Wild Oats XI leads at start of Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Wild Oats XI was leading the Sydney to Hobart yacht race Thursday, after a neck-and-neck race out of Sydney harbour against rival supermaxi Perpetual Loyal which threatened a protest. Sunny conditions prevailed as the 94 boats took off on the challenging 628 nautical mile race south, with six-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI and fellow 100-footer Perpetual Loyal racing fast from the starter's gun. Wild Oats XI made it through Sydney Heads first but television footage showed the boats had come very close together as they made their way out and Perpetual Loyal flew its protest flag after leaving the harbour. Perpetual Loyal's skipper Anthony Bell later decided after a team meeting not to proceed with the protest. "At first we thought we had been fouled," he said of the start which had required three starting lines because of the large number of competitors, who had to negotiate turning marks before heading out to sea. He added later: "Pretty light winds (11-12 knots ) so doing our best to keep boat going as fast as we can in non-ideal conditions." The start was relatively fast, with all the boats passing through the heads within 25 minutes, officials said. Wild Oats XI was closely followed out by a group which included brand new 80-foot boat and race dark horse Beau Geste and Perpetual Loyal, which is expected to travel well in rough seas due to its width and weight. Ragamuffin 100, which finished second in line honours to Wild Oats XI last year, was also in the lead pack along with the Volvo 70 racing in its first Sydney to Hobart, Black Jack. The famous race is expected to be hit by strong weather in coming days, with the bumpy conditions dampening hopes of breaking the course record of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds. Crews have been warned they face gale-force winds and waves of up to 12 metres when a cold front hits the fleet on Saturday night -- with the smaller and slower boats expected to experience the worst of the weather. "Treacherous conditions as far as the winds, and the waves go," the Bureau of Meteorology's Andrew Treloar said. The Sydney to Hobart -- which sees boats track down the east coast of Australia from Sydney to the Tasmanian capital -- is a tactical race in which sailors usually navigate varying weather systems. Wild storms saw six sailors perish in the 1998 edition, with five yachts sinking and 66 retiring from a fleet of 115. This year, the larger and faster boats will likely have passed the Bass Strait before the front hits, and Perpetual Loyal's Bell said earlier the starting conditions were probably lighter than he would have liked. "We probably wouldn't mind the front coming down on us a bit earlier," said Bell. "It certainly looks like lighter conditions for the big boats." The fleet was reduced to 92 on Thursday after two boats were forced to retire -- Audi Sunshine Coast quit within the first hour with rigging damage, the organising Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said. "Subdued would be the best way to describe how I feel -– disappointed,"said owner Rod Jones. And 52-foot vessel Dodo's campaign also ended shortly after the start due to mainsail damage. Source: AFP