WILD Oats XI took line honours in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour yacht race yesterday, crossing the line at 10.03am in a time 21 hours 3 minutes 57 seconds.
The boat was just 2 hrs 30 mins outside the race record.
Wild Oats XI finished in a 15-knot southerly doing 20 knots as its approached Coffs Harbour, with a code zero up which it dropped just before its impressive entrance to the harbour, where the crew as welcomed by hundreds of onlookers.
"Yeah, it was a great race from the start," Wild Oats XI sipper Mark Richards said.
"We got a good start then had a nice reach up the coast in the afternoon before being slightly becalmed off Seal Rocks late last night.
"We had Wild Thing to contend with and were pretty much neck an neck with Wild Thing at that point, but when the shift came up around 1am and when we put the spinnakers up we just seemed to slip away from them, ending up with a 20 mile lead in the end.
"So we very pleased with the result. The boys worked well and it was just a beautiful sail up the coast, it's a great way to start 2010."
Speaking about being back in Coffs Harbour and getting the 100-foot super maxi into the inner harbour, Richards said: "It's very tight trying to get into the inner harbour, but it's one of those things.
"The boat draws a lot of water, so it's not easy, but they have obviously dredged the inner harbour, which is a great thing and encourages bigger boats to come.
"I also think it's great to have the boat against the dock here, it's a nice thing for the kids here and for everyone to touch and feel the big boats.
"It was nice to turn the boat around after Hobart and sail the boat to Coffs Harbour.
"It's always great sailing up here, we enjoy this race and it's just great to be back in Coffs Harbour, it's a fantastic experience to be here.
"With a bit of luck we hope to give the Hobart another run and be back to give the Coffs Harbour race another run next year."
Richards wasn't too concerned about missing the record.
"That's yacht racing and you always up against the weather Gods, so it's not a concern he said.
"We hold the record anyway, so its not too bad. It just wasn't our year."
Grant Wharrington's Etihad Stadium Wild Thing crossed the line in second position, 2hrs 20mins after Wild Oats XI.
Wharrington opted to use his right to use the alternate finishing line offshore, the first time in the race's history, at about 12.21pm on an ongoing tide, with the umpires adding one minute to the yacht's time.
After depowering her offshore, Wharrington managed to steer the boat into the outer harbour and offload the crew, leaving just the delivery crew on board.
He waited in the outer harbour for about an hour while the yacht was re-stocked and sailed south.
Wharrington was pleased with the boat's performance.
"It was a really good shake down for us and we're very happy to be here in one piece," he said.
"We've managed to start and finish the race, which is pleasing.
"We sailed the race pretty conservatively and, unfortunately, we found a few holes along the way and got parked up a few times and could only manage half boat speed when we knew the Oats were motoring away from us.
"But we're so we're just glad to be here."
Black Jack finished in third place at 2.02pm.
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