Map of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race route.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (sometimes referred to as the 'Bluewater Classic' in the Australian media) is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The CYCA manage the race in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles. The race is run in co-operation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1911x1730, 145 KB) Summary Map of the w:Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race route (marked in red). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1911x1730, 145 KB) Summary Map of the w:Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race route (marked in red). ... Inshore yacht racing on Sydney Harbour, Australia Yacht racing is the sport of competitive sailing. ... The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia(CYCA), established in 1944 is known as Australias premier yacht club, and is acknowledged as the leader of ocean racing in the country. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4. ... Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. ... Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. ... The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, is the largest yacht club in the Australian state of Tasmania, and is best known for its role as the finishing destination for the annuual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, is the largest yacht club in the Australian state of Tasmania, and is best known for its role as the finishing destination for the annuual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. ...

The race was initially planned to be a cruise by Peter Luke and some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to racing, however when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested it be made a race, the legendary event was born. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has grown over the decades, since the inaugural race in 1945, to become one of the pre-eminent offshore yacht races in the world and it now attracts maxi yachts from North America and Europe. The 2004 race marked the 60th running of the event. The current race record was set in 2005 by Wild Oats XI, which crossed the line in a time of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds.[1]. A cruising sailboat anchored in the San Blas Islands, in Panama. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... A maxi yacht, or simply maxi, is a large racing sailboat. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

Maxi yachts in Sydney Harbour near the start of the 2003 Sydney Hobart race.

Elapsed times for first across the line, from 1945-2005

The inaugural race in 1945 had nine starters. Rani was the winner, taking six days, 14 hours and 22 minutes. Race records for fastest time dropped rapidly. However, it took 21 years for the 1975 record by Kialoa from the USA to be broken by the German boat Morning Glory in 1996, and then only by 29 minutes. In 1999 Nokia sailed the course in one day, 19 hours, 48 minutes and two seconds, a record which stood until 2005 when Wild Oats XI won line and handicap honours in 1 day 18h 40m 10s. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 1322 KB)Taken and supplied by Brian Voon Yee Yap. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 1322 KB)Taken and supplied by Brian Voon Yee Yap. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (893x394, 109 KB) Summary Graph of Race Finishing time (line honours) against the Race year, to show the general decreasing trend of times. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (893x394, 109 KB) Summary Graph of Race Finishing time (line honours) against the Race year, to show the general decreasing trend of times. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

Rolex has been the naming rights sponsor of the race since 2002, and since then the race has been known as the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It will continue to have the naming rights until 2010. Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of mostly mechanical wristwatches and accessories renowned for their dependability, prestige, and cost (from a few thousand to more than one hundred thousand U.S. dollars). ...

Traditionally, crews of yachts celebrate on New Year's Eve at Constitution Dock in Hobart. The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. ... Constitution Dock Constitution Dock is the harbour-side dock area of Hobart, the capital city of the Australian state of Tasmania, on the Derwent River. ...

Bass Strait, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean immediately to its east, are renowned for their high winds and difficult seas. Even though the race is held in the Australian summer, "southerly buster" storms often make the Sydney-Hobart race cold, bumpy, and very challenging for the crew. It is typical for a considerable number of yachts to retire, often at Eden on the New South Wales south coast, the last sheltered harbour before the Bass Strait crossing. Map of Australia with Bass Strait marked in light blue Bass Strait (IPA: ) is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland (Victoria in particular). ... Eden (postcode 2551. ...

The 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was marred by tragedy when, during an exceptionally strong storm (which had similar strength winds to a lower-category hurricane), five boats sank and six people died. Of the 115 boats that started, only 44 made it to Hobart. As a result, the crew eligibility rules were tightened, requiring a higher minimum age and experience. G. Bruce Knecht wrote a book about this race called "The Proving Ground". (ISBN-10: 0316499552) A coronial enquiry into the race was critical of both the race management at the time and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. ^[1] This article is about weather phenomena. ... The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. ...

In 1999 the race record was broken by Nokia, a water-ballasted VO60 yacht. She sailed the course in 1 day, 19 hours, 48 minutes and 2 seconds. Brindabella reached Hobart just under one hour later (1 day, 20 hours, 46 minutes, 33 seconds) and Wild Thing was a close third (1 day, 21 hours, 13 minutes, 37 seconds). The previous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race record had been set by Morning Glory (2 days, 14 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds) in 1996.[2]

In 2004 only 59 yachts completed the course of the 116 who set out from Sydney. Storms hit the race. The super maxi Skandia capsized after losing her keel.^[2]

In 2005, Wild Oats became the first boat since Rani to win the "treble," taking Line Honours, winning the Corrected Handicap (IRC), and breaking the course record. (1d 18h 40m 10s, over 1hr off of Nokia's record.)

In 2006, 78 boats started the race, including entrants from the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, every Australian state and the Australian Capital Territory. The race started on schedule at 13:00 Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time[3]. Wild Oats XI, owned by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards, crossed the finish line at 21:52 on 28 December 2006 to take line honours with an elapsed time of 2 days, 8 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds. Wild Oats XI became the first yacht to win the race in consecutive years since 1964 and only the sixth yacht to achieve this since the race's inception. Love & War, owned by Peter Kurts and skippered by Lindsay May, won the race overall (IRC Handicap) in a corrected time of 3 days, 22 hours 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Love & War became only the second yacht to win the race three times (1974, 1978 and 2006). The yacht Freya won the race in three consecutive years between 1963 and 1965. Gillawa from the Australian Capital Territory, skippered by David Kent, was the sixty-ninth and last boat to complete the 2006 race, making it the third consecutive year that the yacht was last in the fleet. [4] Official Race Results - 2006 Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... In mainland Australia, the keeping of standard time is divided into three time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time EST/AEST (UTC+10), Australian Central Standard Time CST/ACST (UTC+9:30) and Australian Western Standard Time WST/AWST (UTC+8). ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ...

Holy Grail

With the smashing of the Sydney-Hobart Race Record in 1999 by Nokia, and a host of other super-fast boats, that completed the course in under 2 days for the first time - the Holy Grail of the Sydney-Hobart race, a completion of the course in a time under the 40hr mark became a possibility, rather than an improbability, for the first time. Many of the skippers competing in the Sydney-Hobart race in recent years have expressed a desire to be the first to record a time under the once thought of as impossible mark of 40hrs, and with the right conditions it becomes a tantalisingly close possibilty to strive for. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

Rules

The crew of 2005 winner Wild Oats.

Much public attention focusses on the race for "line honours" - the first boat across the finishing line, typically the newest and largest "maxi" in the fleet. There is also a handicap competition, a race for what is regarded as Australia's foremost offshore sailing prize the Tattersalls Cup. The exact rules for the handicap trophy have changed over the years. In general, each boat's time is adjusted on the expected speed of the boat based on its size and other characteristics. The International Offshore Rules were superseded by the International Measurement System (IMS), and the International Rule Club 2000 (IRC) [5] For 1991, 1992 and 1993 there were two overall winners, one under IMS rules and the other under IOR rules. In 2005, the overall handicap winner will be determined on IRC handicap results [6]. In theory, this should make for an even competition between yachts of all sizes, however in practice often only the newest and most advanced boats (regardless of size) can sail fast relative to their rating. In addition, in a race of the length of the Sydney-Hobart weather conditions after the maxi yachts have finished can often determine whether they will win on handicap - if the winds become more favourable after they finish, they will lose on handicap, if they become less favourable they will win. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1150x582, 253 KB) Summary Photo taken by Alex Wolfson on 28 December 2005. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1150x582, 253 KB) Summary Photo taken by Alex Wolfson on 28 December 2005. ... Inshore yacht racing on Sydney Harbour, Australia Yacht racing is the sport of competitive sailing. ... The International Offshore Rule (IOR) is a measurement rule for racing sailboats. ...

The race is conducted under the Racing Rules of Sailing determined and published by the International Sailing Federation. The Racing Rules of Sailing govern the conduct of yacht racing and dinghy racing. ... The International Sailing Federation is the world governing body for the sport of sailing, particularly yacht and dinghy racing. ...

For the 2005 race, the event organisers have removed certain restrictions on the boats. As successful sailing is based on a good power to weight ratio, larger sails are expected to help break race records.

The calm before the storm! Sydney to Hobart entrants moored up at Rushcutters Bay, Christmas day, 2004.

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 506 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 632 pixel, file size: 612 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 506 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 632 pixel, file size: 612 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

Yachts

The fleet comprises mostly sloops, that is yachts with a single mast on which is hoisted a fore-and-aft rigged mainsail and a single jib or genoa, plus extras such as a spinnaker. A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat A sloop (From Dutch sloep) in sailing, is a vessel with a fore-and-aft rig. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing rig consisting mainly of sails that are set along the line of the keel rather than perpendicular to it. ... A mainsail is the most important sail raised from the main (or only) mast of a sailing vessel. ... A typical jib on a small yacht A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremost mast of a sailing boat. ... A genoa (pronounced like the city, or as jenny) is a type of large headsail used on bermuda rigged craft, commonly the single-masted sloop and twin-masted boats such as yawl and ketch. ... In sailing, an extra is a sail that is not part of the working sail plan. ... It has been suggested that gennaker be merged into this article or section. ...

The race has encouraged innovation in yacht design. Between 1945 and 2005, the most successful yacht designer has been the New Zealand designer Bruce Farr, who has designed 15 overall winners. Bruce K. Farr (1949 - ) is a renowned designer of racing and cruising yachts. ...

Winners & Fleet Sizes

• Details of Previous Results

Notes: Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. ...

• * Denotes new race record time
• In the years 1990-1993 the winner of each of the IMS and IOR classes were decalred the join handicap winners.
• Kialoa II in 1971 is a different yacht than Kialoa III/Kialoa II which won in 1975 and 1977. The 1975 Kialoa III was modified and, oddly, renamed Kialoa II, which won line honours in 1977.
• Apollo in 1978 and 1985 were different yachts;
• New Zealand in 1980 and 1984 were different yachts;
• Condor of Bermuda (1982) and Condor (1983 and 1986) were different yachts;
• Brindabella in 1991 and 1997 were different yachts; and
• Nicorette in 2000 and 2004 were different yachts.

Records and Statistics

The start of the 2003 race in Sydney Harbour.

Wild Oats, the 2005 winner, moored in Hobart after the race.

• Inaugural Race Winner, 1945: Rani (line and handicap honours as well as the inaugural race record)
• Fastest Race: 1 day 18h 40m 10s by Wild Oats XI, 2005
• Smallest Fleet: 9 starters, 1945 (first race)
• Total fleet: 4,976 yachts (80.23 yachts per race)
• Fleet finishing statistics: Of 4,976 yachts who have started the race since 1945, a total of 4,066 (81.7%) have completed and 910 (18.3%) yachts have retired.
• Highest retirement %: 70% of the fleet in 1984. On average after 62 races, 81.7% of the fleet finishes annually.
• Smallest Yacht: 27ft (8.23m) Klinger, NSW, 1978
• Smallest Yacht Line Honours Winner: 35ft (10.67m) - Nocturne, NSW,1952 and Rani,NSW, 1945.
• Largest Fleet: 371 starters, 1994
• Largest Yachts Entered: 98ft Skandia (Vic, AUS, 2003-6), Zana/Konica Minolta (NZ, 2003-2005), Wild Oats XI (NSW, 2005/6), Alfa Romeo (NSW, Aus, 2005) and Maximus (NZ, 2006)
• Largest Yacht Line Honours Winner: 30m Skandia, Victoria Australia, 2003 and Wild Oats XI, NSW, Australia, 2005 and 2006
• Most Line Honours Victories: Morna/Kurrewa IV (Morna was later renamed Kurrewa IV), NSW/Vic, 7 victories
• Most Line Honours Victories by skipper: Frank and John Livingstone, Victoria, Australia, 4 victories
• Most Handicap Honours Victories: Freya, NSW, and Love & War, NSW, 3 victories each
• Most Handicap Honours Victories by skipper: Magnus and Trygve Halvorsen, NSW, Australia, 4 victories
• Oldest competitor: Maluka was built in 1932 and raced in 2006 aged 74. The 9.1 metre yacht was restored by Sean Langman
• Most races by skipper: 44 John Bennetto (dec), Tasmania, Aus and Lou Abrahams, Victoria, Australia
• Race treble: Race record, Line & Handicap Honours in the same year:
  • 1945, Rani, NSW
  • 2005, Wild Oats XI, NSW
• Double: Line & Handicap Honours in the same year:
  • 1945, Rani, NSW
  • 1972, American Eagle, USA
  • 1977, Kialoa II, USA
  • 1980, New Zealand, NZ
  • 1987, Sovereign, NSW
  • 2005, Wild Oats XI, NSW
• Closest Line Honours Race Finish: 7 seconds, 1982; Condor of Bermuda (Bermuda) defeated Apollo (NSW)
• Closest finish for Handicap Honurs: 1 minute and 43 seconds also in 1982 when Scallyway (NSW, Australia) defeated Audacity (NSW, Australia)
• Yachts winning Line Honours to be later disqualified: Wild Wave (1953), Nirvana (1983) and Rothmans (1990)
• Yachts to win Handicap Honurs to be later disqualified: Drake's Prayer (1985)
• Most Successful Yacht Designer: Bruce Farr (NZ), 15 overall winners
• First known female sailors: Jane Tate and Dagmar O’Brien (both in 1946). O'Brien's yacht (Connella) retired, thus Tate has the honour of being the first female to complete the event and a trophy is now named in her honour.
• First all-female crewed Yacht: Barbarian, 1975 (skipper: Vicki Wilma)
• Most Races for one Woman: 15 by Adrienne Cahalan (AUS); (navigator for 2002 winner Nicorette)
• Worst Disaster: 1998, 6 sailors died and 5 yachts sunk; 115 yachts started but only 43 finished.
• Sunken Yachts: Clywd (1993), Adjuster (1993), Winston Churchill (1998), VC Offshore Stand Aside (1998), Sword of Orion (1998), Miintinta (1998), Midnight Special (1998) and Ray White Koomooloo (2006).
• Yachtsmen to have lost their lives: Mike Bannister (Winston Churchill, 1998), Glyn Charles (Sword of Orion, 1998), Ray Crawford (Billabong, 1988), John Dean (Winston Churchill, 1998), Bruce Guy (Business Post Naiad, 1998), Jim Lawler (Winston Churchill, 1998), Wally Russell (Yahoo II, 1984), John Sarney (Inca, 1973), Phillip Skeggs (Business Post Naiad, 1998), Peter Taylor (BP Flying Colours, 1989) and Hugh (Barry) Vallance (Zilvergeest III, 1975)

Another Australian offshore race is the Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race run by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria. Known as the West Coaster, this race arrives in Hobart around the same time as the more famous Sydney-Hobart. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x536, 1112 KB)Taken and supplied by Brian Voon Yee Yap. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x536, 1112 KB)Taken and supplied by Brian Voon Yee Yap. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1122x774, 294 KB) Summary Photo taken by Alex Wolfson 28 December 2005 Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1122x774, 294 KB) Summary Photo taken by Alex Wolfson 28 December 2005 Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Commonly known as the Westcoaster, the Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race commences from Port Phillip and concludes in Hobart. ... The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria conducts Offshore Yacht races. ...

Women's involvement

Women first participated in the race in 1946. The first woman to take part was Jane Tate, whose boat Active was the only one to reach Hobart in 1946. Dagmar O'Brien, with boat Connella, also took part this year. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the first female skipper to complete the race. In 1975, the first all-women crew sailed, with boat Barbarian. Skipper can be: A person who has command of a boat or ship: see Skipper (boating). ...

In 2005, 24 women took part, including Adrienne Cahalan, who is famed for her around-the-world sailing, has been nominated several times for World Yachtswoman of the Year and was Australian Yachtswoman of the Year for 2004-05. In 2005 she was part of the crew for the winning Wild Oats. I Am ellen Cahalan. ...

In total, over a thousand women have taken part in the race.^[3]

References

1. ^ http://goaustralia.about.com/od/eventsandfestivals/a/sydhob1998.htm
2. ^ http://goaustralia.about.com/od/eventsandfestivals/a/sydhob2004.htm
3. ^ Heinrich, Karen. "Taking to the sea", Australian Women's Weekly, January 2006, pp. 230. 

• Ludeke, M. (2002) The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race: 1945 - 2001. Hobart: Ludeke Publishing.
• MotorSM
• Wilmap
• Analysing Sydney to Hobart yacht race winning times - University of Melbourne

The Australian Womens Weekly, published by Australian Consolidated Press (part of PBL), is a monthly womens magazine published in Australia and sold mainly in Australia and New Zealand. ... The University of Melbourne, is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. ...

External links

• Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Official site
• Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - NSW Maritime site
• Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - feature from Daily Telegraph