WILD OATS XI
Photographer
Richard Bennett OAM
Date2011
Object number00055884
NamePhotograph
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 558 × 810 mm
Overall (image): 460 × 661 mm
Overall (image): 460 × 661 mm
Copyright© Richard Bennett OAM
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Richard Bennett OAM
DescriptionColour photograph printed in 2017 by photographer Richard Bennett OAM of record setter WILD OATS XI during the 2011 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.HistoryAs of the 2019-20 Sydney to Hobart, WILD OATS XI is the most successful yacht to have contested the race since it began in 1945. The supermaxi yacht first raced in 2005, and since then has won line honours a record nine times, recorded a race record time twice and won on corrected time on two occasions. The 2012, standing, race record set by WILD OATS XI is a time of one day, eighteen hours, twenty three minutes and twelve seconds. The technical and design features of WILD OATS XI include a canting keel, carbon fibre body, and streamlined bow and stern. These features present the yacht as a design leader in offshore yacht racing.
Richard Bennett OAM first photographed the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 1974 and has captured every race since. Bennett's speciality is low level aerial photography, his yacht photographs characterized by moody seas and the dramatic lines of Tasman landscapes. This style is a product of Bennett's experience as a mountaineer, his love of adventure, and passion for documenting rugged and remote parts of the Tasman Isle.
"I love everything about the Sydney to Hobart: the many moods of the sea, the sense of participation in a great adventure, the camaraderie, the tactics, sensing the proximity of the elements, the wildness … the gales, the different light and the dramatic coastline. It’s about putting all those elements together. My most compelling moments photographing the Sydney Hobart are when it is blowing hard. The harder it blows the happier I am…within reason. There is an organisational challenge in being in the right location to capture the peak of the action. (I am not there often enough, according to the yachties!)".
SignificanceThe Sydney to Hobart yacht race is an iconic event and Richard Bennett OAM has become synonymous with the history of Australia's premier blue water classic.
Bennett's most notable works feature landmark vessels across multiple decades; they represent significant moments in the history of the Sydney to Hobart. Each photograph is characteristic of Bennett's pictorial style, depicting yachts from unique aerial perspectives set against the distinctly rugged and majestic Tasmanian coastline.
Richard Bennett's approach has led many a sailor to remark "It's not really a Hobart until you've heard the sound of Richard's plane".
