Awesome new American supermaxi Comanche will reveal a glimpse of its potential by racing against its Australian Sydney to Hobart rivals in the Big Boat Challenge.
Co-owned by American entrepreneur Jim Clark and his wife, Australian former supermodel Kristy Hinze-Clark, Comanche sailed for the first time on October 13.
The state-of-the-art yacht is considered a major threat, to Wild Oats XI, which will be gunning for a record eighth line-honours win.
Comanche will have some Australian crew aboard for the Sydney to Hobart, which is expected to have its biggest fleet for at least five years. More than 100 entries have been received for the 70th edition of the 628-nautical mile event.
It will be Comanche's first big offshore race. It is scheduled to contest the Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour on December 9.
Clark is excited about Comanche's potential to break speed records, though he said it wasn't designed for the Sydney to Hobart, which he called an unusual race.
"Especially in the past few years, as it's turned into a lighter air downwind race," Clark said.
"In those sorts of conditions, I'd say Comanche is unlikely to have any commanding advantage.
"In many other conditions, I think Comanche should do pretty well.
"However, the boat and crew will have had only a couple of weeks on the water before we ship it to Australia."
Comanche's skipper is Ken Read, a distinguished American yachtsman who has won world championships and contested the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.
"It's an amazing boat that very quickly earns your respect," Read said.
"Working out how we unleash the potential without breaking anything is going to be a steep learning curve for us all, and that transfers to the race as well."
Perpetual LOYAL, which finished second across the line in 2013, Syd Fischer's new Ragamuffin 100, and RIO 100, complete the formidable cast of five supermaxis contesting the 2014 race.
At the other end of the size scale, the 100th entry received was the 10.5m Luna Sea, a boat with a rich history in the event.
Competing as AFR Midnight Rambler, it was overall winner of the 1998 race, the most notorious in the event's history, in which six people died.
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