“It was certainly one of the great moments of my career,” Rod said following the victory.

“Losing last year’s race was hard pill to swallow, it just wasn’t meant to be, but to win this year in record time is hands down one of the best things I’ve done in sailing.”

The 100-foot-long Wild Oats XI did more than just atone for a close loss to Investec Loyal in the 2011 race, taking 17 minutes off its own record to finish in one day 18 hours 23 minutes and 12 seconds claiming its sixth line honours victory in the process.

Rod, who made his Sydney to Hobart debut in 1995, has been there for every one of them after being part of the inaugural Wild Oats crew in 2005.

The record-breaking run was the result of meticulous preparation according to Rod, with conditions allowing rather than facilitating the record time.

 “We were better prepared than we have ever been, which is essential in this sport,” Rod said.

“When things go bad it’s like a snowball it just grows bigger and bigger so if you haven’t got all the bases and whatifs covered you’re in big trouble. We got a great start and hit the line with good speed so we were very settled from the beginning. It wasn’t what you’d call a dream run but we had a great race strategy and we maintained consistent speed the whole race.”

Westerlies of 10-15 knots replaced the strong northerlies that had powered the boat to be hours ahead of its record pace on Thursday night but the crew picked up the forecast south-westerlies and increased its speed as it tacked up the Derwent River to the finish line on Friday morning.

Rod says the crew were more disappointed than jubilant on learning of pre-race rival Wild Thing’s disqualification just hours before the race for failing to lodge mandatory paperwork.

“I felt for them, I really did because I know the preparation that goes into this race and it was disappointing for us because when you race you want to beat the best competition,” Rod said.

“But you are taking people’s lives into your hands in this sport so safety has to be paramount concern. I was there in 98 when we lost some really good sailors, it was a very sad time and a reminder of how serious this sport can get.”

With a sixth line honours victory now in the bag the Forster High School alum, who is based with wife Amy and daughter McKenzie in California, plans to continue living the dream.

“I’ve got some really big things I want to take on in the next ten years as a professional sailor, including the Volvo around the world race so I’m far from finished and it’s a lot of hard work, but yeah I still do have to give myself a bit of a pinch now and then.”