Wild Oats XI one step closer to the Rolex Sydney Hobart start line

Bob Oatley’s two-time Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner and record breaker, Wild Oats XI, has moved one step closer to this year’s start line with the successful installation of the yacht’s new mast this afternoon at Woolwich Dock.

The towering black carbon fibre mast, reaching almost 45 metres in height and weighing 1,100 kilograms, was today lifted by crane, shaken to remove any debris then carefully manoeuvred by some of the Wild Oats crew before being lowered into the awaiting 30-metre maxi.