KEY POINTS:
The supermaxis are again expected dominate this year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race with forecasters tipping rough conditions for today's bluewater classic.
The 78-strong fleet will have to contend with wind gusts of 30 knots as they make their way down the east coast of New South Wales this afternoon.
The conditions mean the record time of Wild Oats set last year, is not expected to come under threat.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the weather was expected to be "uncomfortable" rather than "dangerous", as originally forecast.
The easing weather will also lessen organisers' fears of a catastrophe like 1998, when six sailors drowned in mountainous seas, although Quantum Racing skipper Ray Roberts said race-goers would still be wary.
"Everybody's saying the winds are lightening off but I still think 30 knots is not light," Roberts said. "To win this race you've got to finish the race."
He said many people thought Bass Strait was the toughest part of the race but failed to appreciate the difficulty of sailing the New South Wales coast.
"You've got a relatively shallow continental shelf and a hard southerly breeze pushing against a strong current so you've got very steep waves," he said.
"You could see a few boats damaging their gear in the first 24 hours and that's the trick - you've got to be nursing the boat in the first 24 hours so that you can take advantage later."
Online bookmaker Centrebet has last year's winner Wild Oats as the favourite for line honours, with the 30 metre supermaxi paying A$1.55 for a $1.00 bet.
Next are the supermaxis Maximus from New Zealand, paying A$5.0, and Australia's Skandia, paying A$5.50.
Wild Oats won convincingly in a preliminary race on Sydney Harbour earlier this month.
Maximus co-owner Charles St Clair Brown said the race's record keepers would not be troubled if the current forecast held true.
"The sad thing is it's decidedly not a record-breaking forecast and our goal for this boat was to create race records," he said. "We're not going to have a chance to do that."
Ed Psaltis, skipper of AFR Midnight Rambler, said the weather may prevent the supermaxis dominating the early stages of the event.
"The weather forecast is for a slow start and a relatively fast finish which normally suits the smaller style boat,' Psaltis said.
"That's good news for us that no-one's going to get too far away from us in the first day and a half."
However, David Kent, the skipper of Gillawa, the yacht that came last in the 2005 event, four day behind the winner, said merely finishing the race was an achievement for his inexperienced crew.
"I've got a little bit of competitive spirit and I don't like the word last, but in reality, where else are we going to be positioned?" he said.
"I take on the rookies. If I didn't take on the rookies, we'd go a lot faster but it's giving them a chance to get out there and experience racing."
-AFP
