Yachting Australia president Matt Allen is keeping everyone guessing over which of two boats he'll race in the quest for Sydney to Hobart overall honours.
The veteran yachtsman is the first in the 70-year history of the race to enter two boats - both named Ichi Ban - and wait on the weather before choosing which to use.
Allen said he'd delayed a decision and may wait until Thursday - just two days before the start - before making a final call on whether to skipper his 60-footer or his new 52-footer into the rough seas of the Bass Strait.
The former Cruising Yacht Club of Australia commodore faces tough competition for the overall handicap win from the likes of defending champion Wild Rose and American favourite Rambler 88.
"It's all about getting a return on investment," said Allen of his two-boat strategy.
"If you've got two boats, you may as well pick which one you're going to take towards the end."
Doubts over the weather beyond a rough first night caused Allen to put off settling on a boat on Wednesday morning.
"One of the issues with this year's race is that the weather past the front is still very uncertain," said Allen, who will appear in his 26th race and enjoyed overall victory as a crew member on Challenge II back in 1983.
"We were thinking that this morning we'd have a good read on it, (but) we don't."
Allen admitted there was a "70 per cent" chance he'd take the more sturdy Carkeek 60, which placed 63rd overall last year and eighth in line honours. In 2013, she finished eighth in both line honours and the handicap class.
However he could opt for his new TP-52, bought in July this year, that he has previously claimed as the fastest of her generation.
Wild Rose skipper Roger Hickman played down his hopes of becoming the first skipper to notch back-to-back overall victories in almost 50 years.
Not since Freya claimed a three-peat in 1963-65 has a boat achieved the feat.
"As far as our chances, it's a very long shot," Hickman said.
"With these magnificent super yachts and the bigger boats, the 88-footer Rambler and Ichi Ban, they are so fast. They're days ahead of us."
Rambler 88 tactician Brad Butterworth - a four-time America's Cup winner - also played down his boat's chances, saying he simply wanted to arrive in Hobart with the boat intact.
"It's the toughest ocean race in the world. With the forecast that we see, there could be breakages in some of the boats," he said.
"For us, we'll be trying to keep the boat in one piece but try and race it hard and keep in contact with the 100-footers and try and get ahead of the smaller boats behind us."
