Experienced sailor Ty Oxley is confident the nor-easterly fast lane to Hobart will help eliminate the bad luck he's had on board Law Connect in recent years.
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It's been six years since Oxley last celebrated victory at Constitution Dock and he's had a number of near misses since.
Last year, the yacht was undetectable to rivals and officials for much of the trip along the Australian coast line after a technology systems failure which wiped out much of their navigational equipment.
With their tracking and weather modelling on the blink, Law Connect still held the lead during the race, but hit a flat spot, which allowed Black Jack to surge clear and win the prestigious Sydney to Hobart event.
Sent back to the drawing board, the Law Connect team, owned and skippered by Christian Beck, have spent much of the year problem solving, stripping out much of the 30-metre yacht's interior and installing state-of-the-art gear, including waterproof laptops.
And while Oxley expects the race to be one of the most fiercely contested in year, with Black Jack, Big Boat Challenge winner Andoo Comanche and perennial contender Wild Oats, he's hoping the predicted downwind race will work in their favour.
"We're very confident in the boat," he said.
"We've cut out a lot of the interior to make it more user friendly and some of the international guys we had with us before COVID are back this year.
"All the weather modelling has indicated a fast downwind race, but it's just about seeing what the strength of that will be and how we manage it.
"Fast sailing is always the most exciting, it can be pretty wet and wild and every day there has been more and more breeze predicated I am cheering."
A fleet of 109 yachts will set sail from Sydney Harbour from 1pm local time on Monday.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Saturday forecast predominantly nor'easter winds becoming fresh to strong on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That will assist the four supermaxis, with the line honours winner likely to finish on Wednesday morning, potentially close to a race-record time.
Conditions are set to be more varied and challenging for the rest of the fleet later.
A cold front is expected to bring a south-westerly change on Wednesday with winds tending southerly by Thursday morning.
Strong wind warnings are likely from late Tuesday with a potential gale wind warning on Wednesday.
Winds will tend from east to north easterly from Thursday as a ridge of high pressure develops.
As a race engineer who has made the trek 19 times, the Wollongong real estate agent works with Law Connect sailing masters Tony Mutter and Chris Nicholson as well as navigator Brad Kellett, a veteran of 28 Sydney to Hobart journeys.
Law Connect claimed the overall crown in the Australian Maxi Championships, but only after Comanche was disqualified in one of the four rounds and took the line honours in the other three races.
Comanche also claimed the Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour, reeling in Law Connect's early lead to win by 80 seconds, with Black Jack third.
It sets for a tantalising showdown.
"We've had some great battles quite a few times against Comanche," Oxley said. "It could be anyone's race among the four maxis, hopefully the luck is with us, because I know we're well prepared.
"There are always decisions to make for manoeuvring, to jibe or tack, but we've got a very experienced team working ahead on the weather patterns to give us every chance."
Oxley has also developed a first for the race, launching a live stream from on board Law Connect, which can be viewed online at lawconnect.com/au/sailing. with AAP
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
