In the best Aussie tradition of having the biggest, sharpest knife in the bush, the legendary machete that is Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats XI is going back under the knife for a massive refit before the 2015 Hobart. And when we say massive, we mean cut in half and rebuilt from the mast forward, with a huge DSS-style fin at the beam…and that’s only part of the job. Will the WOXI boys continue to stay just ahead of the new curves from VPLP, Verdier, and the Juank? Apparently, all it takes is money, hard work, money, great crews, money, skilled boatbuilders, and a little more money. Gotta do something will all that cash meant for an Aussie AC team, perhaps? (A team which, hilariously, continues to publish a website, hosted on the Americascup.com domain, that loads with a huge image of the Harbour with the words “2017 – Australia Gets Back In The Ring” as of a few minutes ago).
Check out the details over here, and WOXI’s Facebook is always good for something interesting.