Leader Wild Oats XI has been forced out of the Sydney to Hobart race because of hydraulic problems.
The official race website has carried a message from Wild Oats, confirming the boat has pulled out. The ABC reported that Wild Oats had boasted of its hydraulic ram, a feature of supermaxi yachts which controls the angle of the keel.
"The mechanism is so powerful it can lift a jumbo jet off the ground," the Wild Oats XI website claimed. They also reported that "the keel has been centred and stabilised. All crew are safe."
Wild Oats XI - which has taken line honours in eight Sydney to Hobart races - retired with equipment failure last year.
New Zealand boats Giacomo, skippered by wine magnate Jim Delegat, and Beau Geste, skippered by Hong Kong businessman Karl Kwok and helmed by Kiwi Gavin Brady, lie second and fourth respectively.
