Exeter’s Craig Malouf will be part of the crew tipped to win the race. 

He will be part of the Scallywag crew, which will be skippered by sailing veteran, David Witt. 

Witt and Malouf have been friends for years and this will be their ninth Sydney to Hobart race together. 

Scallywag, formerly the Ragamuffin 100 was sold to Malaysian businessman, Seng Huang Lee, in May after Syd Fischer retired from racing.

This will be the 23^rd Sydney to Hobart for Witt, who is yet to win a race. He has finished second 11 times ad said this year would be his best chance to win yet. 

“It’s really taken us to years to develop  the boat to where it is. The new owner, Seng Huang Lee put a lot of effort and a lot of money behind it so its as good as it can be.”

The boat arrived all the way from China after the Hong Kong to Hainan race. Witt skippered the boat to victory and also set a new record. 

The crew started a week of serious training at Sydney Harbour on December 5 to prepare for the Hobart race. 

“The main thing we need to focus on after this week is race preparation. For us the most important thing is the reliability of the boat,” he said. 

“Things are looking good, we have a big job list of things we’ve got to get done, but we have enough time to do it. This is the best prepared we have been for quite a few years.”

Both Witt and Malouf said the main competition would be Wild Oates. 

“They are a pretty serious threat. They have spent a lot of money making sure the boat is up top scratch, knowing that we are a big threat as well,” Witt said. Wild weather is often a major influence on the result of the race, but Witt said the boat was well prepared. “The boat is a good all-round boat, it’s quite new. We built it in 2014, and Oates built theirs in 2004. Although they’ve had a lot of modifications and a lot of changes since then, I still think we are in a better position.” Malouf said it was great to be sailing with one of his best mates again. 

“We’ve had a lot of fun together over the years and I think this year might be the one where we take the prize.”