sydney to hobart yacht race time limit

Sydney to Hobart yacht race — how to watch and what to look for

Since its beginning in 1945, the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has become one of the pinnacles for sailing competitors, with the event being a test of skill, teamwork, nautical engineering and tactics — with weather providing the wild card.

If you know what to look for, the race can be an enjoyable experience.

Here are some tips for getting the best out of it.

When does it start?

About 111 boats ranging from the supermaxis (longer than 20 metres) to smaller 30-footers (9 metres) will be ready to go at 1pm AEDT Boxing Day on Sydney Harbour.

The start is arguably one of the greatest spectacles in modern sport.

Once the starting cannon is fired, all teams will be gunning for The Heads and into the open water of the South Pacific, with competitors surrounded by all manner of craft.

Watch as boats come perilously close to the supermaxis.

The fleet then begins to make its way down the east coast of Australia to Hobart, a distance of approximately 630 nautical miles (1,166 kilometres).

What are they racing for?

It isn't money. Yes, you read that correctly — there is no prize money for the winners. 

Instead, they race for trophies in a number of categories , the main events for casual observers being Line Honours and Overall.

The first yacht across the line wins the JH Illingworth Trophy, but the overall winner on handicap wins the Tattersalls Cup.

The overall victory is considered the major prize for sailors and a testament to skill and tactics.

Most of the time, handicap honours are won by a smaller, slower boat, which outdoes its larger opposition when time is adjusted for size and other factors.

The reigning overall winner is Ichi Ban. It finished in 4 days, 10 hours, and 17 minutes.

This was after a protest against Celestial was upheld. Celestial was handed a 40-minute time penalty for not manning their radio for a 90-minute period, during which officials were trying to contact the team.

The reigning line honours winner is Black Jack, winning in two days, 12 hours, and 37 minutes in 2021. 

How can I watch it?

Race sponsor Rolex says the race can be watched on the Seven Network. 

7Mate will broadcast the start of the race live around Australia. Their coverage starts at 12:30pm (AEDT).

ABC TV will also provide updates throughout the event.

For those who can't watch the live broadcast of the start of the race on their TV, Seven will have a stream of the race.

You can also watch vision from the event on the Sydney to Hobart yacht race website .

If you are in Sydney and on the water, spectators who wish to watch the start but not follow the fleet are advised to stick to the "western side of the harbour".

Good vantage points for spectator boats include "Taylors Bay, Chowder Bay, Obelisk Bay and North Head on the west and Rose Bay, Watsons Bay, Camp Cove and South Head to the east".

According to organisers, the harbour will be "very crowded and traffic can be chaotic, so stay alert, follow the advice of race officials and remember to keep well clear of the exclusion zone between 12pm and 2pm".

How can I follow the boats online?

You can follow the race on an online tracker , which shows the positions of yachts as they move south.

The locations of yachts are transmitted by a GPS device on each vessel. 

As the race goes on, you can see the course charted by crews — unless of course the boat's GPS device gets switched off, rendering it invisible to spectators and other competitors — an accusation that was levelled at Wild Oats XI in 2018 by the owner of Black Jack.

What should I look out for?

The weather forecast is for northerly winds in the harbour for Monday's start, which will favour the bigger boats. They will push hard to get out of the harbour.

Barring disaster, the Line Honours winner will almost certainly be one of the four super maxis.

LawConnect (formerly Perpetual LOYAL, formerly Investec LOYAL, formerly InfoTrack) set a new record in 2016 when it crossed the line in one day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 12 seconds, a time since bettered by Comanche the next year.

Black Jack (Formerly Alfa Romeo II) has a strong Sydney to Hobart history and is the reigning Line Honours champion. It's had a strong 2022 already, taking line, record, and overall wins in the Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race. Black Jack has a strong rivalry with Wild Oats XI as it was the first boat to break Wild Oats' race record in 2009.

Andoo Comanche is the hot favourite for line honours this year. It has already defeated Black Jack in the Sydney to Gold Coast race this year and has won the inaugural Tollgate Islands race. It beat Wild Oats for line honours in 2017, setting a race record in the process, but only after a controversial protest . 

Hamilton Island Wild Oats XI is the most famous boat in the race but has not participated since 2019 due to COVID. Veteran skipper Mark Richards will once again be at the helm and will be hoping to improve on the 3rd place finish in 2019. 

The favourites for the handicap trophy are Alive, URM Group, Moneypenny and Stefan Racing, with last year's winner, Ichi Ban, not participating.

This year there is also a number of crews made up of father-daughter or father-son teams.

The yacht race is taken seriously for good reason — people have died when the weather has turned bad.

In 1998, six sailors died, five yachts sank, more than 60 yachts retired and 55 sailors had to be rescued by helicopter.

In 2015, a squall hit the fleet off the News South Wales coast, ending the race for 29 competitors.

When does the race finish?

The lines honours winner is likely to come in around 48 hours after the start, but this is very much dependent on the weather —  especially in the 22.2-kilometre final stretch up the Derwent River.

This is when the wind can drop away and it becomes an agonisingly slow crawl , with every trick in the book pulled out to speed the progress up the glassy waterway.

In 2021, Black Jack crossed the line at 1:37am on December 29, followed by LawConnect at 4:11am and SHK Scallywag about 20 minutes after that.

In 2019, Comanche came in at a more reasonable time of 7:30am on December 28, with InfoTrack about 45 minutes later.

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Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is a huge sporting event in Australia that is held on Boxing Day each year.

Attracting some of the best sailing crews in the world, the race travels from Sydney, 630 nautical miles (1,100km) south to Tasmania.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2024, Dates, Times, Course Route & Tracker

The race record is around one day, 9 hours and 15 minutes. Each boat’s time is adjusted according to its size and expected speed, adopting a handicap system. The power-to-weight ratio is the most crucial factor in speed, and most boats competing in the race are ‘sloops’ – single-mast yachts.

For visitors wanting to view the race whilst they are in Sydney , head to Sydney Harbour as the fleet sails out to the Tasman Sea before heading south down the coast and over the Bass Strait. Head over to Nielsen Park, where the cannons will signal the start of the race, usually around 1pm. For those wanting to get up close to the action, head over to Middle Head Lookout or Headland Park.

The Seven Network, through 7Mate, will once again broadcast the start of the race live around Australia. ABC TV will also follow the fleet down the eastern seaboard and provide all the in-race news footage used by the various Australian and International news networks.

Seven West Media will webcast the program for those who can’t watch the live broadcast of the start of the Race on the Seven Network across Australia. You can also watch a live webcast on the home page of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race website.

The Yacht Tracker page lets viewers track the entire fleet or a particular boat from start to finish. Yacht Tracker uses a specially designed tool that calculates the predicted results for every boat in the fleet so you can see how each boat is performing. Each yacht will be fitted with a tracker that will obtain a position using the GPS satellite network and transmit that position back to HQ.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Images & Photos

Sydney to hobart yacht race, nsw current weather now & 7 day forecast, sydney to hobart yacht race information & details,  event dates,  event times,  contact details, sydney to hobart yacht race area, street & hotel map, nsw, other places we recommend.

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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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Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Notice type: Navigation restriction

Legislation: Marine Safety Act 1998 s.12

Marine notice: SE2322

• Tuesday, 26 December 2023 - 11:30am to 2:20pm

Special Event

Vessel operators are advised that a Special Event pursuant to Section 12(2) of the Marine Safety Act 1998 is to be held on Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), from Garden Island to Sydney Heads between 11:30am and 2:20pm on Tuesday 26 December 2023.

A Regulated Area will be established within which the following special restrictions will apply:

• No sail vessel other than official competing yachts may have sails hoisted between 12:00 midday and 2:00pm.
• A 6 knot speed limit and a no wash zone applies within the Regulated Area for the duration of the event.
• Vessels intending to accompany or follow the racing fleet outside Sydney Heads are required to follow strict navigation channels - leaving the Harbour in the vicinity of South Head and re-entering via North Head, then keeping to the starboard side of the Western Channel.
• Vessels intending to observe the event without leaving the Harbour are required to position their vessels and remain on the Western side of the Harbour or South of Vaucluse Point on the Eastern side of the Regulated Area.

Exclusion Zone

Due to the potential to affect the safety of navigation, Transport for NSW (“TfNSW”) has granted an Exclusive Use Aquatic License to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and an Exclusion Zone (‘the Zone’) will be established on the navigable waters of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) from Garden Island to Sydney Heads bounded by imaginary lines drawn between the Garden Island port hand beacon and Bradley’s Head light; and the most Northerly point of Middle Head and Cannae Point Flagstaff, and the North Head starboard hand beacon and the Macquarie light , between the above times. The Zone will be marked by a perimeter of yellow buoys (as per the attached diagram) and patrolled by Transport for NSW (Maritime) patrol vessels, Water Police, and other official control vessels. The activation and deactivation of the Exclusion Zone will be broadcast on marine radio VHF 13.

No Anchoring or Passive Craft Zone

Pursuant to section 12(3) of the Marine Safety Act 1998 , a “No Anchoring or Passive Craft Zone” will also be established within the Regulated Area approximately 100 metres around the Exclusion Zone generally, extending to 200 metres from the Exclusion Zone in the Watsons Bay/Vaucluse Bay area, and extending to the whole of the area between the Exclusion Zone and North Head.

No vessels are permitted to anchor in this area under any circumstances and, due to the safety risk posed by the event and by spectator vessel traffic, NO NON-POWERED PASSIVE CRAFT (e.g., canoes, kayaks, surf boats, surf skis, rowing craft) are permitted in this area at any time. Penalties apply (see below).

Transport for NSW advises that in relation to the exclusion zone:

Persons within the vicinity of the zone must comply with any directions given by any Boating Safety Officer or Police Officer in relation to the Special Event or to marine safety. Failure to comply with any such direction is an offence ( Marine Safety Act 1998, s.15A - Maximum Penalty $3,300.00).

No unauthorised vessels or persons are permitted to enter the zone and to do so may be an offence ( Marine Safety Act 1998, s.12(5) — Maximum Penalty $1,100.00).

Maps and Charts Affected

Transport for NSW Boating Map – 9D              Navigation Chart AUS 200

Contact Transport for NSW information line

For further information concerning this navigation advice, please contact the Transport for NSW information line on: 

Phone:  13 12 36

Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm Saturday - Sunday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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Rolex Sydney Hobart: Six yachts finished - 81 still racing

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