Wild Oats XI gained a morale-boosting victory over their Sydney to Hobart rivals with a commanding performance in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour on Tuesday.

The supermaxi had won the Sydney to Hobart warm-up event seven times running before last year. Comanche went on to take line honours in the Bluewater Classic after Wild Oats XI incurred a penalty for an incident near Sydney Heads.

"All the boats are going faster than they ever have before," Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richardson said.

Line honours: Wild Oats XI wins the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Black Jack, which pipped Wild Oats XI to win last year's Big Boat Challenge, finished a close second just over a minute behind. After sitting in third place for most of the race, the Hong Kong-based Scallywag was pipped for a podium spot by local supermaxi InfoTrack, owned by legal software boss Christian Beck.