Wild Oats X,” skippered by Palm Beach Motor Yachts Founder, CEO, and Chief Designer Mark Richards, wins the One Circular Quay Australian Maxi Championship!

The One Circular Quay Australian Maxi Championship (AMC) was sailed from 6 December through to 10 December with a combination of ocean racing, passage races and high paced racing on Sydney Harbour. Nine boats ranging from 63ft to 100ft, most warming up for the Rolex Sydney Hobart and at the pinnacle of their performance took part in the distinguished regatta.

In a high intensity pre-start off Point Piper, the majority of competitors undoubtedly ended up at the one end of the line which offered an advantage, in this case, close to the boat end and the many spectators. Piled up next to each other, URM Group was caught on the wrong side of the rules developing into a protest which resulted in their disqualification for breaking sailing Rule 14 at the start: “A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible.”

Wild Oats X, skippered by Mark Richards, went on to finish second in the sporty SOLAS Big Boat Challenge behind David Griffith AM’s Whisper on IRC, which also meant they took first place overall for the 2024 One Circular Quay Australian Maxi Championship.

Of the protest, Mark Richards said: "That's yachting. We've all experienced that in our careers. Today was Wild Oats X's day."