More than 300 guests gathered at the historic Woolwich Dock on Sydney Harbour to witness the christening of the newly modified Supermaxi Palm Beach XI, formerly known as Wild Oats XI. The christening of Palm Beach XI was done by venerable Australian yachtsman and longtime friend and Palm Beach Motor Yacht owner Colin O’Neil.
The event marked the culmination of a 165-day global transformation of the 20-year-old Supermaxi designed to return her back to the world stage of ocean racing starting with the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race taking place on 26th December. Palm Beach XI is close to getting ready to join the international fleet of 133 entries — the second-largest starting lineup this century for the 628 nautical mile race – to contend with 5 other World-Class 100-foot Supermaxi’s for the line honors trophy.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” said Richards. “I’m deeply grateful to the Oatley family for their amazing support and friendship over the past 26 years. Twenty years ago, we made Wild Oats XI a benchmark in global ocean racing. To now carry that legacy forward as Palm Beach XI—under new ownership and as a global brand ambassador for Palm Beach Motor Yachts—is both an honor and a responsibility I’m proud to lead.” Richards also emphasized the huge team effort: “You can only take on a project like this with an experienced and trusted team. Many of our team members have worked on this yacht on and off for the past 20 years. The last couple of months they worked around the clock to make this dream a reality – it was great to see their passion and enthusiasm for Palm Beach XI. Really incredible! Now we are very much looking forward to seeing Palm Beach XI competing and performing at the highest level.”
“It’s a full-circle moment,” said Richards. “I’m deeply grateful to the Oatley family for their amazing support and friendship over the past 26 years. Twenty years ago, we made Wild Oats XI a benchmark in global ocean racing. To now carry that legacy forward as Palm Beach XI—under new ownership and as a global brand ambassador for Palm Beach Motor Yachts—is both an honor and a responsibility I’m proud to lead.” Richards also emphasized the huge team effort: “You can only take on a project like this with an experienced and trusted team. Many of our team members have worked on this yacht on and off for the past 20 years. The last couple of months they worked around the clock to make this dream a reality – it was great to see their passion and enthusiasm for Palm Beach XI. Really incredible! Now we are very much looking forward to seeing Palm Beach XI competing and performing at the highest level.”
