Broken gear takes wind out of boats’ sails

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AUSTRALIAN supermaxis Wild Oats and Ragamuffin have suffered damage setbacks ahead of the Sydney to Hobart but both camps have declared they will be on the Boxing Day start line of the race south.

Wild Oats had an issue with their goose neck, a piece of equipment which connects the boom to the mast, which was being repaired on Sunday with Ragamuffin's team reportedly dealing with an issue on their deck.

"It's being fixed and there is no problem,'' said Wild Oats tactician Iain Murray of the gooseneck. "We could have sailed with it. It just would have been a pain.

"She will get the bells and braces — the never-to-break again fix."

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Murray said Wild Oats will likely do two more days of sailing before Christmas to test out a new sail only recently delivered to the yacht for use in the Sydney to Hobart.

In past years numerous masts have broken and sails have exploded in training, requiring replacements to be rushed to Australia at the last minute.

Last year Anthony Bell watched one of his spinnakers shred in a lead-up race and only received a replacement for it on Christmas Eve.

In other years crews have worked until just hours before the start to have their yachts ship shape and ready.

Mark Richards at the helm of Wild Oats XI. Source: News Corp Australia

This year numerous days of "fresh to frightening'' winds have allowed crews to tests their yachts, crews and equipment in similar conditions to those they can expect in the Sydney to Hobart and to sort any issues well before the race start.

Forecast hours of upwind sailing after the Boxing Day start is expected to result in a relatively high attrition rate in this year's race.

Traditionally, unless it is an usually benign race, around 10 yachts fail to finish the 628 nautical slog to Hobart.

But in 1998 when a deadly storm ripped the fleet apart, 71 yachts retired from the startling fleet of 115.

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