A grandstand finish is looming as the two leading contenders for line honours in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race do battle off the east coast of Tasmania. And, the signs are that the yacht that leads the fleet of 102 to the finish line on the Derwent River might lop an amazing four hours or more off the current record time. The mark of 1 day, 13 hours 31 minutes for the 628 nautical mile course was set last year by Perpetual Loyal, which is racing this year as Infotrack under the ownership of Christian Beck. It is suggested that the first yacht could arrive as early as 8pm tonight. But that time will only be seen if…

Wild Oats XI and supermaxi rivals set for a record run in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race The four supermaxis racing for line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race, which starts tomorrow, are destined to enjoy a belated Christmas present – a sleigh ride to Hobart, and probably a race record time for the first yacht to finish. Australia’s internationally recognised yachting meteorologist, Roger Badham, says that if the current outlook remains stable then the first yacht could reach the finish line, on Hobart’s Derwent River, in around one day, nine hours,more than four hours inside the record time set by Perpetual Loyal last year. Ironically, when that amazing time was set, it was tipped by…

When the knife-like bow of the supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, carves across the start line in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on Boxing Day the 20-man crew will have an astonishing 308 starts in the classic to their credit. On top of that, three of them – skipper Mark Richards, Steve “Mothy” Jarvin, and kiwi Robbie Naismith – will have been aboard for every one of the yacht’s 13 starts since being launched in 2005. In total, the number of nautical miles covered by the entire crew in Hobart races is the equivalent of Wild Oats XI having sailed more than eight times around the world – or more than three-quarters of the way to the moon. Graham Taylor…