Thousands of onlookers cheered at Hobart’s Constitution Dock as the favourite came home in one day, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds for its sixth victory over the prestigious 628 nautical mile bluewater course.
Wild Oats XI also won every year from 2005 to 2008 and in 2010.
“It was close, we only just made it but it’s a great result for the whole team,” skipper Mark Richards told Channel Seven minutes after crossing the finish line.
“This boat is a great machine and we’re very proud of it. Getting the record is a big thing and it’s very satisfying.”
Ragamuffin-Loyal, which beat Wild Oats by just three minutes last year and is skippered by 85-year-old Syd Fischer, was still 50 nautical miles adrift in second when its arch-rival finished.
And its time could be affected by an international jury hearing due to meet later Friday after jumping the start in Sydney.
Lahana was running third, Black Jack fourth and Loki fifth. Jazz leads the handicap standings, which takes into account the dimensions of each boat in the fleet, ahead of Calm and Secret Men’s Business.
The previous record was one day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds, set in 2005, and Richards had his 100-foot yacht well ahead of that pace late Thursday as they powered down Tasmania’s east coast.
But a northeasterly tailwind gave way to a weaker westerly that dramatically slowed it down.
Wild Oats’ crew had all but given up on breaking the record after rounding Tasman Island in the middle of the night and it was touch and go as they sailed up Hobart’s Derwent River.
But the unfurling of a bigger headsail ultimately made the difference to tack home surrounded by a flotilla of smaller vessels.
“It was a very tricky night, the breeze died on us. It was very testing and we had to make a lot of sail changes, but it’s all part of the Sydney-Hobart,” said Richards.
“The crew have been together a long time and when the going gets tough they just get tougher.”
Wild Oats XI led the 76-vessel fleet from the starting gun in Sydney Harbour on Wednesday in a famously unforgiving race which takes crews across the notorious Bass Strait.
As well as dealing with the tough conditions, the boat hit an unknown object that damaged a daggerboard beneath the hull.
Catastrophic conditions claimed six lives and sank five yachts in 1998, and vessels are routinely unable to complete the race.
However, there have so far only been two retirements this year – Living Doll and Primitive Cool.
The 2013 event was marred by the controversial expulsion of supermaxi Wild Thing, the 2003 line honours winner, which was among the top three race favourites.
Officials banned it just three hours before the start, citing incomplete documentation of major modifications which extended the vessel to 100 feet, with skipper Grant Wharington continuing to protest Friday.
He claimed the man who banned his yacht, race director Tim Cox, did not know enough about boat-building and had “egg on his face”.
Cox rejected the criticism and told Wharington to “lay off the personal insults,” according to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.