TODAY'S Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race promises to be the most exciting for years with three supermaxis capable of breaking the race record set in 2005 and the weather gods co-operating for a fast trip.
A fleet of 77 yachts is due to start in the 68th edition of the 628-nautical mile classic at 1pm and, if the weather predictions are correct and the yachts are pushed south by a strong nor'easter tomorrow, the first yacht could be in Hobart by about 7am on Friday.
Five-time line honours winner and race record holder Wild Oats XI is a firm favourite to secure her sixth line honours victory but she is facing a serious challenge from two other supermaxis, Ragamuffin Loyal and Wild Thing.
Ragamuffin Loyal is being sailed by the oldest person in the race, 85-year-old Syd Fischer, who is acknowledged as being able to drive a boat harder and faster than almost any other. In the dead of night, when most boats slow down a little as they are battered by unseen waves, Fischer drives his crew harder knowing a few extra miles gained then can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Fischer has won line honours twice in his 44 Hobart starts and he is keen to repeat the feat, chartering the faster 100-foot Ragamuffin Loyal this year to replace his previous 52-foot Ragamuffin. Gold Coast-based supermaxi Wild Thing is the great unknown in the race. Owner Grant Wharington lopped 28 feet off the stern of the yacht this year and grafted back on a newly designed 30-foot section.
He has also joined forces with a publicity-shy American backer who has injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign for new sails and rigging.
As the new main sail didn't arrive in Australia until a week ago, no one, not even Wharington, knows how fast the new Wild Thing will be.
Mark Richards, the skipper of winemaker Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI, has also taken no chances after being beaten over the line last year by three minutes and eight seconds by Investec Loyal following a light wind battle across Bass Strait and down the Tasman coast.
Richards has had a new dagger board installed just back from Wild Oats XI's bow and small winglets placed on the trailing edges of the yacht's massive keel bulb. The winglets are designed reduced tip vortex around the keel and improve speed in light winds.
"We are going to be pedal to the metal from the start," Richards said yesterday. "To win this year you have to go as fast as you can and sail the shortest race. It's going to be really good and I'm really looking forward to it."
Richards said breaking the race record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds was not his main focus.
"The record is a bonus but to claim the record you first have to finish and to finish first," he said. "If the nor'easter stays in for longer than forecast, it will make a big difference. If we are doing over 20 knots another three hours is more than 60 nautical miles."
Fischer, whose weatherbeaten face bears witness to the countless hours he has spent at sea, reckons it will be "a fairly easy race".
"We won't get knocked about too much," he said after studying the latest weather forecast.
Michael Logan, the Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster, told the Christmas Eve final skippers' briefing that the race would start in moderate southeasterly winds of 15-20 knots, allowing a spectacular spinnaker run down Sydney Harbour to the Heads.
Logan said the southerly would last until late today when the wind would begin to swing to the northeast. He said the bigger yachts would enjoy almost perfect conditions tomorrow as they surfed down the coast before a 20-25 knot nor'easter. He predicted a westerly change would hit the fleet on Friday making things tough for the smaller yachts still crossing Bass Strait. The westerlies will continue until New Year's Eve.
Skippers were also warned that if they had any accident at sea helicopters could not reach them if they were more than 120 nautical miles off the coast and that any response to an emergency at night would be limited.
Race chairman Tim Cox warned the skippers to be aware of the risk of running aground on one of the many reefs on the southern side of Sydney Harbour.
"We have extreme tides at the moment and there will be very low water for the start," Cox said.
"We don't want anyone to find the bottom."
Close behind the supermaxis all the way to Hobart will be several large yachts that could be called mini-maxis - Ichi Ban, Black Jack and Loki. All have a great chance of winning the race on handicap.
Matt Allen, owner and skipper of Ichi Ban, said yesterday that the overall winner would clearly be a boat 60 feet or longer.
"I would not write off any of the supermaxis from taking a line honours/handicap double either," Allen said, "It is going to be a fascinating duel off the Tasman coast."
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