Sailing: Wild Oats XI wins Sydney-Hobart start

SYDNEY (Reuters): Wild Oats XI won the race out of Sydney Harbour on Monday in the 67th Sydney-to-Hobart and started surfing down the east coast on a cyclone-generated swell and tailwind, but the 88-yacht fleet will be hit by a gale-force southerly headwind during the night.

Favourite maxis Wild Oats XI and Investec Loyal engaged in a tacking duel to the heads, with Australian supermaxi Wild Oats XI suffering a series of gear problems related to power outages and was forced at one stage to give way to its rival.