Wild Thing skipper Grant Wharington is urging the Sydney to Hobart organisers to tighten up their race management skills after his yacht was a shock late exclusion from the race. Picture: GETTY IMAGES
WILD Thing skipper Grant Wharington has urged Sydney to Hobart organisers to heed lessons from the 2012 event, insisting that race management needs to be tightened in a number of areas.
Wharington still has his crew on standby for the right weather to make an assault on Wild Oats XI's record for the Sydney to Hobart course during the next few weeks after the shock late exclusion from the sport's glamour race.
His super maxi Wild Thing was ruled out less than three hours before the start because of paperwork issues related to the revamped boat's construction.
Wharington didn't want to comment much yesterday about whether he would consider taking any action over being prevented from racing.
"Nothing much happens between Christmas and the New Year other than sailing," Wharington said.
"We'll just look at our options over the next week or two and see where it leads us."
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia commodore Howard Piggott said there was nothing to be resolved with Wharington.
"We hope Wild Thing will come back next year. We'd like to have (Wharington) back in the race," Piggott said at yesterday's prize ceremony for the race in Hobart.
Wharington, in Hobart to watch his daughter compete in the national Optimist sailing championship, stressed that race organisers had a lot to review.
He remained upset that he wasn't notified of any documentation shortcomings at the final Boxing Day briefing and was also puzzled at the breakdown in procedure that meant Ragamuffin Loyal wasn't recalled after the super maxi clearly broke the start.
"It just seems like the race management has a lot of lessons there that they need to go and reflect on themselves, and I think the thing needs to be tightened up in a lot of areas," Wharington said.
"It's not just the area that affected us."
Piggott said examining the way boats were notified of a false start would be one of the topics at the annual post-race review.