abc sydney to hobart yacht race

Sydney to Hobart yacht race, day one reports from the bluewater classic as it happened

Sport Sydney to Hobart yacht race, day one reports from the bluewater classic as it happened

One of the three main contenders for Sydney to Hobart line honours, SHK Scallywag, hits early trouble with a sail problem, but it's a close race with LawConnect ahead as the fleet heads south entering night one. Look back on all the action.

Live updates

Race tracker.

By Andrew Mcgarry

Follow your favourite entry in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race tracker

Wrapping things up...

We've ticked past 6pm AEDT, and the latest positions remain the same.

LawConnect sits 13 nautical miles east of Kiama, leading by 2.9 nautical miles from Black Jack.

Scallywag is a further 0.9 nautical miles behind, with Stefan Racing in fourth, 7.9 nautical miles behind LawConnect.

However the third and fourth place boats are going faster than their rivals, with Scallywag at 14.9 knots and Stefan Racing at 15.1 knots, compared to 12.9 for LawConnect and 13.3 for Black Jack.

These are small margins, but it suggests Scallywag is back making the most of the wind. If the crew can keep that going for the rest of the evening, they might be a lot closer to the lead by the end of the night.  

Hmmm ... some weather approaching!

As we speak, LawConnect and the leading boats are just passing Kiama on the NSW Coast.

So far things have been relatively straightforward, aside from Scallywag's sail issues.

However ...

A quick scan of the BOM radar shows there is some heavy weather (well some heavy rain at least) heading the way of the fleet (see attached map):

Tracking individual boats

can you explain how on the tracker i can monitor a yacht i bet on ive got ichi ban -Scott

Scott, I have been having the odd-bit of trouble with the tracker this afternoon, trying to isolate particular boats has proved interesting.. 

However, if you go to the standings page on the website, and click the tab saying "Fully Crewed IRC", that should give you the updated placings on handicap, and the estimated finishing times.for whichever boat you want.

For example, Ichi Ban on the latest standings is 15th for line honours, 17.9 nautical miles behind LawConnect.

On IRC, Ichi Ban is 53rd - at this point the estimated race time is three days, 19 hours six minutes and 51 seconds, giving an arrival time of Dec 30 at 8:06.51am. On corrected time, (the right hand column), the overall time would be five days, seven hours, 55 minutes 27 seconds.

In comparison, the leader on IRC (for now) is LawConnect , estimated to finish at 6:51pm on Dec 28, for a time of two days, five hours, 51 minutes 46 seconds.

On corrected time, this gives LawConnect an overall time of four days, 10 hours, 38 minutes 54 seconds.

As the winds and circumstances change, so will the overall standings. But for now, Ichi Ban has a LOT of room to make up.   

So far, so good ...

At this point of the race, a quick update.

Officially we had 88 boats to start with - 71 eligible for line honours and 17 two-handed boats, allowed in the race for the first time.

As of the latest figures, all 88 are still in the race, which means no one has had a significant problem or damage to the boat. That's good to hear!

There was some talk with the forecasted southerly winds this afternoon and tonight that there might be some retirements in the fleet.

Who's to know? At this stage it may be that the winds aren't quite as strong as expected, but there is plenty of time for that to change. Also, for smaller boats particularly, it may be the accumulated wear and tear of hitting bigger waves that causes problems overnight.

We shall see.

First updated standings as of 4pm AEDT:

Here is the top 12 on line honours, with LawConnect having a DTG (distance to go) of 596.3 nautical miles, ahead of Black Jack , with a DTG of 597.8 nautical miles. So LawConnect as of 4pm AEDT had a lead of 1.5 nautical miles. That appears to have changed since, but this gives a snapshot of where the leading boats were 20-odd minutes ago:

The hours into the race, the leaders are a solid distance offshore, halfway between Helensburgh and Wollongong.

LawConnect still leads, and has extended the margin over Black Jack to 1.4 nautical miles. It's relatively middling going for the leaders, with LawConnect's speed at 13 knots, ahead of Black Jack's 12.5 knots.

Behind them, Scallywag is clear again in third, 2.6 nautical miles astern of LawConnect - it is moving at 12.3 knots but does not seem to be able to get too close to the leaders. There is no more word on the state of their sails and whether they have been able to get the main headsail going again.

Stefan Racing is in fourth, a further one nautical mile back from Scallywag.  

Coasters Retreat and the origins of the Sydney to Hobart

Michael Troy has written a great feature on the small community of Coasters Retreat, near Pittwater in Sydney.

In the 1940s Coasters was home to several sailors - some famous, some not so but all with interesting stories.

The home of Selwyn “Dicko” Dickinson was the meeting place for the sailors, and where the idea that turned into the Sydney to Hobart we know today was conceived.

This group broke free of the Royal Prince Alfred Club and began sailing at Broken Bay and elsewhere as a rebel club. This turned into the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and an original nine boats who “raced” to Hobart as a cruise, with the big prize on offer of a dozen bottles of beer and a jam tin mounted on a wooden block.

You can find out more about the sailors from Coasters Retreat in Michael Troy’s feature here.

Flashback to the start...

As it stands, there are 10 boats - including race leader LawConnect - within 4.5 nautical miles or thereabouts at the front of the race.

Always happy for a shoutout

Hi Andrew 🙂 -Natty

Hello Natty, glad to see you on the blog - hope you can stick around for a while, as the further we get down the coast this afternoon, the more likely it is that we will start to sort out the relative strengths of the leading contenders.

Let's hope that the expected "bash and crash" of stronger winds that are pushing against the fleet doesn't lead to too many problems on board boats.

As we've seen already with Scallywag, problems can occur even in relatively light winds, and when the windspeed gets turned up, things can go really wrong.

A quick snapshot from the tracker shows where things stand at this point. 

You can see Scallywag two back from the leader - Stefan Racing is just to its left, although the name isn't registering.

The orange boat icon on the left is the pace for the race record of Comanche in 2017.

We've got an early challenger from outside the supermaxis!

We have focused so far mostly on the three supermaxis - with good reason, since the last time a supermaxi did not win line honours was in 2004.

But as things stand, we have another boat in the mix.

Race leader LawConnect is travelling at 17.6 knots, followed 1.8 nautical miles back by Black Jack (11.8 knots).

While Scallywag is going a little faster at 12.6 knots, it has been overtaken for third place, at least for the moment.

Stefan Racing, the Botin 80 boat skippered by Grant 'Wharo" Wharington , is going nicely at 11.5 knots, a little over 1.8 nautical miles behind the leader, Stefan Racing is - to use a racing analogy - saving ground a little closer to the coast.

The question of how the leading boats will handle the winds this afternoon and evening will tell us a lot about who is in prime position to win the race.

The small orange sail you can see in the previous pic tweet from SHK Scallywag is the storm jib.

With far less surface area on the sail to work with, it means the boat cannot take full advantage of the wind available.

This is why things are going to be difficult ...

This colour-coded map shows the wind speed and wind direction in the waters off the NSW coast right now.

The arrows show that the wind is coming from the south directly north, so the fleet is heading into the teeth of what wind there is.

The green colour marks around 15 to 20 knots (27.8 to 37 kmh).

The orange colour shows winds that are between 25 and 30 knots (46.3 to 55.5kmh).

So the area the fleet is heading into is mostly orange, which means it will be more difficult to make headway into the wind.

This map shows why there will be not the slightest chance of a race record, and indeed the likelihood is that the leaders will not reach Hobart inside two days. 

The official standings will not kick in for another couple of hours, but at this stage is appears that LawConnect is a decent way in front, travelling at a tick over 14 knots.

Most of the boats are heading out to sea to get the best of the wind, rather than hugging the coast. The only entry that is keeping closer in is No Limit in about ninth spot right now.

Black Jack is moving at 13.3 knots, with Scallywag still suffering from the lack of its preferred sail, going at 11.3 knots.

The wind is not that strong at this point - we are expecting things to shift reasonably soon, with strong southeasterlies making life tough for everyone.

LawConnect’s all-time comeback to win Sydney-Hobart line honours in second-closest finish ever

LawConnect has claimed line honours in the 78th Sydney to Hobart with a stunning comeback, hunting down Andoo Comanche on the River Derwent to steal victory in one of the closest-ever finishes.

LawConnect – the perennial bridesmaid of the race – claimed a maiden victory by just 51 seconds, coming home in just over one day and 19 hours.

The two supermaxis had traded the lead in a back-and-forth battle throughout the trip down to Tasmania.

But it was Andoo Comanche who led from around midday Wednesday all the way to the River Derwent – only for the reigning champions’ lead to evaporate amid the notorious light winds on the home stretch.

LawConnect stalked down the leaders and took the lead at around 7.55am before briefly losing it again minutes later, with the two yachts separated by just metres as they desperately sought out any pocket of wind in the crawl to the finish line.

In the end, LawConnect came home in 8:03:58 — just 51 seconds before Comanche’s 8:04:49. It was the second-closest finish in race history behind 1982, when Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by a mere seven seconds.

LawConnect owner Christian Beck finished as runner-up for the past three years, but brilliantly navigated the final stage of the 628nm race to pip reigning champion and favourite Andoo Comanche.

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Andoo Comanche had also won in 2019 (as Comanche), 2017 (as LDV Comanche) and 2015 (as Comanche).

But this was a first-ever win for LawConnect under skipper Beck, and came against the odds after a sail was destroyed on the first night of the race.

The same boat had won as Perpetual Loyal under skipper Anthony Bell in 2016, the year before Beck bought her.

Beck had told Channel 7 an hour before the finish: “We’re sort of happy at the moment because Comanche looks very slow up there … we’re in with a good chance still.

“The Derwent is notorious for having these dead spots you get stuck in.”

He added: “You can watch where they go, and if they go slow, we go somewhere else.

“We’ve come second three times in a row, so we really want to win.”

But there could be a potential protest, with a spectator craft appearing to impede Andoo Comanche in the final seconds of the race.

The catamaran cut in front of Andoo Comanche as it prepared for its final jibe.

The ABC reports that eyewitnesses heard Andoo Comanche sailors yelling at the catamaran to get out of the way.

No protest has yet been lodged, and vision appears to show Andoo Comanche marginally behind her rival at the time.

Meanwhile, URM Group, Alive, and Moneypenny are battling for third place, but are still some hours from the finish.

Many of the smaller boats are not likely to finish for another day or two.

Follow live updates below and check out the live tracker here .

6AM THURSDAY — OVERNIGHT UPDATE

There haven’t been any reports of more retirements from the second night of the race with a thrilling finish still looming between Andoo Comanche and LawConnect.

The number of retirements from this year’s race sits at 11 following carnage across the first day-and-a-half.

Andoo Comanche narrowly led over LawConnect as the two yachts went past Port Arthur.

Meanwhile, LawConnect’s Tony Mutter described the drama on the first night when his yacht lost a main sail in the wild weather.

“The first day went okay through the daylight hours, and when nighttime came all hell broke loose because there was plenty on,” he said.

10:20PM WEDNESDAY - BIG FINISH LOOMS... AND CHAOS BEHIND

Either Andoo Comanche or LawConnect will claim line honours in the Sydney to Hobart on Thursday morning, and they’ve avoided the worst of the weather which is about to hit the rest of the race.

As of 10:20pm AEDT on Wednesday night Andoo Comanche was 108.7 nautical miles from glory, holding a steady lead of 6-7nm to LawConnect, with URM Group third but a whopping 91.4nm from the leader.

The problems are with the rest of the fleet, with only a handful of boats having actually cleared Bass Strait so far.

“There could easily be 30 retirements by tomorrow night,’’ meteorologist Roger Badham told News Corp late on Wednesday .

“There’s far worse to come for them. It’s not a nice place to be, Bass Strait tomorrow (Thursday). It just gets increasingly bad all day.’’

12PM WEDNESDAY - MAN OVERBOARD AS RETIREMENTS MOUNT

Currawong has been forced to retire from the race — becoming its sixth casualty — while one of the retirees has opened up about a scary ‘man overboard’ incident.

The Daily Telegraph reports that it’s still unknown why Currawong, the smallest yacht in the fleet, was on the way back to Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Shane Connelly from Rum Rebellion, which was one of the first retirements, spoke about the “burst of wind” that ruined their race on Boxing Day.

Connelly was briefly unclipped and was thrown from the boat, which was knocked on its side by the burst.

He was reportedly sent about two metres from the boat but was able to swim back before retiring.

“We are both well and the main thing is our systems and drills all worked well,’’ he said.

6.15AM WEDNESDAY - OVERNIGHT RETIREMENTS

Two yachts retired on the first night of the Sydney to Hobart with Sticky and Maritimo 52 pulling out.

It was a night led by Andoo Comanche and LawConnect with the frontrunners making it through fast overnight conditions unscathed.

Andoo Comanche was slightly ahead of LawConnect as they approached the Bass Strait.

Meanwhile, Sticky was forced to pull out with electrical damage, while Maritimo 52 had damage to rigging.

They join Scallywag, Rum Rebellion and Arcadia as the race’s retirements.

8:30PM TUESDAY - EARLY LEADER OUT IN DISASTER

Scallywag is out of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race after the bow sprit broke while the early leader was in a three-way fight for glory with Andoo Comanche and LawConnect.

News Corp reported skipper David Witt had declared their race over in what was to be their final chance at line honours.

The yacht was involved in the early drama when it performed two 360 penalty turns after an altercation with Andoo Comanche.

Arcadia (torn mainsail) and Rum Rebellion are also out of the race.

At the time of the incident Scallywag was within a couple of nautical miles of the leaders.

At 8:30pm AEDT it was Andoo Comanche travelling at 27.3 knots sitting 498.7nm away from the finish, seven nautical miles ahead of LawConnect - and just five behind LDV Comanche’s 2017 race record.

5:30PM TUESDAY - WEATHER FEARS AS LEADERS PULL AWAY

There are hopes intense weather will be avoided as leader Andoo Comanche, LawConnect and Scallywag made it a race in three at the front.

With the top boats hitting over 25 knots winds have clearly picked up.

The Bureau of Meteorology, whose representatives briefed the competitors ahead of the race, said there was a high degree of uncertainty for the forecasts over coming days.

“A trough and low pressure system over eastern Australia is slowly moving to the southeast and will reach the Tasman Sea later today or tomorrow,” a bureau spokesperson said.

“Uncertainty remains about its exact placement. Weather, wind and wave forecasts will depend on the location of this system.”

At the start of the race, competitors were set for light easterly winds, the bureau said, with the chance of a shower or thunderstorm.

“Thunderstorm potential increases during the afternoon along the NSW coast and over Sydney – with very erratic winds, hail, lightning and heavy rain reducing visibility possible,” the bureau said.

“Strong wind warnings are likely during the race, and there is a slight risk of local gale-force winds over the Bass Strait on Tuesday night.”

2PM TUESDAY - DRAMATIC START INCLUDING PROTEST

LawConnect, the Big Boat Challenge winners, took the early honours to lead early from Teasing Machine, Andoo Comanche and Wild Thing after a heavy downpour in Sydney Harbour cleared for the 1pm starter’s cannon.

LawConnect then had trouble putting up its big sail forcing it to jibe away from the lead handing the ascendancy to Andoo Comanche, who is defending line honours.

The lead swapped again shortly after but not before an explosive moment between Scallywag and Andoo Comanche.

Dramatic vision showed the two boats coming within a few feet of each other with the latter claiming their rival tacked too late, prompting Andoo Comanche to throw a protest flag.

ABC reported ‘colourful language’ was exchanged between the two boats.

Andoo Comanche Sailing Master Iain Murray was not impressed with the incident when asked about it on Seven’s coverage.

“It’s a classic port-and-starboard (incident). That’s too close (from Scallywag),” he said.

“You can’t do that with 100-footers. We’ll see.”

The controversy allowed Scallywag to sail clear into first place and be first out of the Heads, ahead of Andoo Comanche in second and LawConnect in third.

Earlier the Bureau of Meteorology predicted that potentially dangerous weather could mar this year’s Sydney to Hobart race, which gets underway on Boxing Day.

Rain, strong winds, low visibility and even hail is expected to hit parts of the course, including the Bass Strait crossing, due to a rain-bearing low pressure system impacting the southeast.

Competitors have been advised to prepare for changing conditions throughout the event, with plenty of upwind sailing and winds coming from different directions.

The fleet left the dock at the CYCA well ahead of the 1pm race start with sailors nervous for what lay ahead.

“You’d think after so many races you wouldn’t be nervous but you are,’’ Alive navigator Adrienne Cahalan said.,

“This forecast is a tough one. It will be like a chess game.’’

During Sunday’s briefing, a race official warned participants that they “strongly recommended to take your sea sick tablets in your grab bag’’.

HK Scallywag skipper David Witt declared: “Pack another set of thermal gear. It’ll be cold.”

The 78th edition of the 1163km race, one of Australia’s most famous sporting events, began the day with a fleet of 103.

The course record was set by LDV Comanche in 2017, completing the race in 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds. Last year’s winners Comanche, who is tipped as one of the favourite this year’s race finished in one day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds, the second-fastest time for any Sydney to Hobart victors.

Scallywag had been the early leader and was in a fight with Andoo Comanche and LawConnect before it was forced to abandon its campaign.

Two more vessels were forced to retire in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Sticky and Maritimo 52 pulling out.

Sticky was forced to pull out with electrical damage, while Maritimo 52 had damage to rigging.

As first reported by News Corp , Arcadia on Tuesday returned to Sydney with a torn mainsail and Rum Rebellion also turned back due to an unspecified reason.

Reigning champions Andoo Comanche and LawConnect are continuing to battle for line honours as they head towards Bass Straight.

Tuesday’s retirement was a gut-punch for the Scallywag crew which had already declared the 2023 Sydney to Hobart would be its last.

News Corp reported skipper David Witt and his crew were “devastated”. The vessel has returned safely back to Sydney.

The team earlier confirmed their sad news via its social media channels.

The five retirements mean there are 98 entries remaining of the 103-yacht fleet that sell sail from Sydney.

Scallywag was also involved in early drama when rival Andoo Comanche flew a protest flag alleging SHK Scallywag had tacked too close as the pair exited Sydney Harbour.

Scallywag subsequently performed a 720 penalty turn to exonerate the vessel from facing a potential disqualification.

The race tracks the eastern coast of Australia southward from Sydney, crossing the Bass Strait, before continuing along the eastern coast of Tasmania and finally reaching Hobart.

Widely considered one of the most challenging yacht races in the world, teams competing in this year’s event — the 78th edition — also risk facing thunderstorms, hail and gale-force winds through the race.

With the Bass Strait crossing often the hardest part of the race, teams can expect a larger southwest swell and strong winds.

“This year there is easterly winds and easterly swell forecast, as well as thunderstorms, which will make conditions challenging on Tuesday and Wednesday. These conditions are forecast to ease from later Wednesday,” the bureau said.

Some 113 vessels will be competing in this year’s event.

The record for the race was set in 2017 by LDV Comanche, a 100ft maxi yacht, which completed the event in just over 33 hours.

Sydney to Hobart yacht race: How two days of sailing came down to just 51 seconds

T he skipper of the line honours-winning yacht in this year's Sydney to Hobart race says the victory is all the more remarkable because his boat, LawConnect, is a "shitbox" compared to second-place getter and race favourite Andoo Comanche.

"I know it looks good on TV but if you go up close to that boat, it's rough as anything and Comanche is a beautiful boat, it's better in every way, four tonnes lighter etc.," Christian Beck said.

"Shitbox" or not, LawConnect overtook Andoo Comanche in the River Derwent in the final moments of the 2023 race to take out its first line honours in a sensational daylight finish, just 51 seconds ahead of its rival.

"The lead changed several times, they took the lead pretty close to the line, we thought there's no way we can get it back," Beck said.

"There were guys [on board] that couldn't watch, it was very nerve-racking."

In a race that took the two leaders almost two days to finish, the turning point began just a couple of nautical miles from the finish line.

As Andoo Comanche tried to build speed off the Hobart suburb of Sandy Bay and seemed to stall in very little wind, Law Connect made its move.

'"They seem to be accelerating out of the jibes a lot quicker than Andoo Comanche, so I don't think Andoo have a lot of options here, I think they're going to get rolled … really aggressive moves by LawConnect," said Lisa Darmanin, a commentator for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. 

But, not long after Andoo Comanche snatched it back again.

Then, in the second-closest finish in race history, LawConnect came back about 100 metres from the finish line. 

After being runner-up three times in a row, the sweetest moment arrived for Christian Beck as LawConnect crossed the finish line in a time of 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes and 58 seconds.

"I can't believe that result. Honestly it's a dream come true," he said.

How did they pull it off?

So just how did the "underdog" manage to snatch the win away from Andoo Comanche after it held the lead comfortably while rounding the Tasman Peninsula and entering the River Derwent?

As we've heard, a lack of wind was a big factor.

"Our boat is big and wide and heavy and it's fast offshore but it is terribly slow when it is bumpy and no wind," the disappointed skipper of Andoo Comanche, John Winning said. 

"[As the finish line neared] we sent a guy up the rig and he said 'There's no wind at the finish, zero wind at the finish.'" 

But sailors are used to dealing with changes in wind so strategy was obviously a major factor at play too.

As well as the "aggressive jibing" from LawConnect, the winners were focused on learning from Andoo's "mistakes".

"Broadly, the strategy is to watch them and if they get into a bad spot, we avoid that bad spot," Beck said.

Spectator craft another factor

Then there were all the spectator boats to contend with.

In the final moments, a catamaran passed closely to Andoo Comanche and the crew was seen yelling and gesturing.

"We had all the spectator boats and we're trying to clear them out and they were like 'You've won', and we were like 'No! We have not won yet. Stop making waves everything is going to make a difference,'" Winning said.

Tasmania Police said action would be taken against a 57-year-old man for "allegedly breaching" marine and safety regulations.

"The man was skippering a private vessel when it reportedly encroached into the exclusion zone set by Marine and Safety Tasmania," it said in a statement.

The offence carries a fine of up to $3,900.

Winning said he didn't blame spectators for the result.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, I wish there were 500 of them," he said.

"It's even, everyone gets the same thing if they were ahead of us they would have had the wash but unfortunately we got the wash.

"Makes a little difference but that didn't cost us the race, we cost us the race."

And as the bubbly flows for the LawConnect crew, Beck is joking about now being able to offload the "shitbox".

"It's probably a good afternoon to sell it, the afternoon it beats Comanche, probably its highlight of its career, I'm sure."

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At the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Women Are Making Their Mark

The event is attracting more female skippers than in previous years, and many own the boats.

By David Schmidt

The skippers competing in the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race dream of winning a top trophy in this challenging offshore race. This year, 10 of them will be women.

While a female-skippered team has not won the Tattersall Cup, which is awarded to the race’s overall winner, more women have been competing in the race as skippers the last few years. It reflects the expanding ranks in sailing of experienced women, the creation of the race’s two-handed class and an uptick in the number of female boat owners.

Women have been participating in the Sydney Hobart race since 1946, with Jane Tate aboard the Active and Dagmar O’Brien on the Connella. The first all-women’s team, skippered by Vicki Willman, raced in 1975 aboard Barbarian, a 38-foot yacht.

This year, 10 women plan to compete as skippers and co-skippers. This follows an upward trend: nine women raced in 2022 as skippers and co-skippers, and seven competed in 2021. In 2019, this number was six, while three competed in the 2017 and 2018 events.

“It is a changed world for the better,” said Adrienne Cahalan , a two-time Tattersall Cup-winning navigator. She plans to start her 31st race — a record for women — as navigator aboard the 66-foot yacht Alive this year.

“Women are accepted as equal players and leaders,” Cahalan said of the race, noting that women are underrepresented in the Sydney Hobart only among the professional and big-boat crews.

The race, which starts on Tuesday, began in 1945 and is a serious affair. Six sailors died and five yachts sank in the 1998 event. Veterans call it one of the world’s greatest, and hardest , offshore races.

The 628-nautical-mile course begins in Sydney Harbor . After exiting protected waters, teams turn south-southwest and race down the New South Wales coastline, before crossing Bass Strait. This shallow-water swath separates Australia from Tasmania and can sometimes create boat-breaking waves.

Then, navigators approach Tasman Island before the boats make the final 40-mile push across Storm Bay and up the River Derwent to Hobart.

For women, a big part of their overall increase as skippers, sailors said, was because of an inclusive and welcoming community that helped create opportunities.

“There’s a women’s sailing network in Sydney where there’s a lot of engagement from females,” said Lt. Tori Costello, who plans to co-skipper the Royal Australian Navy’s 40-foot Navy One this year. “There’s been so many more females just being involved, being given opportunities to get out there and race.”

Sailors said this change was helped by the creation of women’s sailing events, including the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta and the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series. They also cite SheSails, an Australian organization that encourages female participation in sailing, and several active women’s-sailing Facebook groups and clubs, as contributing factors.

Internationally, they point to the Magenta Project, which works to create better equity and inclusion within sailing, as another important element.

“Just about every sailing club I know of has a women’s group actively educating and providing opportunities for women” said Kathy Veel, the owner and a skipper of the 30-foot Currawong and a three-time race veteran. “There are now many very skilled, experienced yachtswomen who seek the challenge of being in charge.”

Another catalyst, sailors say, was the creation of the race’s two-handed class, which debuted in 2021. While most boats racing to Hobart have a full crew, two-handed teams race with just two people.

“Even if you don’t own the boat, the second person in most cases is a co-skipper,” said Wendy Tuck, the first woman to win an around-the-world race as skipper and a two-time two-handed class veteran. “It is a great opportunity.”

While two-handed sailing doubles the number of skipper roles, it requires, and breeds, a high level of competency and trust.

“Two-handed racing is a great format for fast-tracking skills in all aspects of sailing and seamanship,” Veel said.

After all, one skipper often sleeps while the other stands watch.

Many yachts that compete in the two-handed class are about 30 to 40 feet long. This matters, as their smaller sails generate less load than the bigger yachts.

“The smaller size of most two-handed boats makes them very manageable for female sailors,” Bridget Canham said. In 2022, she and Veel became the first all-women’s two-handed team to complete the race; they plan to compete together again this year.

Annika Thomson, skipper and an owner of the 52-foot Ocean Crusaders J-Bird, said that it was not as daunting to race two-handed aboard the smaller boats. She would know: In 2022, Thomson and her husband, Ian, raced their 52-footer two-handed to Hobart.

She was skipper.

“It’s not recommended,” she said as a joke, of racing a big, powerful boat double-handed to Hobart. “We did it, now we forgot all about it.”

This year, Thomson plans to skipper her boat with a crew of 11, including her husband, who will navigate.

While professionally-run yachts often hire professional skippers, many amateur teams are led by owner-skippers.

“Sometimes to take on a leadership role a person needs to create their own opportunities,” Cahalan said. “For example, by buying or chartering your own boat and putting your own team together.”

She isn’t alone in this thinking: Seven of the nine female-led boats are racing with full crews.

“My thought is always, and always has been, if I want to skipper a yacht, I probably need to own it,” Thomson said. “The more women that own yachts, the more women who are encouraged to buy their own yachts.”

Case in point: Of the nine female-led yachts, seven are owned or co-owned by women. These include Thomson’s 52-footer, Hilary Arthure’s 35-foot Wyuna, and Jiang Lin’s 34-foot Min River.

There’s more than pride in vessel ownership at stake. The Sydney Hobart race can award dozens of trophies. Of these, three are specifically reserved for women

For some skippers, these aren’t enough.

“While these trophies are great in that they acknowledge the women who were pioneers and role models in the sport, the prize women really want to win now is the Tattersall Cup,” Veel said.

“I think it’s much more likely a female two-handed boat could win a division,” she said, pointing to the costs and complexities of campaigning a competitive yacht. “But I don’t want to rule anything out.”

Thomson was more optimistic. “It would be really cool if someone took it up this year,” she said, referring to the Tattersall Cup.

Still, she was realistic.

“How long is a piece of string?” she asked, using an Australian phrase meaning that something is only finished when it’s finished.

Trophies aside, sailors said the real rewards of skippering a yacht in this race were camaraderie, teamwork and the chance to lead a team through a demanding test.

Half of the race is “not the best times, and you’re questioning why you’re doing it,” said Costello of the often-rough conditions. “It comes back down to those moments where you’re wide-eyed and it’s a bit crazy out there, and everyone has that knowing look like, ‘OK, we’re going to get through this.’”

And, with more women taking on this leadership challenge, sailors said the race’s future had never looked more inclusive.

“Women are a big part of the population, so we aren’t going anywhere,” said Tuck, who plans to start her 16th race this year as a watch captain aboard Disko Trooper, a 32-footer. “Well, yes,” she corrected, “we are going to Hobart.”

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race | Entries Open

• 14 Jun, 2024 02:15:00 PM

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is pleased to invite eligible boats to enter 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The 79 th   edition of the historic 628-nautical mile blue water classic will start on Sydney Harbour at 1300 hrs AEDT on Thursday 26 December 2024. The 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Notice of Race (NoR) includes a few significant changes to the previous NoR. Most notably, to promote crew diversity and encourage more female and youth participation, IRC Rule 22.4 Crew Number/Weight will allow the addition of one additional crew to a boat's IRC crew number should the boat have any of the following on board for the race: two female crew, two youth (under 23 years old) crew, one youth and one female. This will only be applied once.  The 2023 edition saw 103 starters and 85 finishers in Hobart, including a highly-contested fight for Line Honours.

The maxi LawConnect won the John H. Illingworth Challenge Cup for Line Honours after beating defending champion Andoo Comanche by 51 seconds, becoming the second closest Line Honour finish in Rolex Sydney Hobart history.    Phillip Turner’s Alive, led by Duncan Hine, was the Overall Winner of the Tattersall Cup, becoming the second Tasmanian yacht to win the Tattersall Cup twice. Skipper Duncan Hine confirms Alive's commitment to race in the 2024 edition, saying "We're looking forward to coming back for another crack at the Tattersall Cup. We're in it to win it. Phillip and the whole team are very excited."    Professional sailor Adrienne Cahalan navigated Alive to victory, earning her third Tattersall Cup. Cahalan currently holds the record for number of Rolex Sydney Hobarts sailed by a yachtswoman at 31 races. The Rolex Sydney Hobart is witnessing an upward trend of women sailors in the race, including professional sailors. The 2023 race saw a record 10 entrants owned/skippered by women.  Eight international yachts competed in the 78th running, including Caro (winner of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race) and Teasing Machine (2017 and 2023 winners of the RORC Transatlantic Race).  Eighteen double-handers took on the maritime challenge with Rupert Henry's Lombard 34 Mistral taking IRC honours for the second consecutive year and an impressive sixth IRC Overall.  Arthur Lane, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said: "It is my great pleasure to announce that entries are open for the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. We anticipate a strong fleet for the 79th running where our local Australian teams will be complemented by esteemed international competition."  "The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia once again extends its gratitude to Rolex for the ongoing support of the Race and the sport of sailing globally as well as our many valued race partners including our good friends at Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania as Race Finishing Partner."  Visit the Rolex Sydney Hobart website to   view entrants .  Entries for the 2024 race will close on Friday 25 October 2024. 

Congratulations to all the divisional winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

PHOTOS | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

PHOTOS | Day 5 Morning - Tasman Island and Storm Bay

PHOTOS | Day 5 and Day 6 finishers

PHOTOS | Official Presentation of Tattersall Cup and Rolex Timepiece to the Overall Winner

2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - A Race for the Ages

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Rolex Daily Video Summary

VIDEO | Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

VIDEO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Official Prizegiving

VIDEO | Race Update - 31 December Morning

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 10

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 9

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 8

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 7

AUDIO | 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Sked 6

Official rolex sydney hobart merchandise.

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

From casual to technical clothing, there is something for all occasions. Be quick as stock is limited!

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024 entries open

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Yachts to watch in the 2023 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

LEADING LINE HONOURS CONTENDERS FOR THE 2023 SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE

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ANDOO COMANCHE

The John Winning Jr-skippered behemoth is out to defend her line honours title and has dominated the lead-up to the race. Of the four 100ft SuperMaxis competing, she is the best suited to heavy, down-wind conditions.

Runner-up for line honours at the last three Sydney to Hobarts, LawConnect appears to be peaking at the right time and has been singled out by Andoo Comanche as the biggest threat to her title defence.

SHK SCALLYWAG

Hong Kong-based Scallywag is something of an unknown quantity, having been out of the water and in the workshop for 18 months leading up to October. She's since returned 500kg slimmer and will fare best in lighter conditions.

LEADING OVERALL HONOURS CONTENDERS

Since placing third overall in last year's race, Caro has claimed an impressive victory on handicap at the FastNet Race, an off-shore event of similar length to the Sydney to Hobart. She is one of eight TP52s, a highly competitive model, in this year's race.

Sam Haynes' Celestial would be going for a rare 'three-peat' had a time penalty not cost her overall victory in 2021. Celestial overcame a broken main sail to win last year's contest by 15 minutes on handicap.

Bigger than the TP52s at a little more than 72 feet long, this mini-maxi has been the most dominant of the smaller boats in the lead-up to the Sydney to Hobart and is hoping to build a lead in rough, upwind conditions.

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The Start of the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race | CREDIT: ROLEX | Andrea Francolini

2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race – Entries Open

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is pleased to invite eligible boats to enter 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The 79 th  edition of the historic 628-nautical mile blue water classic will start on Sydney Harbour at 1300 hrs AEDT on Thursday 26 December 2024.

The 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Notice of Race (NoR) includes a few significant changes to the previous NoR. Most notably, to promote crew diversity and encourage more female and youth participation, IRC Rule 22.4 Crew Number/Weight will allow the addition of one additional crew to a boat’s IRC crew number should the boat have any of the following on board for the race: two female crew, two youth (under 23 years old) crew, one youth and one female. This will only be applied once. 

The 2023 edition saw 103 starters and 85 finishers in Hobart, including a highly-contested fight for Line Honours.

The maxi LawConnect won the John H. Illingworth Challenge Cup for Line Honours after beating defending champion Andoo Comanche by 51 seconds, becoming the second closest Line Honour finish in Rolex Sydney Hobart history.  Phillip Turner’s Alive, led by Duncan Hine, was the Overall Winner of the Tattersall Cup, becoming the second Tasmanian yacht to win the Tattersall Cup twice.

Skipper Duncan Hine confirms Alive’s commitment to race in the 2024 edition, saying “We’re looking forward to coming back for another crack at the Tattersall Cup. We’re in it to win it. Phillip and the whole team are very excited.”  Professional sailor Adrienne Cahalan navigated Alive to victory, earning her third Tattersall Cup. Cahalan currently holds the record for number of Rolex Sydney Hobarts sailed by a yachtswoman at 31 races. The Rolex Sydney Hobart is witnessing an upward trend of women sailors in the race, including professional sailors. The 2023 race saw a record 10 entrants owned/skippered by women. 

Eight international yachts competed in the 78th running, including Caro (winner of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race) and Teasing Machine (2017 and 2023 winners of the RORC Transatlantic Race). 

Eighteen double-handers took on the maritime challenge with Rupert Henry’s Lombard 34 Mistral taking IRC honours for the second consecutive year and an impressive sixth IRC Overall. 

Arthur Lane, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said: “It is my great pleasure to announce that entries are open for the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. We anticipate a strong fleet for the 79th running where our local Australian teams will be complemented by esteemed international competition.” 

“The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia once again extends its gratitude to Rolex for the ongoing support of the Race and the sport of sailing globally as well as our many valued race partners including our good friends at Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania as Race Finishing Partner.” 

Visit the Rolex Sydney Hobart website to  view entrants . 

Entries for the 2024 race will close on Friday 25 October 2024. 

Facebook: @RolexSydneyHobart Instagram: @officialrolexsydneyhobart

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