Wild Oats XI led last year's second-place finisher Investec
Loyal by up to 15 nautical miles on Tuesday but as the 100-footer sailed into
an area of low pressure the wind fell away and its lead rapidly reduced.
On positions plotted at 8 p.m. AEDT (0800 GMT), Wild Oats XI
led by only 3.6 nautical miles from Investec Loyal with around 260 miles to the
finish line in the 628 nautical mile race.
Wild Oats XI had sailed into an area of light winds and
though Investec Loyal was sailing faster, it was heading into the same light weather
system as the yachts neared the island state of Tasmania.
The battle for line honors became a virtual two-boat race
when the supermaxi Wild Thing withdrew from the race Tuesday with sail damage
when running third.
The withdrawal of Wild Thing continued its unlucky run in
the race. The 2003 line honors winner capsized in 2004, withdrew soon after the
start in 2009 and hit a media boat at the start last year.
Wild Oats XI and Investec Loyal were left with a 30 mile
lead over third-placed Lahana which was a further 31 miles ahead of
fourth-placed Hugo Boss.
The contest for overall handicap honors was constantly
evolving and at various times on Tuesday Wild Oats, Lahana, Wild Rose and Mondo
held the outright lead.
Wild Thing's retirement was one of several withdrawals on
Tuesday which reduced the fleet from 88 to 81 boats. Yachts and crews had been
battered overnight by a southerly front that brought winds of up to 30 knots
and rough sees.
Other casualties included Celestial, which broke the
gooseneck that joins the boom to the mast, Accenture Yeah Baby with gear
failure, Ffreefire with a mainsail problem and Duende with an injured crewman.
Duende pulled into Bermagui on the south coast of New South
Wales state to allow injured crewman Tom Wormald to seek further treatment for
a dislocated shoulder.
The leading yachts were now expected to reach the Derwent
River, leading to the finish off Hobart, on Wednesday evening at the earliest.
Wild Oats navigator Ian Burns said he was expecting a stretch of 50 to 60 nautical
miles heading toward the Tasmanian coast with virtually no wind.
"Under five knots or so the boat can stop and it's very
hard to get going again," he said. "That's the sort of opportunity
that the guys from Loyal will be looking for.
"The boat behind has a whole bunch of options to go
around either side. I can see those guys plotting and scheming all evening to
put us in a tough spot." Investec Loyal Anthony Bell said he would try to
out-think the race leader as he contended with minor damage to a reef line on
his mainsail.
"We can only go to two reefs so it's slowing us down a
little bit in the conditions," he said. "For now we're just trying to
stay in contact with Oats.
"We think that if we stay in contact with them it will
probably be more tactical by tomorrow."
