Wild Oats XI and new rival supermaxi yacht Perpetual LOYAL face a keenly awaited first showdown on Tuesday as they prepare for the Sydney to Hobart race.
Wild Oats XI, the six-time line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart, has been in record-breaking form recently.
But great interest surrounds the fresh challenge from newcomer Perpetual LOYAL, a yacht with a huge reputation, which has undergone extensive modifications under new owner and skipper Anthony Bell since snapping its keel and capsizing in the 2011 Fastnet race off Britain.
They come up against each other in Tuesday's Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour.
While it's bound to capture plenty of attention, the clash is unlikely to provide much indication of their relative prospects in the Sydney to Hobart, which starts on Boxing Day.
The Big Boat Challenge is a 14-nautical-mile sprint around the harbour - a very different proposition to the 600-plus mile offshore slog of the Sydney to Hobart.
Wild Oats XI set a race record for the 118 nautical mile Port Hacking to Bird Island race last weekend, crossing the line in eight hours 51mins 41secs and then continuing in order to complete a 24-hour non-stop ocean passage, a requirement of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht.
It was an encouraging effort from the modified champion supermaxi, which only had her mast re-stepped two days before the race.
Perpetual LOYAL will field a crew of accomplished sailors plus sporting and media celebrities, with celebrated female sailor Jessica Watson the latest addition to the star-studded crew.
"We're really excited about the Big Boat and Rolex Sydney Hobart," Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said.
"(Perpetual) LOYAL is the most impressive and powerful boat around, so we'll have to sail a faultless race to beat them.
"They'll have to do the same. All the big boats have their strong points."
Another highly rated supermaxi lining up on Tuesday will be Wild Thing, which took Sydney to Hobart line honours in 2003 when she was called Skandia.
The boat, which was sensationally excluded from last year's Sydney to Hobart just a few hours before the start due to paperwork issues, has also undergone modifications.
She finished second across the line to Wild Oats XI last weekend.
"We're really looking forward to Big Boat and the Hobart, we just need to stay in touch with the other super maxis going upwind," said Wild Thing skipper Grant Wharington.
"Then if we get any downwind, we'll be in good shape."
The only frontline Sydney to Hobart line honours contenders not racing on Tuesday is Syd Fischer's supermaxi Ragamuffin 100.
Tuesday's fleet will also include 1997 Sydney to Hobart line honours winner Brindabella and several highly rated yachts in the 60- to 70-foot range.
