eBay auction for maxi crew spots in the CYCA SOLAS Big Boat Challenge

Wild Oats XI claims her sixth line honours win in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge 2012 © Andrea Francolini

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has once again launched its eBay auction that provides an exclusive opportunity to bid for places onboard one of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race favourites, when they compete in the CYCA's SOLAS Big Boat Challenge – the spectacular maxi yacht race around Sydney Harbour on Tuesday 10 December.

Seven Rolex Sydney Hobart entrants have offered places onboard for the auction and they include: Wild Oats XI, Perpetual LOYAL, Wild Thing, Brindabella, Southern Excellence II and Giacomo, all providing two places available for auction, with Black Jack making one guest spot available. Other yachts to also offer places are Terra Firma and Ginger.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's annual invitation-only maxi yacht race, the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge, will once again be a day that showcases the power, speed and glory of these technologically advanced racing machines prior to the 2013 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

For the first time in many years, the race will feature some brand new boats from Australia and overseas, featuring the latest in technology in both the build and sails. Expect to see up to four modified and enhanced super maxis and some old regulars.

In a much anticipated event, this will be the first time Bob Oatley's super maxi Wild Oats XI will line up against Anthony Bell's new Perpetual LOYAL, the former Rambler, and the rivalry between the two will be fierce. However, the two will also have to deal with Grant Wharington's Wild Thing.

This will be the seventh year that the fleet will race to raise awareness and money for the CYCA's Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts, which have donated just on $900,000 to search and rescue organisations Australia-wide and provide assistance (financial and other) to immediate families of those lost at sea during Yachting Australia sanctioned races.

Bid today for your chance to sail on board one of these yachts!

Wild Oats XI

Wild Oats XI secured her sixth line honours victory under the guidance of Mark Richards in last year's Rolex Sydney Hobart, broke her own race record, which now stands at 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes 12 seconds and won the race overall. It was the second time the super maxi had achieved this historic treble and the only boat to do so twice in the race's history. As it does each year, Bob Oatley's super maxi has undergone further modifications that include having a radical, retractable, hydrofoil-type wing fitted in a bid to make her even faster when sailing downwind. Two places are on offer on one of Australia's most recognized super maxis.

Make a bid for the two places on Wild Oats XI

Perpetual LOYAL

Anthony Bell returns to the blue water classic with the former Rambler 100. Since acquiring the boat earlier this year, Bell has embarked on a mammoth project to re-build the yacht since her keel snapped off, causing her capsize in the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race, after taking line honours in numerous races. She was originally and aptly christened Speedboat – for good reason – and took line honours in her maiden outing, the Newport Bermuda Race.

Reputedly the fastest racing 100 footer in the world, buckle up for a white knuckle ride. The SOLAS Big Boat Challenge will be the first time Perpetual LOYAL and Wild Oats XI will sail against each other before the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Two places are on offer on this slick super maxi.

Make a bid for the two places on Perpetual LOYAL

Wild Thing

Two places on Grant Wharington's Wild Thing were also posted on eBay today. The Rolex Sydney Hobart 2003 line honours winner has been a process of evolution over the last ten years. Modifications were made to the yacht last year, which included extending her to 100ft and making improvements to her original hull shape. Earlier this year, Wharington secured a line honours win in the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race which she followed up by taking line honours in the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in July

Make a bid for the two places on Wild Thing

Brindabella

Australia's most famous maxi Brindabella, a former line honours winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and holder of the record for a conventionally ballasted boat (1d, 20h, 46m, 33s set in 1999). Designed by Scott Jutson, Brindabella still turns heads today with her sleek lines and elegant sail plan and still holds many Australian east coast race records including the Sydney Mooloolaba Yacht Race, Sydney Noumea Race, and the Sydney Wollongong Race.

Make a bid for the two places on Brindabella – the people's yacht

Southern Excellence II

Andrew Wenham purchased the former Ichi Ban in March this year and won line honours in the protracted Gosford Lord Howe Island race in a time of 63hrs, 45mins 22secs; one of the longest in the race's recent history after being marred by light and fluky winds. In similar conditions in this year's Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, Southern Excellence II finished fifth on line and fifth in IRC Division 0 and then took line honours in the Blue Water Pointscore's Bird Island Race in October. Wenham has upgraded a number of systems on the boat to improve her IRC rating and to suit his requirements.

Make a bid for the two places on Southern Excellence II

Giacomo

New Zealander Jim Delegat, Managing Director of Delegat Wine Estate (distributor of Oyster Bay wines), purchased the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race winner, Groupama earlier this year. Renamed Giacomo, she has a canting keel, dagger boards and the latest in rigging. Was built for fresh off the wind conditions and will be impossible to stop in the right conditions in the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Make a bid for the two places on Giacomo

Black Jack

One guest spot is available on Black Jack, the former 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race entrant Telefonica, which Spaniard Iker Martinez won the first three legs of the race with, but ultimately finished the VOR fourth overall. Peter Harburg shipped his new Black Jack to Australia earlier this year and ordered modifications to bring the yacht up to Australian standards. She made her Australian ocean racing debut in the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in July and finished third on line and in IRC Division 0 following a tight tussle with the top two, Wild Thing and Lahana.

Make a bid for one guest spot on Black Jack

Terra Firma

The name Terra Firma lives on again - Nicholas Bartels stepped up from his successful Sydney 47 to the Cookson 50 formerly known as Shogun in 2010. In the 2011 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, Terra Firma finished ninth overall, and third in IRC Division 1 and ORCi Division 1. With some talented sailors onboard and a strong crew, Terra Firma will be out to do well in this year's SOLAS Big Boat Challenge

Make a bid for two guest spots on Terra Firma

Ginger

This 60 foot Swan is a well-tuned ocean racer owned by Leslie Green. In 2011 Ginger took the line and IRC double win in a foggy Ocean Pointscore race to Port Hacking and is a regular CYCA competitor. She also won the Rolex Trophy Series Passage race in 2008.

Make a bid for the two places on Ginger

Bidding for all ten items will close on 6th December 2013. Terms and conditions apply, see the individual URL's for details.

The highly charged SOLAS Big Boat Challenge, is a big attraction to spectators both on and off the water, and starts at 12.30pm on Tuesday December 10. It takes the yachts on a tight 14 nautical mile course starting off Steele Point at Vaucluse, down the Harbour to Manly for two and a half laps. The yachts will pass many of Sydney's famous landmarks along the way, including Fort Denison, Mrs Macquarie's Chair and the Sydney Opera House, which provides the picturesque finish line.