That followed a run of bad luck with Wild Oats XI being forced to retire from the race after sustaining damage in 2015 and 2016, the year owner Bob Oatley died. In light of that history, skipper Mark Richards had branded his crew’s victory on Friday as "redemption day".

"It’s fantastic, words can’t explain it right now," Richards said earlier on Friday.

Richards described the dispute as a storm in a teacup and a spokesman for Wild Oats XI added: "There is no issue at all to answer for. The AIS [tracker] was turned on for the entire race. It was tested. There have been no problems with it whatsoever."

Third-placed Comanche skipper Jim Cooney said he was unfussed by the tracker dispute because each yacht’s position, speed and direction were available from other geolocation devices on each boat.

"I don’t feel disadvantaged or unfairly treated because the information about the yachts’ performance is fairly readily available," Cooney said earlier on Friday.

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Wild Oats XI finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 7 minutes, 21 seconds, well behind last year’s record of 1 day, nine hours and 15 minutes set by Comanche when unusually strong winds propelled the fleet across Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania.

But that did not dampen the victor’s spirits. Richards followed tradition, drinking champagne and taking a dip in the Derwent River at his crew’s behest.

But he also made the non-traditional choice to drink some of his champagne from a shoe.
Asked about plans for next year’s 75th Sydney to Hobart, Richards said: "Don’t rip up your tickets."