SAILING/Sydney to Hobart Race:Wild Oats XI sailed across the finishing line off Battery Point at 9.52 pm local time last night to take the Sydney-Hobart Race and record a back-to-back line victory, following the dismasting of Maximus on the first night.

Though it was well outside the winner's record time last year, it was a special moment for owner Bob Oatley, who declared: "For the conditions this is a fantastic time."

The 98-foot maxi was skippered by Mark Richards with a star-studded crew that included round-the-world navigation record holder Adrienne Cahalan and as tactician the America's Cup skipper, Iain Murray, who explained they had received a simple instruction from Oatley: "[ He said] 'Play it safe and the boat will do the rest'.

"We did, and it did."

After the mountainous seas of the first 24 hours, the conditions moderated and this was to the big boat's liking. "We opted to go inshore and stay out of the current which meant staying out of the big waves and just looking after the boat for the first night. That's what we did and it paid dividends," said Cahalan.

Wild Oats XI took two days eight hours 52 minutes 33 seconds for the 628-mile race, some 14 hours and 12 minutes more than last year's record time.

The winner of the Tattersall's Cup, for the best corrected time, will remain in doubt until nearly all the boats are home, but the likely winner last night with 200 miles to go was the veteran wooden 47-footer, Love and War, which won this race in 1974 and 1978.

She had an hour and a half in hand over her nearest rival.

Guardian Service