The Oatley family’s canting-keeled Reichel-Pugh 66-footer belied its size and vintage in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart and is a firm line honours favourite in the 2018 IRC.

Sail Port Stephens program manager Paul Magee said is is exciting to see Wild Oats X in the 2018 regatta, which has already attracted its largest field of entries in its 11-year history.

“We’ve been watching this regatta grow for a number of years now,” he said. “We are really excited to be competing there this year, especially after a great race south to Hobart.”

Wild Oats X was built a year before the Oatley family commissioned the maxi yacht Wild Oats XI. Not to be outdone by its younger, bigger and faster brother, Wild Oats X has also enjoyed considerable racing success including line honours win in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race (2009, 2007 and 2005), first in the 2008 Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta IRCA, second in the 2004 Maxi Worlds, overall victory at Hamilton Island Race Week 2005, and the 2005 and 2006 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour races.

The 11th annual Sail Port Stephens regatta, incorporating the Commodores Cup, NSW IRC Championships, Australian Sports Boat Nationals, Super 12 NSW Titles and Port Stephens Trophy (Performance Cruising and Racing) will run between April 9 and 15.

Included in this year’s program is the Junior One-Sail Series and 16-Foot Skiff Keg Run.

Regatta patron Matt Allen is bringing his new gun to the next knife fight, itching to be ‘number one’ again aboard the Botin 52. With Sydney-Hobart and 2018 Australian Yachting Championship titles already in the bag, the NSW championship would give Allen the trifecta of ‘majors’.

Marcus Blackmore has entered his own Botin boat, Hooligan, which won the Sydney Harbour Regatta’s Open Class Division 1 with four bullets.

Fresh from a runner-up result in the Hobart race with the chartered Balance, Bob Steel is moving back to his MAT 1180 Quest and bringing a highly talented crew, while Darryl Hodgkinson will switch his Carkeek 40 Victoire to IRC mode after winning the Super 12 division at the recent Sydney Harbour Regatta.

In last year’s IRC division 2, Bob Cox’s DK46 Nine Dragons (Middle Harbour Yacht Club) led the scoresheet until the penultimate race when Gerry Hatton’s MAT 12.45 Bushranger (Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club) slipped into the lead.

Nine Dragons finished up top boat by the slimmest margin, a countback, after posting a final heart-stopping corrected time win by 11 seconds to Bushranger’s second. Cox will be hoping for a less stressful result this time around.

Race organisers are looking forward to welcoming the Sailors with disAbilities crew aboard Wot Eva to Sail Port Stephens for the first time. The TP52, skippered by David Pescud, will compete in the Performance Racing division to give the crew a taste of intensive inshore and short offshore racing.

Sail Port Stephens organisers have waived the entry fee to support the charity, while d’Albora Marinas are offering free berthing.

Wots Next, Charles Cupit’s Sydney 47 from the CYCA, is its closest rival for line honours.

In the strong Performance Cruising category, the lines between production cruiser and performance racer are blurring. A case in point is Rob Aldis’s Azuree 46 Kayimai, a twin-ruddered Rob Humphreys design that displays a blue-blooded pedigree once its 190 sqm asymmetric kite hits the masthead.

Jeanneau dealer Performance Boating Sales, long-time supporters of SPS, has announced it will be the maiden regatta for the award-winning Sun Odyssey 440 – the first in the country.

The 440 won European Yacht of the Year 2018 with innovations like an inclined side deck, and cathedral shrouds with retracted inboard shrouds to further clear the path forward.

The modified Mumm 30 Rumbo, owned by Port Stephens oyster farmers Guy and Clark Holbert, are mounting a defence for the NSW Titles in the Super 12 class. Rumbo received a wider transom, fuller bow sections and prodder as the Holberts aimed to recreate a mini TP52 on a budget

Last year’s victory came down to a broken wire on the Melges 32 Breezin, owned by Brad Sewell from southern Lake Macquarie. A solitary point is all that separated them after the breakage in the final race. Breezin will also be back.