Despite facing a protest in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Wild Oats XI managed to hold onto their line honours following a dispute that was ruled out by an international jury of five members on Saturday.The second-place finisher, Black Jack, raised concerns claiming that Wild Oats XI did not have their own Automatic Identification System switched on after the race ended. This put them at a disadvantage as they were unable to track the exact whereabouts of the yacht during the race.
Wild Oats XI attempted to protest against the race committee, but it was dismissed on the grounds that it needed to be filed by a competing team. Instead, the crew of Black Jack decided not to file the protest themselves and requested the race committee to investigate the matter.
Russell Green, the chair of the international jury, explained that an inquiry was conducted by the race committee based on a protest raised by a competitor. This raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest regarding the racing rules.
Green clarified that protests are essential in sailing as competitors are responsible for upholding the rules of the sport. Since sailing lacks referees and is often conducted far from shore, it relies on participants to detect and report rule breaches through protests.
