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HOBART - Wild Oats XI overcame an encounter with a 2-metre shark to win the Sydney to Hobart yacht race for a record fourth consecutive time on Sunday.
Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards steered the maxi yacht across the finish line at Constitution Dock on the island state of Tasmania 1 day, 20 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds after leaving Sydney Harbour on Friday.
The time was about two hours slower that the record it set in 2005 for the 628-nautical mile race.
On Saturday night, while duelling with another maxi, Skandia, for the lead, Wild Oats hit a shark which became entangled in its rudder. Ian Burns, the navigator, said the boat had to stop to allow the shark to free itself and swim away.
It was the first time that any yacht has won four successive races in the event's 64-year history.
Last year, Wild Oats XI equalled the record of three in a row held by Morna in the 1940s. Wild Oats XI holds the course record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, 10 seconds.
Wild Oats XI led the 100-yacht fleet out of Sydney Harbour and exchanged the lead with 2003 winner Skandia several times.
Skandia led for much of Saturday across Bass Strait and was expected to finish second.
Earlier, Burns said his crew was stalking Skandia, sailing gybe for gybe within sight of each other, but unable to bridge the gap.
"This is good racing, great sailing, we are working hard to chase and catch Skandia," Burns said. "The conditions are great and we are hoping to catch a few breaks as we continue to head to the finish."
There had been two retirements.
Georgia, a New Zealand-built Farr 52 owned by race veterans John Williams and Graeme Ainley, broke a rudder after possibly hitting a whale. The boat took on water and later sank. Two nearby boats rescued the 14 crew who were taken to shore on a police boat.
Ainley said there were no injuries to his crew, although they had the sobering experience of watching their boat sink.
"It's hard to take, but the issue is that everyone is safe," Ainley said. "The bang was indicative of running into something and it was a pretty loud bang and so I guess it was something reasonably solid. It was dark so we couldn't see it."
The other retirement, the 50-year-old boat Sanyo Maris, pulled out with broken equipment and returned to Sydney.
The race, which was first held in 1945, had been hit by severe storms in the past. This race marks the 10th anniversary of the 1998 event in which six sailors died and seven boats sank during a storm.
- AP
