SYDNEY - Supermaxi Wild Oats XI sets sail on Friday aiming to win line honours for the eighth time in Australia's top yacht race, with state-of-the-art American newcomer Comanche out to halt its dominance.
Supermaxi Wild Oats XI sails out of Sydney Harbour in rough conditions to begin the gruelling Sydney to Hobart yacht race, on December 26, 2012
The 70th Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic has drawn its biggest fleet in two decades, with last year's fastest skipper believing the record time could be smashed.
"There's many boats in the fleet that can kill that record," Wild Oats skipper Mark Richards said last week of the 2012 mark of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds set by his boat.
His optimism may be short lived with strong southerly winds forecast for soon after the start followed by lighter westerlies as the front-runners turn across the treacherous Bass Strait.
"It is definitely a challenging weather situation, but so it is in every Hobart race," Wild Oats XI navigator Juan Vila said on Monday after hearing the updated forecast.
The fleet for this year's 628 nautical mile race, which starts in Sydney Harbour before running down the east coast then across the Bass Strait to Hobart, stands at 117 -- the largest since 1994.
"It's such a high standard and represents a good cross section of yachts from all over Australia as well as 10 international entries," Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore John Cameron said.
The international contingent comes from New Zealand, the Cayman Islands, Britain, Poland, Germany and the United States.
The last time entrants topped 100 was in 2004 -- when only 59 of the 116 boats which set sail on December 26 made it across the finish line after the fleet was hit by gale force winds and rough seas.
Wild Oats XI, which was first across the line in every year from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010, 2012 and 2013, is one of five supermaxis -- the biggest and fastest yachts -- in contention.
The others include its fierce rival Perpetual Loyal, which came second last year, and the newly-hulled Ragamuffin 100, which will see Syd Fischer, 87, take part in his 46th Sydney to Hobart race.
- Looming as major threat -
But it is the sleek new 100-foot Comanche that is the most anticipated yacht of Australia's most famous race, under the command of accomplished American skipper Ken Read and boasting America's Cup winning captain James Spithill.
The superyacht is owned by Jim Clark, the billionaire co-founder of Netscape, and will be undertaking her first major ocean race, looming as a major threat to Wild Oats.
Built in Maine for millions of dollars, it is broader than its class rivals and has a towering 150-foot mast set further back than most.
In the right conditions, it is expected to be tough to be beat. But the weather is everything in the Sydney to Hobart which can see yachts face mountainous seas and brutal gales -- or left becalmed by a lack of wind.
Skipper Read, one of the world's most decorated sailors, conceded the boat was unproven in what can be torrid conditions in the Bass Strait.
"In all honesty, this boat isn't really perfect for the Sydney to Hobart. But it is the best all-round option for all the rest of the stuff we want to do," he said.
In 1998 five yachts sank and six people died when the race was hit by wild weather.
The fleet will include boats old and new, with the 50-foot Victoire which won handicap honours last year up alongside vessels such as the 1932 Maluka of Kermandie, which is just nine metres long.
"This race represents the greatest race in the world," said Matthew Fortune, skipper of German entrant, Passion 4 C.
"I'm up alongside the greatest boats of all time; a little guy in a sea of giants."