Newsflash - Rolex Sydney Hobart - Wild Oats XI retires

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 26 Dec 2016 The record holder in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Wild Oats XI has withdrawn from the 2016 edition of the race with a broken hydraulic ram.

At the time she was mid way across Bass Strait sailing at record pace. Wild Oats XI pulled out around 0900hrs local time (1100hrs NZT).

She has turned to head back to NSW, and is sailing at a speed of 10kts. She is expected to make her landfall at the port of Eden on the SE NSW coast around 2300hts (NZT).

Spokesman for Wild Oats XI, Rob Mundle, speaking from Hobart said the issue was with a hydraulic pump with the canting keel swinging from side to side. The issue was apparently with the attachment point of the ram to the keel.

'All good, but no great dramas on board but there is a lot of disappointment.'

In 2015 Wild Oats XI withdrew after her crew damaged the mainsail while trying to reef the sail. Her skipper, Mark Richards said before the start of the 2016 edition that they were not as prepared as they could have been for that race, and had rectified that situation for the current race.

The new race leader is Perpetual Loyal - sailing at 22kts and flying towards Hobart. The New Zealand Volvo 70 Giacomo is now in second place.

The Sydney newspaper, Daily Telegraph has more details on the incident:

The drama happened around 8am (EDT) on Tuesday morning.

It is understood the famous Aussie supermaxi retired with a broken hydraulic ram.

The damage to boat is to a pin that attaches the ram to the head of the keel. The crew have managed to lock the keel in the centre so she can continue to sail, with the boat now heading to Eden on the far south coast of NSW against the current and in a black nor’easter.

The Mark Richards-skippered boat was leading the fleet when disaster struck.

She was around seven nautical miles ahead of her nearest rival Perpetual Loyal when she was seen on the race tracker slowing and then turning around.

Wild Oats was in Bass Strait when the incident occurred, almost halfway to Hobart.

The drama follows on from Wild Oats also retiring from the 2015 race with major sail damage sustained in a storm.

The crew put themselves through its most intense preparation ever in the lead-up to this race to avoid a repeat of their bad fortune a year ago.

Despite their best efforts the ram, which drives the canting keel, failed as she was in the box seat to set a new time in the race. For the full story click here