Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Map of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race route
First held	1945
Start	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Finish	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Competitors	103 (2023)
Champion	Alive (on handicap) LawConnect (Line Honours)
Most titles	Freya; Love & War; "Ichi Ban" (3) (on handicap) Wild Oats XI (9) (line honours)
TV partner(s)	Nine Network

InfoTrack leads the fleet through Sydney Heads at the start of the 75th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2019.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is a famous yearly ocean yacht racing event. It starts in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on Boxing Day (December 26th). The race finishes in Hobart, Tasmania. The journey is about 630 nautical miles (1,167 kilometers) long. Many people consider it one of the toughest yacht races in the world.

This race began in 1945. It was first planned as a fun trip for friends who liked cruising, not racing. But a British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested making it a race. That's how this amazing event started! Over the years, it has become one of the top three offshore yacht races globally. Big maxi yachts from all over the world now come to compete. The 75th race took place in 2019.

There are two main ways to win the race. The George Adams Tattersall Cup is the top prize for the "handicap competition." This means a boat's finish time is adjusted based on its size and design. This makes it fair for all types of yachts. However, many people also watch for "line honours." This is simply for the first boat to cross the finish line. These are usually the newest and largest yachts.

The Sydney Hobart Race is known as one of the "classic big offshore races." The others are the Newport-Bermuda Race and the Fastnet Race. Each of these races is around 625 nautical miles long.

In 2017, the yacht LDV Comanche set a new race record. It finished in just 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds. This beat the previous record set by Perpetual Loyal in 2016. Wild Oats XI has won line honours nine times. It is also the first boat to win the "treble." This means it won the race record, line honours, and the overall handicap prize all in the same year.

History of the Race

Investec Loyal about to win the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2011.

The waters around the Bass Strait are famous for strong winds and rough seas. Even though the race is in the Australian summer, "southerly buster" storms can make it very cold and challenging. Many yachts often have to stop early. The town of Eden is the last safe harbor before the Bass Strait.

The very first Sydney to Hobart race was in 1945. Nine boats started that first race. John Illingworth's yacht Rani won, taking 6 days, 14 hours, and 22 minutes. Over the years, the fastest race times dropped quickly. Wild Oats XI set a new record in 2005. It won both line and handicap honours in 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, and 10 seconds.

Winning times from 1945 to 2018.

Some yachts have achieved amazing things. Morna won the second, third, and fourth races (1946–1948). Later, as Kurrewa IV, it won four more times. Wild Oats XI has won line honours four times in a row (2005-2008). This was a record-breaking achievement. In the handicap race, Freya won three times in a row (1963–1965). Love & War also won three handicap titles, but not in a row.

The 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race faced a very strong storm. It was like a lower-category hurricane. Five boats sank, and six people sadly died. Only 44 of the 115 boats finished. Because of this, the rules for crew members became stricter. They now need to be older and have more experience.

In 1999, Nokia broke the race record. It finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 48 minutes, and 2 seconds. In 2004, only 59 of 116 yachts finished due to storms. In 2005, Wild Oats XI became the first boat since Rani to win the "treble." This means it won line honours, the handicap prize, and broke the course record.

Sydney to Hobart entrants moored at Rushcutters Bay in 2004.

Spectators in Sydney Harbour at the 2022 race.

In 2006, Wild Oats XI won line honours again. This made it the first yacht since 1964 to win in consecutive years. Love & War won the overall handicap prize. Peter Luke, who helped start the race, passed away in 2007. His yacht, Wayfarer, still holds the record for the slowest time.

In 2008, Wild Oats XI made history again. It won line honours for the fourth time in a row. This was the first time any yacht had done that. In 2009, Alfa Romeo II won line honours. It beat Wild Oats XI.

The 2020 race was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time the race had not happened in its 76-year history.

In 2024, two sailors died in separate incidents during the race. This was the first time there had been deaths since 1998. This has led to calls for a review of the race's safety rules.

Panorama of the 2007 Sydney–Hobart Yacht Race.

The "Holy Grail" of the Race

Master Lock Comanche and LawConnect at the starting gun of the 2024 race.

For many years, sailors dreamed of finishing the Sydney Hobart race in under 40 hours. This was called the "Holy Grail." In 2017, LDV Comanche achieved this goal. It set a new race record of 33 hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds.

Comanche won again in 2019 and 2022. In 2024, Comanche was leading but had to stop when its mast broke. LawConnect then took line honours. It finished in 37 hours, 35 minutes, and 13 seconds. This was also under the 40-hour mark.

Women in the Race

Women first took part in the race in 1946. Jane Tate was the first woman to complete the race that year. Her boat, Active, was the only one to reach Hobart in 1946. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is now given each year to the first female skipper to finish the race.

In 1975, the first all-women crew sailed on the boat Barbarian. Vicki Willman was their skipper. In 1996, Kathy Collingridge became the first Indigenous woman to race. She was part of the One Time Sidewinder crew.

In 2005, 24 women competed. This included Adrienne Cahalan, a famous sailor who has sailed around the world. In 2011, Jessica Watson skippered a yacht with a young crew. Jessica is known for sailing solo around the world at age 16. In 2018, Ocean Respect Racing became the first all-professional women's crew. They raced on Wild Oats X.

In 2022, Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham made history. They were the first all-women crew to finish the race in the Two-Handed division. Over a thousand women have now taken part in the Sydney Hobart Race.

Race Rules and Handicaps

The crew of 2005 winner Wild Oats XI.

The rules for the Tattersall Cup (handicap winner) have changed over time. Basically, each boat's time is adjusted. This is based on how fast it is expected to sail, considering its size and other features. This system helps make the competition fair for all yachts, big or small. The race follows the Racing Rules of Sailing. These rules are set by the International Sailing Federation.

Two-Handed Division

In 2020, a new "two-handed division" was introduced. This means only two crew members are allowed on the boat. This division has its own trophy, the Two-Handed IRC Trophy.

Because the 2020 race was cancelled, the first two-handed boats competed in the 2021 race. In 2021, rough weather meant only seven of these boats finished. The first winner was Disko Trooper-Contender Sailcloth.

In 2022, two-handed yachts were allowed to compete for the main Tattersalls Cup. This division is growing fast. By 2023, two-handed entries made up 17.5% of all boats.

Types of Yachts

Most of the boats in the race are sloops. These are yachts with one mast. They have a main sail and one front sail (a jib or Genoa). They can also use extra sails like a spinnaker.

The race has encouraged new ideas in yacht design. The New Zealand designer Bruce Farr has designed 15 overall winners. This makes him the most successful yacht designer in the race's history.

{{wide image|File:77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race at 16 minutes in.jpg|900px|The 77th (2022) Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, 16 minutes after the start.]]

Winners and Fleet Sizes

Year	Line honours	Elapsed time d/hh:mm:ss	Handicap winner	Corrected time d/hh:mm:ss	fleet size at start	at finish
1945	Rani	6/14:22	Rani	4/09:38	9	8
1946	Morna	5/02:53:33	Christina	4/11:53:27	19	11
1947	Morna	5/03:03:54	Westward	4/00:24:56	28	21
1948	Morna	4/05:01:21	Westward	3/07:45:48	18	13
1949	Waltzing Matilda	5/10:33:10	Trade Winds	3/23:39:43	15	13
1950	Margaret Rintoul	5/05:28:35	Nerida	3/20:17:13	16	14
1951	Margaret Rintoul	4/02:29:01	Struen Marie	2/19:48:26	14	12
1952	Nocturne	6/02:34:47	Ingrid	4/09:56:18	17	17
1953	Solveig IV	5/07:12:50	Ripple	3/16:12:12	24	20
1954	Kurrewa IV (formerly Morna)	5:06:09:47	Solveig IV	3/17:58:01	17	15
1955	Even	4/18:13:14	Moonbi	3/09:21:05	17	16
1956	Kurrewa IV (formerly Morna)	4:04:31:44	Solo	3/08:33:52	28	26
1957	Kurrewa IV (formerly Morna)	3:18:30:39	Anitra V	3/00:55:37	20	18
1958	Solo	5/02:32:52	Siandra	3/13:46:35	22	19
1959	Solo	4/13:33:12	Cherana	3/08:33:02	30	24
1960	Kurrewa IV (formerly Morna)	4:08:11:15	Siandra	3/07:48:04	32	30
1961	Astor	4/04:42:11	Rival	3/03:57:31	35	33
1962	Ondine	3/03:49:16	Solo	2/12:45:14	42	40
1963	Astor	4/10:53:00	Freya	3/06:03:17	44	34
1964	Astor	3/20:05:05	Freya	3/05:58:14	38	31
1965	Stormvogel	3/20:30:09	Freya	3/10:03:26	53	49
1966	Fidelis	4/08:39:43	Cadence	4/02:46:24	46	44
1967	Pen Duick III	4/04:10:31	Rainbow II	3/16:39:15	66	59
1968	Ondine II	4/03:20:02	Koomooloo	3/13:38:52	67	54
1969	Crusade	3/15:07:40	Morning Cloud	3/04:25:57	79	75
1970	Buccaneer	3/14:06:12	Pacha	3/10:07:39	61	47
1971	Kialoa II	3/12:46:21	PathFinder	3/03:14:34	79	76
1972	American Eagle	3/04:42:39	American Eagle	3/02:15:59	79	75
1973	Helsal	3/01:32:09	Ceil III	2/17:28:28	92	92
1974	Ondine III	3/13:51:56	Love & War	3/13:25:02	63	58
1975	Kialoa III	2/14:36:56	Rampage	2/13:16:56	102	99
1976	Ballyhoo	3/07:59:26	Piccolo	3/07:45:07	85	70
1977	Kialoa III	3/10:14:09	Kialoa III	3/13:58:10	131	72
1978	Apollo	4/02:23:24	Love & War	3/12:13:00	97	87
1979	Bumblebee IV	3/01:45:52	Screw Loose	3/03:31:06	147	142
1980	New Zealand	2/18:45:41	New Zealand	2/21:13:29	102	93
1981	Vengeance	3/22:30:00	Zeus II	3/19:25:59	159	144
1982	Condor of Bermuda	3/00:59:17	Scallywag	2/19:19:16	118	108
1983	Condor	3/00:50:29	Challenge II	2/23:07:42	173	158
1984	New Zealand	3/11:31:21	Indian Pacific	3/07:45:03	151	46
1985	Apollo	3/04:32:28	Sagacious	3/04:34:37	179	146
1986	Condor	2/23:26:25	Ex Tension	3/01:14:30	123	106
1987	Sovereign	2/21:58:08	Sovereign	3/01:58:41	154	146
1988	Ragamuffin (formerly Bumblebee IV)	3/15:29:27	Illusion	3/18:20:35	119	81
1989	Drumbeat	3/06:21:34	Challenge II	3/02:18:45	126	101
1990	Ragamuffin (formerly Bumblebee IV)	2/21:05:33	Sagacious V	2/19:44:32	105	86
1991	Brindabella	3/11:14:09	She's Apples (IMS) Atara (IOR)	3/15:19:20 2:20:05:11	99	91
1992	New Zealand Endeavour	2/19:19:18	Assassin (IMS) Ragamuffin (IOR)	3/10:50:11 2:21:21:04	110	102
1993	Ninety Seven	4/00:54:11	Micropay Cuckoos Nest (IMS) Solbourne Wild Oats (IOR)	3/18:45:10 3:20:36:30	104	38
1994	Tasmania (formerly New Zealand Endeavour)	2/16:48:04	Raptor (IMS)	2/11:41:00	371	309
1995	Sayonara	3/00:53:35	Terra Firma	3/10:22:36	98	92
1996	Morning Glory	2/14:07:10	Ausmaid	2/12:35:59	95	77
1997	Brindabella	2/23:37:12	Beau Geste	2/17:21:27	114	99
1998	Sayonara	2/19:03:32	AFR Midnight Rambler	2/12:36:23	115	44
1999	Nokia	1/19:48:02	Yendys	1/20:32:53	79	49
2000	Nicorette II	2/14:02:09	SAP Ausmaid (formerly Ausmaid)	2/19:13:38	82	58
2001	Assa Abloy	2/20:46:43	Bumblebee V	2/19:13:38	75	57
2002	Alfa Romeo I	2/04:58:52	Quest	2/19:13:38	57	55
2003	Skandia	2/15:14:06	First National Real Estate	3/14:14:17	56	52
2004	Nicorette III	2/16:00:44	Aera (IRC)	4/02:52:09	116	59
2005	Wild Oats XI	1/18:40:10	Wild Oats XI	3/03:54:32	85	80
2006	Wild Oats XI	2/08:52:33	Love & War	3/22:02:37	78	69
2007	Wild Oats XI	1/21:24:32	Rosebud	3/09:32:14	82	79
2008	Wild Oats XI	1/20:34:14	Quest II	2/17:43:32	100	92
2009	Alfa Romeo II	2/09:02:10	Two True	4/07:57:43	100	94
2010	Wild Oats XI	2/07:37:20	Secret Men's Business 3.5	4/01:29:40	87	69
2011	Investec Loyal	2/06:14:18	Loki	3/22:34:32	88	76
2012	Wild Oats XI	1/18:23:12	Wild Oats XI	3/10:26:31	76	71
2013	Wild Oats XI	2/06:07:27	Victoire	3/18:27:43	94	84
2014	Wild Oats XI	2/02:30:00	Wild Rose (formerly Solbourne Wild Oats)	3/07:04:43	117	103
2015	Comanche	2/08:58:30	Balance V (formerly Quest II)	4/07:27:13	108	77
2016	Perpetual Loyal	1/13:31:20	Giacomo	2/16:13:37	88	83
2017	Comanche	1/09:15:24	Ichi Ban	2/12:13:31	102	96
2018	Wild Oats XI	1/19:07:21	Alive	3/06:41:16	85	79
2019	Comanche	1/18:30:24	Ichi Ban	3/04:11:05	157	154
2020	Race cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
2021	Black Jack	2/12:37:17	Ichi Ban	4/10:17:39	88	50
2022	Andoo Comanche	1/11:56:48	Celestial	2/16:35:26	109	100
2023	LawConnect	1/19:03:58	Alive	3/07:48:14	103	85
2024	LawConnect	1/13:35:13	Celestial V70	2/16:40:38	104	74

Notes:

• Time in bold means a new race record time.
• In 1985, Drake's Prayer was disqualified after winning on handicap. But the rules did not allow other boats to move up.
• From 1991 to 1993, both IMS and IOR class winners were named handicap winners. Since 2004, only the IRC rule has been used.
• The 1975 Kialoa III was a ketch (two masts). It was changed to a sloop (one mast) in 1976. It then won line honours and overall in 1977.
• Apollo in 1978 and 1985 were different yachts.
• New Zealand in 1980 and 1984 were different yachts.
• Brindabella in 1991 and 1997 were different yachts.

Race Records and Statistics

Wild Oats XI, a frequent line honours winner, about to finish the 2011 Sydney to Hobart.

A graph of Sydney Hobart starters and finishers from 1945 to 2018.

• First Race Winner (1945): Rani (won line honours, handicap, and set the first race record).
• Fastest Race Time: 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds by LDV Comanche (NSW) in 2017.
• Total Yachts: 5,509 yachts have started the race since 1945.
• Finishing Rate: 4,548 yachts (82.56%) have finished, while 961 (17.44%) have retired.
• Highest Retirement Rate: 70% of the fleet in 1984.
• Largest Fleet: 371 starters in 1994.
• Smallest Fleet: 9 starters in 1945 (the first race).
• Smallest Yacht to Finish: 27 feet (8.23m) Klinger (NSW) in 1978.
• Smallest Yacht to Win Line Honours: 35 feet (10.67m) Nocturne (NSW) in 1952 and Rani (UK) in 1945.
• Largest Yachts Entered: Many 100-foot (30.48m) yachts, including Wild Oats XI, Black Jack, and Comanche.
• Most Line Honours Wins: Wild Oats XI with 9 victories.
• Most Line Honours Wins by a Skipper: Mark Richards (New South Wales, Australia) with 9 victories.
• Most Handicap Honours Wins: Freya (NSW), Love & War (NSW), and Ichi Ban (NSW) with 3 victories each.
• Most Handicap Honours Wins by a Skipper: Magnus and Trygve Halvorsen (NSW, Australia) with 4 victories.
• Oldest Competitor (Yacht): Maluka, built in 1932, raced in 2008 at 76 years old.
• Most Races by a Skipper: Tony Cable (New South Wales) with 49 races.
• Race Treble (Record, Line & Handicap in same year):

* 1945, Rani (UK) * 2005, 2012 Wild Oats XI (NSW).

• Back-to-Back Line Honours Wins:

* Morna (NSW) 1946, 1947, 1948 * Wild Oats XI (NSW) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 * LawConnect (NSW) 2023, 2024.

• Back-to-Back Handicap Honours Wins:

* Freya (NSW) 1963, 1964, 1965 * Westward (Tas) 1947, 1948.

• Closest Line Honours Finish: 7 seconds in 1982; Condor of Bermuda (Bermuda) beat Apollo (NSW).
• Closest Handicap Honours Finish: 1 minute and 43 seconds in 1982; Scallyway (NSW, Australia) beat Audacity (NSW, Australia).
• First Known Female Sailors: Jane Tate and Dagmar O’Brien (both in 1946). Jane Tate was the first to complete the event.
• First All-Female Crewed Yacht: Barbarian, 1975 (skipper: Vicki Wilman).
• Most Races for One Woman: 15 by Adrienne Cahalan (AUS).
• First Indigenous Woman to Take Part: Kathy Collingridge in 1996.
• First Fully Disabled Crew: The making waves foundation's team in 1994.
• Worst Disaster: In 1998, a severe storm caused problems, leading to the loss of life and yachts.
• Sunken Yachts: Several yachts have sunk over the years, including Winston Churchill (1998) and Georgia (2008).
• Sailors Who Have Died During the Race: Sadly, some sailors have lost their lives during the race, including in 1998 and 2024.

Sponsors and Prizes

Rolex has been the main sponsor of the race since 2002. Because of this, it is known as the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Other sponsors include Appliances Online and TasPorts.

It costs a lot of money for the big yachts to get ready for the race. However, there is no prize money for winning. The only award is a special Rolex watch from the sponsor. This is given to the captains of the fastest yacht and the handicap winning yacht. Sailors compete for the honor of winning the title.

The overall handicap winner receives The George Adams Tattersall Cup. This cup was first given in 1946. Other trophies include the J H Illingworth Challenge Cup for line honours and the Jane Tate Memorial Trophy for the first female skipper.

Images for kids

• 

  Hobart's Constitution Dock is the arrival point for the fleet after they have completed the race. It is a place of celebration during the New Year festivities.

See also

In Spanish: Regata Sídney-Hobart para niños