Wild Oats XI has won the 74th annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race, crossing the finish line in Hobart early on Friday morning, claiming line honors for the ninth time. Skippered by Mark Richards, the super maxi took the lead from defending champion Comanche before dawn, finishing shortly after 0800 local time (2100 GMT) on Thursday.
Last year, Wild Oats XI was stripped of the line honors due to a rule violation, which resulted in a time penalty and handed victory to Comanche. This year, the super maxi reclaimed its position at the front of the fleet, leading the way into Constitution Dock in Hobart.
Following Wild Oats XI, Black Jack finished second, about 28 minutes behind, with Comanche in third and Infotrack in fourth place. The fifth and sixth spots were taken by Alive and Wild Oats X, respectively, with Wild Oats X making history as the first yacht with a complete female crew.
Stacey Jackson, the Australian skipper of Wild Oats X, led a diverse crew from the U.S., Britain, Netherlands, and New Zealand. However, controversy arose when the owner of Black Jack raised concerns about the electrical tracker on board Wild Oats XI, suggesting it may have been turned off or malfunctioned.
Peter Harburg claimed that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) on Wild Oats XI was allegedly disabled towards the end of the race. In response, Wild Oats XI navigator Juan Vila stated that they believed the AIS had been on throughout the race, indicating a possible technical issue with the tracker.
