Big guns start Sydney-Hobart duel

Rival maxis Wild Oats XI and Skandia staged a compelling duel in the early stages of
the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday afternoon.
Wild Oats XI was first through Sydney Heads, followed just over a minute later by
Skandia with 66ft Queensland boat Black Jack third.
However, Victorian vessel Skandia, the 2003 line honours winner, had forged ahead by
four to five boat lengths inside the first three hours with the two rivals virtually
side by side as they approached Wollongong.
The fleet got a decent early push, as north-easterly breezes of 10-15 knots
increased in strength to over 20 as the boats hurtled out of Sydney.
Ichi Ban, Black Jack and Loki were leading the pack chasing the two maxis.
"We're expecting to get some more breeze after midnight," said Black Jack skipper
Mark Bradford, just over three-and-a-half hours into the race.
"We're still expecting 25 knots, but when it gets dark, that makes it a little bit
trickier just to keep the boat on its feet."
The final pre-race forecast on Friday morning suggested the westerlies predicted for
Saturday night could play a bigger part in the race than initially expected.
"It's certainly going to slow down some parts of the fleet," Ichi Ban skipper Matt
Allen said.
"I think it's a little bit unclear as to which boats will be affected detrimentally
or otherwise with that.
"I think its actually going to make it a more interesting race in some respects."
Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards thought his boat was set for a fast passage
irrespective of whether it could finish inside his 2005 race record of one day 18h
40m 10s.
"It should be under two days with a bit of luck," Richards said.
"It's backing off a little bit. We're a bit worried about it going a bit light and
funny down around Tasman Island, but we'll just have to see what happens."
Allen said the forecast meant a new race record was an even money bet.
"I don't think anyone's terribly confident about what is going to happen Saturday
night, depending where the boats are, so it is open and up for grabs," Allen said.
Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said the forecast was similar to last year's in a
lot of ways, but felt it was a pretty good one for his boat.
"We've just got to hope we don't get dropped off in the light patch in the middle,
it happened to a couple of boats last year," Wharington said.