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 (1100kms) south to Tasmania.

Considered to be one of the most difficult sailing events in the world, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race takes around 1.5 days to complete. Interestingly, there is no prize money for winning the race; rather, participants take part for the prestige associated with winning such a difficult race. Wild Oats is one of the most famous yachts to have won the race, counting 7 times out of 10 consecutive years.

The race record sits at around 1 day, 9 hours and 15 minutes. Each boat’s time is adjusted according to its size and expected speed, adopting a handicap system. Power to weight ratio is the most important factor in speed, and most of the 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 be following the fleet down the eastern seaboard and providing all the in-race news footage that is 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 each and 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.

If you are coming to Sydney during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, click the link below to explore the full range of accommodation options available.