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Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards has pledged to win back the boat's line honours crown in next year's Sydney to Hobart after being forced to retire late on Saturday night.
A shattered Wild Oats XI crew were welcomed back by family and friends at Woolwich Dock on Sunday morning after a brutal storm shredded their mainsail midway through the race.
Richards, who led the supermaxi to an unprecedented eighth line honours title last year, was philosophical about having to pull out for the first time in 10 years.
"We had a failure and that's the way it is. Get on with life and start planning for next year," he said.
Sydney to Hobart hurt by heavy headwinds
US supermaxi Comanche has managed to repair a damaged rudder and is just six nautical miles behind fellow American raider Rambler 88 after a southerly buster took its toll on the Sydney to Hobart race fleet overnight.
Eight-time winner and defending champion Wild Oats XI is heading back to Sydney after retiring late on Saturday night with a torn mainsail.
Another potential line honours winner, the celebrity-laden supermaxi Perpetual Loyal, is also out with a broken rudder as a result of the devastating front.
Organisers labelled the conditions overnight "really nasty".
Ichi Ban, currently in sixth place, reported a 10-minute average wind reading of 47 knots at one point early Sunday morning, although that later decreased to 27 knots.
Comanche was initially going to quit the race after damaging her rudder.
"But they managed to undertake some repairs while they were out at sea and are still racing," a race media spokeswoman said on Sunday morning.
The 100-foot Comanche was beaten into Hobart a year ago by Wild Oats XI by just 55 minutes.
Early reports indicate Wild Oats XI's sail tore in half when the yacht was hit by a 40 knot squall that accompanied a southerly change off the NSW south coast.
Five boats had earlier retired on Saturday afternoon - with another five forced out later in the night.
Wild Oats and Perpetual Loyal were joined by CEX Dolce who quit with a broken mast; St Jude with a broken rudder and Koa with steering damage.
The yachts are all returning to Sydney except CEX Dolce which headed for Jervis Bay.
Syd Fischer's supermaxi Ragamuffin 100, currently in third place, will now be a hot contender for line honours along with Rambler 88 and Comanche.
Two Volvo 70 yachts are in fourth and fifth: Maserati and Black Jack are only six nautical miles apart in terms of distance to the finish.
The leaders are ahead of race-record pace set by Wild Oats in 2012 of one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds. That's even after the brutal headwinds experienced overnight.
Maserati is a dark horse - well out to sea she's hoping to avoid the treacherous southerly.
The 10 retirements leave 98 yachts at sea. The leaders are southeast of Cape Green near the NSW-Victorian border.
