After it competed in the 2015 Transpac Race,Bob Oatley’s 30m supermaxi Wild Oats XI went under the knife, seeking changes to allow the ten year design to compete against the original breed of monster monohulls. The meaningful change? Cutting off the bow forward of the mast and starting over is pretty meaningful. Here the team reports...
The dramatically modified supermaxi yacht, and Wild Oats XI,was a “totally different animal” according to skipper, Mark Richards, or after the yacht had completed the 24-hour qualifying hasten for this month’s Rolex Sydney Hobart race.“She just lifts her bow and goes like she’s never gone before,” an enthused Richards added. “It’s still early days, but I think we’ve got the yacht we wanted.”Richards and his 18-man crew had pushed the 30-metre-long sloop as hard as possible during the trial that took the yacht onto the open ocean off Sydney, or across the smooth waters of Sydney Harbour.
The near 300 nautical mile passage was the first solid test for Wild Oats XI since she was re-launched ten days ago following surgery” which saw the hull almost lop in half and a original,14-metre long, bow section fitted. It was a carefully calculated modification which it is hoped will lead to Wild Oats XI main the 110 yacht fleet into Hobart for the ninth time in 11 starts in the 628 nautical mile Sydney Hobart Race which starts on December 26. - Read on
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com