America’s Cup stars will be will be fighting for line honors in the 2014 Sydney Hobart on Boxing Day, December 26, 2014 on board the 100 footers.
Wild Oats XI
Seven times line honors winner Wild Oats XI is once again the favorite. Wild Oats XI is owned by Bob Oatley, of former America’s Cup Challenger of Record, Hamilton Island Yacht Club. On board will be Iain Murray, recently named Regatta Director for the 2017 America’s Cup and formerly head of Team Australia. Oracle Team USA designer and former Alinghi navigator Juan Vila will plot the course as navigator on board Wild Oats XI. Wild Oats XI has been continuously modified since her first season in 2005 when she took the “treble” – line honors, course record and overall winner on corrected time. Wild Oats XI has so many appendages she is called the “Swiss Army Knife” – see the photo of her “Dynamic Stability System” horizontal foil that provides lift and extra righting moment.
Commanche
Netscape founder Jim Clark and his australian wife Kristy Hinze Clark built Commanche for speed – to take line honors every time they race and to set course records when the weather is nasty enough. This will be Commanche’s first big race and she is filled with America’s Cup talent: LiveLine developer Stan Honey will navigate. Mainsail trim magician Warwick Fleury, another TNZ, Alinghi and OTUSA veteran will be joined by Artemis Racing mainsail wizard Sean Clarkson. Another Artemis alumnus, Julian Cressant is also on board. OTUSA skipper Jimmy Spithill has postponed elbow surgery to join the Commanche crew. Volvo Ocean Race veteran and America’s Cup helmsman turned TV commentator Ken Read is skipper and overall manager of Commanche.
Perpetual Loyal
Perhaps the sentimental favorite (if there is any sentimentality in grand prix offshore racing) is Anthony Bell’s 2011 line honors winner, “Perpetual Loyal,” with OTUSA’s strategist and sailing team manager Tom Slingsby as primary helmsman. Tom is forgoing his (hefty) fee, donating it to Bell’s Loyal Foundation which supplies hospital equipment for new-borns and infants. A 100 foot offshore racer is a long way from the Laser in which Slingsby won Olympic gold and five world championships. Launched as “Speedboat” in 2008, “Perpetual Loyal” is famous for dramatically losing her keel in the 2011 Fastnet, when she was called “Rambler.”
Rio 100
Owner Manouch Moshayedi lives in southern California and has his eyes set on the the “Barn Door Trophy” that goes to the Transpac line honors winner, so to qualify for the Barn Door, Rio 100 has none of the tricks of the the other 100 footers – no canting keel, no water ballast, no powered winches. She does have two times America’s Cup winning navigator Peter Isler on board, though. Unfortunately, the weather forecast looks unlikely to provide the light conditions that would suit Rio 100.