Wild Oats hopes gales will bring record

Australian carbon-fibre supermaxi Wild Oats was ploughing across the notorious Bass Strait yesterday leading the 61st Sydney-Hobart with predicted galeforce winds renewing hopes of a race record.

Light winds overnight had slowed the supermaxis like Wild Oats, second-placed Alfa Romeo and third Skandia, reducing any chance of a much talked about treble victory - line honours, race and handicap trophies.

But late yesterday tailwinds began picking up and Wild Oats reported she was making around 20 knots across Bass Strait, which separates the Australian mainland from the southern island state of Tasmania, said race officials.

Wild Oats navigator Adrienne Cahalan said the recently-launched hi-tech yacht with canting or swinging keel, took a closer line to the coast overnight which saw the boat pick up stronger winds than arch-rivals Alfa Romeo and Skandia.

"We went inshore and that's where it made the difference for us. We got a bit further down into the rhumbline down south and that's where the wind came in for us," said Cahalan on satellite telephone.

"We had a little more wind than we expected. We got the better case scenario where we kept some wind all night, whereas I don't think some of the others did."

At midday Wild Oats was half way across Bass Strait, but 52 nautical miles behind the relative position of Nokia in 1999 when she set a record of one day 19 hours 48 minutes and two seconds.

Nokia's average speed for the whole race was 14.3 knots. Wild Oats had to average 15 knots to beat Nokia's record.

A total of 85 yachts started the Sydney-Hobart, one of the toughest bluewater classics.

The only retirement so far has been a German entry Conergy.

Conergy retired yesterday morning with a leak in the stern which eventually took out her radio.