Wild Oats XI, the winningest boat in the Sydney to Hobart race, reborn as Palm Beach XI
The winningest boat in the history of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in terms of line honors (first to finish) is the Australian super-maxi Wild Oats XI skippered by Mark Richards who has won an amazing nine times. This 100-foot (30.48 m) Reichel-Pugh designed race boat has recently been reborn as Palm Beach XI and undergone an extensive refit. Richards, founder of the luxury powerboat brand Palm Beach, and current CEO of the GB Marine Group—that owns the Grand Banks, Palm Beach Motor Yachts, and Eastbay Yachts brands—has taken over control and ownership of the racing program from the heirs of former owner Bob Oatley. Richards plans to race and win the 80th Rolex 2025 Sydney to Hobart race which starts on “Boxing Day,” December 26, 2025. Follow along on this epic race with this race tracker and see if Richards can add another Rolex watch to his remarkable nine previous line honor victories.
The late Bob Oatley and Mark Richards after a Sydney to Hobart win.
To prepare for the 2025 race, Palm Beach XI underwent a major refit that upgraded the 20-year-old yacht to modern standards and beyond. This amazing collaborative effort is led by Richards himself, drawing on his decades of ocean-racing experience and 40 years of innovative high-tech boat building. Richards brought in Juan Kouyoumdjian (Juan K Naval Architects), whose expertise in America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Racing has turned out many winning designs. McConaghy Boats, who originally built the boat and is one of the world’s top composite race-yacht specialists, was part of the transformation team. North Sails is supplying a state-of-the-art sail package. Palm Beach XI’s Yacht Manager Paul Magee his shore crew and sailing team have been preparing the racing yacht for an incredible comeback as she debuts in the coming weeks.
Speaking about the race boat transformation Richards explains, “Palm Beach XI is the ultimate team effort; we have worked collaboratively to bring this vision to life in a very short time frame. This project embodies everything Palm Beach Motor Yacht stands for—our relentless passion for innovation, powered by a team culture that thrives on discipline, precision, and shared purpose. Every lesson we learn here flows directly into our motor yacht range, ensuring our owners benefit from technology proven at the cutting edge of the sport and our industry.”
The Palm Beach XI retrofit includes one of the most high-tech appendage packages ever attempted on a racing yacht. The new configuration uses a new canting keel (replacing the original keel that also canted) combined with new C-foil technology and a daggerboard system meant to increase pointing while reducing drag. The new deeper keel fin and bulb are hydrodynamically designed to reduce drag while maximizing righting moment. This keel can be severely canted to provide maximum leverage for the massive sail area above decks. Wild Oats XI could carry up to around 2,000m² (22,000 sq ft) of sail and Palm Beach XI is purported to be able to carry more.
Palm Beach XI Hull Rendering with both C-foils deployed forward view
Palm Beach XI Hull Rendering with portside C-foil deployed and starboard retracted
Palm Beach XI Hull Rendering with portside C-foil deployed and starboard retracted
The new C-foils use a radical new design that create lift which minimizes drag and improves righting moment on both reaching and downwind sailing angles. The new advanced daggerboard system allows for higher pointing ability and reduced drag and leeway in all conditions. These amazing innovations are designed to give Palm Beach XI the utmost advantage in the Rolex Sydney Hobart race while also serving as a living technology test platform. What is learned from the racing technology will be utilized where applicable to improve performance in Palm Beach Motor Yachts’ luxury motor yachts.
“Our investment in Palm Beach XI underscores the strength of our company and the continued evolution of the Palm Beach Motor Yachts brand,” said Basil Chan, Chairman of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd. “It connects the world of elite ocean racing with our design and engineering leadership, reinforcing our global growth ambitions.”
If you know Mark Richards, his goal is to win and barring some type of calamity that occasionally happens in ocean racing I believe he will. But Richards is as driven a businessman as he is a racer. This isn’t a vanity project; he knows there are multiple benefits to the two-year global race campaign he is embarking on. Not only could the technological advances developed in the race boat have applications in the pleasure craft he builds, but racing at this level has tremendous marketing appeal. Boaters and other high net worth individuals worldwide will be exposed to Palm Beach XI competing, reinforcing the brand name and their dedication to perfection. There are also benefits to Palm Beach Yachts owners who will be granted special access to the yacht and its racing program. Special events around the races and the legacy and prestige that the racing builds will give owners a brand experience like no other current builder can deliver. Pairing a world-renowned racing program with an iconic luxury boating brand makes sense from a business standpoint and allows Richards to do the things he loves most, innovate, and design better boats, and compete on a global stage all while building the name and reputation of the company he founded Palm Beach Motor Yachts.
“This is our DNA and a strategic direction shaped with the board of this great company to build brand awareness, strengthen marketing, elevate the customer experience, and drive innovation,” said Richards. “I’m deeply grateful to the Oatley family for their amazing support and friendship over the past two and half decades, together we made Wild Oats XI a benchmark in global ocean racing. It’s an honor to carry that legacy forward under the Palm Beach Motor Yachts name. Whether it’s a 100-foot super-maxi or a Palm Beach Motor Yacht, our principles never change: maximize strength, minimize weight, and pursue performance without compromise. Running a race yacht is like running a business, build a cohesive team, focused on a goal, work together with discipline and precision.” [and win!]
I have known Mark Richards personally for many years and I am excited to be watching and rooting for him and Palm Beach XI as he takes on another incredible challenge. If you are not familiar with what is going on at Palm Beach and Grand Banks, I encourage you to watch the race and find out more. With Richards at the helm, these brands are really going places.
https://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com
https://www.palmbeachmotoryachts.com
