Southern Spars 'retro-rigged' Wild Oats takes a record 8th line win

by Sail-World on 9 Jan 2015 While the 70th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was not a record setting edition in terms of speed, the 2014 contest did achieve notable marks along the 628 nm route.

For Southern Spars it marks the sixth consecutive year in which the first three across the line utilized masts, booms and ECsix carbon rigging from the company, and the tenth year in which a Southern rigged yacht has taken line honours victory! In fact in 2014 the first six yachts were all rigged by Southern Spars.

The 117 teams that started on December 26 was the largest fleet in over a decade, attracting five 100-ft Maxis all with Southern Spars rigs and ECsix carbon rigging that harbored ambitions of grabbing line honours.

When Bob Oatley’s nine year old 100-foot Wild Oats XI retrofitted with a 2013 maxi rig and ECsix carbon rigging package from Southern Spars nipped the new Comanche by 49 minutes, it was also a race history record as the eighth line honors victory for the yacht.

Much of the pre-race attention had been given to the debut of the new 100-foot Southern rigged Comanche from designers Guillaume Verdier and VPLP Architects, with the race confirming two things: she's sticky in light winds and explosive in the right conditions.

Southern Spars would like to congratulate Robert Oatley’s Wild Oats XI, Jim Clark & Kristy Hinze Clark’s Comanche, Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin, Manouch Moshayedi’s RIO 100, Peter Harburg’s Black Jack, Phillip Turner’s Alive and Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban on their outstanding results.

Below is a recent race history of Southern Spars rigged Yachts…

Southern Spars unmatched results in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

2014 Line Honours results
1. Wild Oats XI
2. Comanche
3. Ragamuffin 100 (ex-Maximus)
4. RIO 100 (ex-Zana & Lahana)
5. Black Jack (ex-Telefonica)

2013 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall

2012 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall

IRC, 1, 2, 3 overall
IRC Division 0, 1, 2
IRC Division 1, 1

2011 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall
IRC, first overall

2010 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall

2009 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall
IRC Division 1, first

2008 – Line honours, first overall

2007 – Line honours, 1, 2 overall
IRC, first overall
IRC Division 1, 1, 3

2006 – Line honours, 1, 3 overall
IRC Division 1, 1, 3

2005 – Line honours, 1, 2, 3 overall
IRC, 1, 2, 3 overall