Wild Oats XI's would-be rivals for Sydney to Hobart line honours have backed the champion yacht to return to the fleet in 2024.
The most successful yacht in Sydney to Hobart history will be absent from the starting line on Boxing Day for only the second time since she was launched in 2005.
Owned by the wealthy Oatley family, Wild Oats missed the 2021 race out of respect to employees suffering amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year's absence has been less clear-cut.
Alive navigator Adrienne Cahalan, who sailed with Wild Oats in five of the supermaxi's nine line-honours wins, suggested the Oatleys were entitled to a break after years of dominance.
"They've campaigned for a long time," she told AAP.
"I don't know what their decisions are, but they won't be competing this year.
"I'm sure they'll be back again, just regrouping after a long, intense program."
Four 100ft supermaxi yachts will jostle for line honours in Wild Oats' absence: reigning line-honours champion Andoo Comanche, 2016 winner LawConnect, Hong Kong-based SHK Scallywag, and Wild Thing 100, upsized from 80-footer Stefan Racing this year.
Wild Oats' would-be rivals for line honours echoed Cahalan's prediction that the champion boat would be back in 2024.
"Every boat has their on years and off years. We'll very likely see them back next year," SHK Scallywag navigator Chris Wild told AAP.
LawConnect's crew boss Mitchell White, a veteran of 21 Sydney-Hobarts, admitted it was disappointing not to have the chance to face the legendary boat again.
"It's pretty sad, we've been at each other for over 10 years," he told AAP.
"But I hear they're coming back next year. They're just having a little break."
Runner-up in each of the past three Sydney-Hobarts, LawConnect is a chance for her first line-honours win since Christian Beck bought the boat in 2017.
"We can't wait to get our bridesmaid's dress off this year," White said.
"It's been on for a while.
"At the end of the day you persevere and you push, and if you have a good team around you, it will come.
"Hopefully this year's our year. We'll see what happens."
Scallywag, meanwhile, looms as something of an unknown quantity, having been out of the water for 18 months before returning in October.
The boat underwent significant work during the hiatus, most notably shedding 500kg of weight in her mast.
"The boat overall weighs about 28 tonnes,'' Wild said.
"To take that amount (500kg) out in 28 tonnes might not sound like a lot, but when it's in the mast as the boat leans over, the mast will start to pull the boat over with it.
"Taking 500kg out improves that stability and that balance."
