More penalties dished out for breaking race rules

THREE yachts have now felt the wrath of the Sydney-Hobart race committee after supermaxi InfoTrack and 52-footer Wot Eva came under fire for breaching race rules.

On Thursday night, officials dropped a bombshell by slapping line honours winner Wild Oats XI with a one-hour penalty for tacking dangerously in the path of Comanche soon after the start on Boxing Day.

It cost Wild Oats a ninth line honours title and third race record, after it was rel- egated to second and Comanche inherited the win.

Fellow supermaxi InfoTrack, the defending line honours champion and race record holder formerly called Perpetual Loyal, yesterday was penalised places and will now finish 24th.

That was for lodging its paperwork outside the sixhour time limit imposed for handing in their “declaration” form to state they had sailed within the race rules.

InfoTrack conceded fourth place to Hong Kong 80-foot maxi Beau Geste.

Race officials ruled that Wot Eva, of NSW, failed to lodge its declaration. But the yacht is appealing and a penalty is yet to be decided.

Of the 102 yachts that started the race, 97 will finish after the retirement of Blunderbuss (Vic, broken boom), Imalizard (NSW, dismasted), Jazz Player (Vic, broken radio), Rockall (Germany, broken rudder) and Wots Next (NSW, broken rudder).

Late last night, 82 yachts had finished and Freyja, of NSW, is the last yacht, due tomorrow morning.