Illawarra yachtsman Ty Oxley was sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Monday morning, getting a feel for the newly redesigned supermaxi, which he hopes will be the speed machine to take out this year's race to Hobart.
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After the event was cancelled for the second year in a row due to COVID concerns, Oxley and the team have long been plotting their next shot at the title.
Rebadged Law Connect, the yacht now features the longest bow sprit of any 100ft supermaxi in the world, in layman's terms the pole at the front of the vessel.
The extra space allows for a third sail on board, which if the conditions are right and all goes to plan, will make Law Connect uncatchable for line honours rivals Scallywag and Black Jack on Boxing Day.
"If there was one positive to come out of last year it was the opportunity to work on the design," Oxley told the Mercury from Sydney Harbour.
"It's allowed us to run a bigger sail and bigger gap between sails, which will hopefully be quite a bit of an advantage.
"It's still the same boat, but with the new name and a facelift.
"We're still in the early testing of it, but we figure the more time we can spend on the water beforehand the better we'll be equipped."
Law Connect will have an official launch in Sydney on Tuesday, marking just 26 days until the return of the iconic race.
Oxley will be able to eyeball his main rivals for the first time in 12 months on Friday, when they compete in the Cabbage Tree Island event, which serves as a qualifier for Hobart.
Last year the team, then known as InfoTrack, dominated the lead-up, including the Big Boat Challenge, only for the main event to be called off.
"We'd won every race before the Hobart and we were pretty confident in the boat," Oxley said.
"Now we've got the new technology and the new design, but if you don't keep moving with it you're standing still.
"We'll have a look at Black Jack and Scallywag on Friday, but the most important thing is you want to be peaking for Boxing Day.
"The boat is standing up to its potential at the moment."
After two years of COVID disappointment, Oxley is motivated to win his first line honours crown since being part of Anthony Bell's Perpetual Loyal crew in 2016.
He's also hopeful the Sydney to Hobart will be back to its full glory, with a large cast of smaller yachts competing.
"I think it will be back to its best," he said.
"There's supposed to be at least 70 entries for Cabbage Tree, so that's a good indication the race will have a big field."
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