Australian shipyard Palm Beach Motor Yachts has announced that Palm Beach XI, the former iconic, 30.5-metre McConaghy sailing yacht Wild Oats XI, has completed the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race following delivery. The race marked the yacht's return to competitive racing for the first time since 2022.
The yacht was acquired in June 2025 and underwent five months of extensive refit works in what the yard describes as a "rapid transformation". Palm Beach founder and CEO, Mark Richards, who skippered the yacht for the past 20 years (including in nine Rolex Sydney Hobart victories), led the works.
The rebuild set out to "redefine what's possible for a 20-year-old Supermaxi on the world stage", and was completed in collaboration with Juan K. Naval Architects, McConaghy Boats and North Sails. Works were completed in December, and the refitted yacht was officially rechristened Palm Beach XI at a 300-person ceremony held in Sydney, Australia.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race kicked off on 26 December under severe conditions, which forced 33 of the 128 starting yachts to retire. Palm Beach XI completed the 628-nautical-mile course to Hobart after more than two days at sea.
Palm Beach XI now features a "next-generation" appendage package, representing "the most significant transformation" in her two-decade career. Upgrades included a new, deeper keel fin and bulb to reduce drag; advanced upwind daggerboards for sharper pointing ability; and radical C-Foils to optimise lift and provide enhanced righting moment for reaching and downwind sailing angles.
The Sydney race provided the yard with the opportunity to assess the build's new C-foil concept. Despite encouraging results, the team decided to compete without the foils for this event.
“The Rolex Sydney Hobart Race is one of the toughest tests in our sport,” explained Richards. “In relentless conditions, our priority was getting to the finish line and understanding the boat structurally and we’re proud to have achieved that. Choosing not to race with the C-foils was a deliberate decision driven by the conditions and allowing us to focus on reliability and learning."
He continued: "This race marked chapter one of the program. With a strong foundation now confirmed, we’re ready to move into chapter two, building on this foundation through continued development, future campaigns and purposeful time at sea.”
At the rechristening, Richards highlighted how the works on Palm Beach XI were a "huge team effort": “You can only take on a project like this with an experienced and trusted team. Many of our team members have worked on this yacht on and off for the past 20 years. The last couple of months, they worked around the clock to make this dream a reality – it was great to see their passion and enthusiasm for Palm Beach XI. Really incredible!"
Following her race debut, the regatta winner will compete at the next three Rolex Sydney Hobart regattas as well as the Newport (Rhode Island) Bermuda Race, the Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii and the Hamilton Island Race Week in 2027.
The yard noted that it will continue refining Palm Beach XI’s appendage package and will be translating insights from the race to the yard's new motor yacht range – the flagship of which, the 27.6-metre Falcon, was launched in October 2025.
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