Closely challenged at the end but never caught, Wild Oats XI became the first yacht in nearly 60 years to win the Sydney to Hobart race three times in a row.
Wild Oats, skippered by Mark Richards, finished the 628-nautical mile (1,163km) race yesterday in 1 day, 21 hours, 24 minutes, crossing the line at Constitution Dock in Hobart at 10.24am.
"We came here to do a job and that was to claim the treble," Richards said. "We were challenged, we were chased and we were constantly looking over our shoulders but we are here now and it's time to celebrate."
"Back next year for a fourth? You never know, you'll have to talk to Bob," he said.
Bob Oatley's 30m maxi was the pre-race favorite and dominated since the opening minutes of Australia's premier yacht race which began from Sydney Harbor on Wednesday.
The Sydney yacht led the fleet out of the harbor and in the opening 10 hours of the race surged down the New South Wales coast in almost perfect conditions. Light southwesterly winds in the Bass Strait on Thursday ended any chance of the boat improving on its own race record set two years ago.
Wild Oats crossed the finish line ahead of the British maxi City Index Leopard, skippered by Mike Slade, who staged a dramatic comeback yesterday morning.
At one stage the two front-runners were 21 nautical miles apart, but by the time the crew of Wild Oats heard the sound of cannon fire at the finish line, City Index Leopard was in the Derwent River and only four nautical miles away.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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