"Last year was amazing because there's no other place where you can see five 100-foot racing yachts in the same place, and normally you can only ever see them at the start of the race, but last year we saw them together at the end, which was just pretty incredible," he said. "It was an awesome race to be a part of, but a testament to how close everyone is becoming."

It is the first time in 25 years that the supermaxis have not faced off prior to the Sydney to Hobart, with this year's pre-race, the Big Boat Challenge, abandoned due to the smoke haze.

Comanche's skipper said the supermaxis' likely tight finish would also be due to better technology, with big leaps in sails for the Sydney to Hobart.

"You're going to be seeing more of some technology that's come out over the last two years," he said.

One of the biggest improvements is the way sails are rolled up, Cooney said. They are normally rolled up similar to a rolling blind, a process known as 'furling'.

"The previous style was to have a big thick cable down the luff [side] and it was quite rigid so you'd have this big, big heavy cable that was quite torsionally strong," he said. "These days they have developed technology where they've taken that rope away."

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As a result, the sail can be rolled up to take a more curved, natural shape. The change will allow each of the supermaxis' sails to be more powerful. It will also preserve the aerodynamic shape of the sail for longer.

Blackjack skipper Mark Bradford agreed with Cooney. He said despite the bookies' view, all five supermaxis had an equal shot at line honours.