team is the pre-race favourite. The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, however, is a sporting contest like no other; while nothing is left to chance in terms of preparation, luck is as much a factor as previous success. Hamilton Island Wild Oats’ long-time skipper Mark Richards says “this year’s super maxi competition is red hot – Andoo Comanche, Black Jack and LawConnect. All have amazing teams with people flying in from all over the world to sail these incredible boats.” Onboard the Oatley family’s Hamilton Island Wild Oats are three newcomers: key internationals Murray…

THE ROLEX SYDNEY TO HOBART RACE

Regarded one of the most gruelling yacht races in the world, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is a challenge on most sailors’ bucket list.

Over the past 76 years, the event, which starts at 1pm from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 th  December, has been entrenched as an icon of Australian summer sport.

From the spectacular start in the harbour the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait, which divides the mainland from the island state of Tasmania, then along the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.

The ultimate race trophy is the Tattersall’s Cup for the winner on corrected time; this is how supermaxis and 30-footers compete on a level playing field. Then there’s the coveted line honours trophy, the J.H Illingworth, and divisional prizes which recognise the hard-fought battles among boats of a similar size.

Over the 628 nautical mile course, navigators must continually consider currents, the sea state, and conditions, in terms of light winds through to the possibility of extreme weather events. In the back of every crew’s mind is the possibility of a race-ending breakage, hitting a floating object at speed and keeping the crew rested, fed, and safe right to the end of what is an endurance event.

At the finish line, Hobart’s waterfront is overrun with crews enjoying a beer or two, celebrating their arrival and regaling tales of their adventure – all thoughts of never doing a Hobart race again quickly forgotten.

It is an event that Tasmanians love to host so if you’re down that way, make sure you wander around Kings Pier marina, chat with competitors, and get up close and personal with the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet.

Official website https://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com @RolexSydneyHobart @officialrolexsydneyhobart

WILD OATS XI – KEY DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE LAST DECADE

LATEST IMAGES

Can you spy Wild Oats Xi in Sydney Harbour on Race Day?

Wild Oats XI Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2019

Wild Oats Xi training day

"We truly value our partnership with the Oatley Family and Wild Oats XI. Seven has a long and proud association with yachting and a deep connection with Sydney and her Harbour. We applaud the professionalism, commitment and talent of all who sail on Wild Oats XI and take great pride in riding with her and her crew." − Lewis Martin, Head of Channel 7 Sport

"It's a great honour to be associated with a yacht with the track record of Wild Oat's XI and we enjoy being not only partners in their quest for an historic 10th Syd-Hob line honours but also to be trying where possible to emulate their feats on a reputational basis, pushing the boundaries of performance and standards of excellence in tourism." − Glenn Bourke, CEO, Hamilton Island

© 2024 Wild Oats XI | Striving To Achieve Excellence.

Sydney to Hobart yacht race sees first electric yacht J-Bird enter, taking on Wild Oats and Black Jack

An electric yacht will race in this year's Sydney to Hobart for the first time — making history as cannons fire at the starting line. 

Non-profit conservation group Ocean Crusaders will launch 'J-Bird' in the 77th edition of the world-famous race.

Massive diesel engines power household names like Wild Oats and Black Jack, but Ocean Crusaders co-founder, and J-Bird co-skipper, Ian Thomson, wants to show that isn't necessary.

"We just want to prove that we don't need fossil fuels to go sailing," he said.

"There is a cleaner way to go out there and enjoy our waterways and especially in a race when all you're using your diesel engine for is charging batteries.

"We don't need that, we've got solar panels, wind generators, hydro generators, we can use the elements to recharge our power so that we can actually communicate and do all the safety stuff."

J-Bird is powered by six 22-kilogram batteries, situated at the centre of the vessel, making it the heaviest part of the yacht outside of the keel.

J-Bird is no stranger to the Sydney to Hobart race.

It has competed twice before, using a diesel engine, but failed to finish both times.

Ocean Crusaders co-founder, and J-Bird co-skipper, Annika Thomson said just entering the race this year was an achievement.

"It is a big deal and we are nervous, very nervous," Ms Thomson said.

"We are on board a yacht that we spent three years building ourselves.

"Just getting to the start line is a win for us, we are very, very excited."

A touch of Hollywood on board

J-Bird was destined for landfill, rotting on a mooring in Pittwater when the Thomson's bought it in February 2020.

New additions include a convection oven, fridge and a new deck with a new core made from recycled PET bottles and bio-resins.

It also has a couch, made by the designer team who worked on Baz Luhrmann's epic Elvis biopic.

There's one thing the Thomsons haven't changed though — and that's the name on the boat.

"There's a bit of a superstition that you should never change a boat's name unless you change it properly," Mr Thomson said.

"This boat has always had its original name J-Bird written on it and the superstition is you're meant to remove all of the names."

In the 2012 Sydney to Hobart, Mr Thomson said the vessel competed (with a diesel engine) as "Free Fire 52" with Sam Chan from Hong Kong and it didn't finish the race.

The year after, it competed as "Dodo", but also didn't finish.

"So, let's hope it's the third time lucky," Mr Thomson said.

As for whether J-Bird will be competing with the likes of Comanche and Wild Oats, he remains humble.

"I'm sure those guys will be sailing over the horizon on us," he said.

"At the end of the day, to be on the same straight line as these guys, I mean they're multi-million-dollar campaigns and ours is certainly not that, running a charity.

"We don't have bucket loads of cash. If anyone wants to jump on board as a sponsor, we'd certainly talk to you."

Mammoth effort clearing tonnes of trash

J-Bird has been the Thomson's passion project in between charity work.

They've been cleaning rubbish from waterways for over 12 years and believe there will be a lot more work to do in the face of another big wet season.

"[It] is going to create a lot more rubbish and debris in the waterways," he said.

In the past few years, they've removed 595 tonnes of rubbish from waterways, from Tasmania to the Whitsundays.

This year alone, they did 272 tonnes in the aftermath of the Queensland floods.

Ms Thomson said the pair were sailing on the back of that work and like-minded individual's support.

"We pick up trash in our water and we have made that our life because our life is on the water," Ms Thomson said.

"We work on it. We play on it.

"We have had an amazing community of volunteers supporting us all around and I want to thank all of them because, without our volunteers, we would not stand here today."

The annual Sydney to Hobart race starts on Boxing Day and runs through to New Year's Eve.