Summary Wild Oats XI has won line honors in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race for the sixth time.
Wild Oats XI won line honors in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race for the sixth time, breaking its own record time in the process.
The Mark Richards-skippered super maxi crossed the finish line at Constitution Dock in Hobart at 7:23 a.m. Friday (2023 GMT Thursday) in a time of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes, 12 seconds after leaving Sydney Harbour on Wednesday.
That was 17 minutes faster than the previous mark set by Wild Oats XI in 2005 for the 628-nautical-mile (723-mile; 1,163-kilometer) race.
"It was close, only just," Richards said of the race record. "2005 was a great year, but this year was even better.
"It was a very tricky night, the breeze died on us. But we made a lot of sail changes and the guys did a great job."
Another super maxi, Ragamuffin Loyal, which won last year s race as Investec Loyal, was about 50 nautical miles behind and expected to finish second later Friday, although the yacht could face a time penalty for crossing the start line early.
Another maxi, Lahana, was in third place, another 50 nautical miles behind Ragamuffin.
Wild Oats XI won consecutive line honors from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010. Last year, it finished second to Investec Loyal by just three minutes in one of the closest finishes in the race, which was first held in 1945.
Two boats retired on Thursday, the first withdrawals of the race, leaving 74 of the fleet competing.
Last year s handicap runner-up Living Doll pulled out with a broken rudder and was sailing to the port of Eden in southern New South Wales state. Primitive Cool quit with a damaged mainsail and was also heading to Eden.
