1983 sydney hobart yacht race

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Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Winners 1980 to 1989

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• Posted on December 26, 2022 December 26, 2022
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The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event, which was first sailed in 1945. The race takes place over 5 days and attracts over 100 yachts of all types and sizes.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in December is an icon of Australia’s summer sport. The course covers a distance of 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to the East coast of Australia, Bass Strait, the Tasmanian east coast, Storm Bay, Derwent River and finally Battery Point in Hobart, Tasmania.

Line Honours goes to the first yacht to cross the finishing line. The Overall Winner is determined by each yacht’s finish time adjusted by several factors. As a result, the fastest boat is often not the Overall Winner.

Overall Winner = ow     Line Honour = lh Time is shown as   DD:HH:MM:SS     Days:Hours:Minutes (and Seconds where available)

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Sydney to Hobart tragedy leaves lasting legacy for sailors and those who raced to help

When this year's Sydney to Hobart fleet sets sail, it will do so bearing the memory of those who lost their lives doing so 20 years ago.

Key points:

• Sailor John Saul recalls waves 25 metres high
• Eden volunteer heard "screaming", desperation on radio
• Tragedy resulted in changes in race weather information

Six sailors died during the 1998 race as a result of some the worst weather conditions seen in the history of the Bluewater Classic.

Hobart-based sailor John Saul was there. He skippered Computerland that year and recalls when the race morphed from sport to survival, and adrenaline took over.

"It's a bit like skidding a car; you don't think about it when the car's skidding, you think about it when the car stops," he said.

Saul recalls his boat being battered by the huge southerly buster which struck the fleet the day after Boxing Day.

Wind gusts reached 90 knots and there were reports of waves 25 metres high.

"We knocked the wind gear off the top of the mast in a wave with a knockdown, broke the safety fence around the side of the boat. A fair few things were falling off," Saul said.

"We were just getting knocked down too much pointing it at Hobart, so we pointed it at New Zealand and she held together."

Computerland managed to navigate to calmer waters and make it to Hobart relatively unscathed.

"We had good people on board. We made good decisions, and we were bloody lucky. Simple as that," he said.

Others were not so fortunate. Tasmanian yacht Business Post Naiad was hammered, and two of its crew would perish.

Another entry, the Winston Churchill, was claimed by the Southern Ocean, taking with it three men. Glyn Charles on Sword of Orion also died.

During the mayhem, 55 sailors were winched to safety, in what remains the largest search and rescue effort in Australian peacetime history.

'You could hear the desperation'

When it became apparent the race was no longer one to Hobart, but one for survival, crews retreated to the New South Wales town of Eden.

Barry Griffiths was working as the divisional commander of the Eden volunteer coastal patrol.

He pulled a 32-hour shift that year, manning radios and helping to coordinate the rescue effort.

"There was a terrible lot of screaming. You could hear the desperation in some of the voices," he said.

"Sometimes their radios went dead, and there could have been a multitude of reasons; [they] were dismasted, some lost power or had too much moisture getting into the radio."

"I reckon looking out the window there that the top of the waves was nearly as high as this window. It was mountainous seas."

Griffiths would be one of a multitude of townspeople whose lives would be changed by the events of '98, as Eden became the centre of the sailing universe.

Kari Esplin is another. She took 16 stricken sailors into her home, providing them with food and shelter.

They slept on the floor of the Esplin family room, and some ended up staying for weeks.

"We couldn't help with the rescue, but we knew people would need warm drinks, dry clothes and a bed to sleep in," she said.

"Sailors were coming in drenched and desperate, and just needed a refuge.

"They were tying their boats down and trying to get everything back together, and at about 3:00am we were back picking up people to bring home so they could get a good night's sleep.

"We are a seafaring town, and we take care of seafarers. It's part of our history, and I've known that since I was a child."

'A sad job'

The events of '98 continue to ripple through the life of crane operator Chris Timms.

After the tragedy, he was given the grisly task of breaking up Business Post Naiad when the insurer declared it unsellable.

It would be a job that would stick with him two decades on.

"Some of the yachts had been out at sea for three or four days, most of them were dismasted," he said.

"I remember B52 was almost broken in half, we had to make a special cradle to lift her out.

"Business Post Naiad was the saddest one.

"It was a sad job, all their personal belongings were on board. I found a wallet belonging to Bruce Guy with a lot of money in it, which we made sure his wife received.

"And Phil Skeggs had bought two nice keyrings with his children's names … I sent them off to Tassie to his family."

'Something we'll never forget'

Out of the tragedy came an inquest which saw a Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) race director resign, and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) increase the depth of its forecasting.

It has become known as the legacy of those who lost their lives in 1998, and has ensured experienced sailors like Skeggs and Guy did not die in vain.

"We've put a lot of work into making sure we've improved on what was already a pretty safe race," CYCA past commodore David Kellett said.

"But if you get those extreme conditions, you have to be ready to face it.

"It's something we think about every time we go through Bass Strait, it's something we will never forget.

"But we've learnt from it and we're much better prepared for it."

On the second day of the race, a minute's silence will be observed by those at sea — remembering those who never made it to port two decades ago.

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Australia’s Nautical Rite of Passage

By Christopher Clarey

• Dec. 23, 2017

Still smarting from losing the America’s Cup in Bermuda in the Northern Hemisphere summer, Tom Slingsby and Jimmy Spithill are back home and back on the water for the Southern Hemisphere summer.

Both will race in Australia’s maritime rite of passage, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, a 628-nautical-mile sprint from Sydney Harbor to Hobart, on the island of Tasmania, which begins on Tuesday. But only Spithill, still on a quest for his daily dose of adrenaline at age 38, sounds truly fired up about it

“I think it’s because it’s been two years and I’ve forgotten,” Spithill said with a laugh in an interview from Sydney, Australia. “The first one I did in 1998 I got seasick, and that’s pretty embarrassing for someone who grew up essentially on a little island, but I think that’s why you do it, because it can really humble you at times. At some point, every race, you are out there, and it’s a bit miserable and you’re thinking about all your mates sitting on the couch watching the cricket and eating leftover Christmas dinner as you’re trying not to throw it up in the Bass Strait.

“But I think that’s what is kind of cool, because as a team going through that, it brings you together, and if you are fortunate enough to make it to Hobart, the reception they give you at the finish, regardless of where you finish, is something really special.”

Both Spithill and Slingsby, the most prominent Australian sailors of their generation along with Glenn Ashby, have finished first in the Hobart race. Spithill took line honors on the super maxi Comanche in 2015 and will be back as part of Comanche’s all-star crew this year. Slingsby was on Perpetual Loyal in 2016 when that super maxi smashed the race speed record, finishing in one day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds.

That meant just one full night at sea, which suited Slingsby just fine. His preference for sleeping in his own bed — and for a good night’s sleep in general — was one of several reasons he turned down offers to compete in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, which circumnavigates the planet and features some legs that last 20 days or more.

“Ocean racing in general isn’t my thing,” he said. “The Hobart is long enough for me.”

Slingsby, now 33, was not planning on doing the Hobart this year but made a late decision to return as skipper on the former Perpetual Loyal, now under new ownership and renamed InfoTrack.

He has had other, much more expensive challenges on his mind. While Spithill has been riding his new foiling surfboard and promoting the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, Slingsby has been trying to raise money for an Australian America’s Cup team to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand in 2021.

In the last America’s Cup, Slingsby and Spithill were the leaders of the Cup defender Oracle Team USA, owned by the American billionaire Larry Ellison. Oracle had won the Cup twice, but its predominantly Australian crew was outmaneuvered and soundly beaten by Team New Zealand in Bermuda.

“Ultimately we were too conservative collectively, and I think for myself looking back, I didn’t go with my instincts enough both on and off the water,” said Spithill, the helmsman in Bermuda who has yet to announce his plans for 2021.

For now, the only Australian sailor who holds the Cup is Ashby, the skipper and star wing trimmer of Team New Zealand, which, unlike Oracle, took calculated risk after calculated risk that paid off. Those included the decision to use stationary bikes on boar d to generate hydraulic power, an innovation that Dan Bernasconi, the Team New Zealand design coordinator, said would not be permitted in 2021.

Slingsby said his understanding was that Ellison did not plan to back a challenge in 2021. Of the six teams that took part in Bermuda, only Team New Zealand and the British syndicate, Land Rover BAR, appear set to continue, and despite all the sailing talent in Australia, Slingsby is far from certain his prospective team will make it to the starting line either.

Team New Zealand and challenger Luna Rossa Challenge have released early plans for the new class of Cup yachts, and although the design is undeniably innovative — a high-performance foiling monohull with twin canting foils and no keel — it also has raised cost concerns because of its complexity.

Though the class rule is not set to be released until March, Team New Zealand has confirmed that it plans to have an open hull design, meaning teams will be free within the constraints of the rule to explore (and spend heavily on) different options. The rigid wings used as mainsails in the last two Cups are unlikely to be used in 2021, and there may be no limits on how many soft sails a team can make.

“It confuses me, especially for a boat designed to be out of the water, why we have to have an open hull design,” Slingsby said. “You’re just adding unnecessary costs in some areas. I had my time writing rules for the America’s Cup, and we lost fair and square, so it’s not in my hands, but I just hope they are not overdoing it.”

After initially estimating the budget for his team at $100 million, Slingsby is now concerned that it may need to be closer to $150 million, which is proving dissuasive to investors.

“When the boat came out, it was really exciting thinking this really takes sailing into a new spot, but as soon as you start getting into breakdowns of the financials and the complexity of the engineering and the cost of some of these components, you quickly realize this America’s Cup is going to be very, very expensive; a lot more than the last one,” Slingsby said. “They’ve got to do something to rein in the costs; otherwise new team bids like potentially Team Australia are not going to happen.”

Australia has a rich history in the Cup. Australia II, bankrolled by Alan Bond and skippered by John Bertrand, sparked a national celebration in 1983 when it ended the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year winning streak and brought the trophy down under.

Bertrand has been advising Slingsby. But an Australian team has yet to win it again, and largely because of the cost factor, there has been no challenger from Australia since 2000, when Spithill was a 20-year-old helmsman on the underfunded syndicate Young Australia.

Since then, most Australians of great means who are interested in sailing have been content to fund Sydney-Hobart campaigns and enjoy the annual Boxing Day spectacle as the yachts leave Sydney Harbor.

But there is no doubt that this generation of Australian sailors is exceptional, and Slingsby, who says he needs firm financial commitments in the next month, said it would be a shame to miss the bigger opportunity.

“It’s just the right time with the Cup in New Zealand and so many of our great sailors at the peak of their careers,” he said. “They’re all raring to go for an Australian team, but I’ve got to be able to find the platform for these guys and myself to do what we do best.”

• Newspapers & Gazettes
• The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) View title info
• Fri 31 Dec 1982 Prev issue Next issue Browse issues
• Page 16 Prev page Next page Browse pages
• YACHTING SYDNEY-TO-HOBART Fifth attempt lucky for Scallywag Prev article Next article Browse articles

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• Abstract HOBART: After years of failure and a dismal record in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, Scallywag was declared the provisional winner of the 1982 ocean
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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

• Corinthian - IRC
• Corinthian - PHS
• 2-Handed IRC
• 2-Handed PHS
• 2-Handed Line Honours
• Line Honours

Standings information for the current race will not be available until approximately three hours after the start.

Race Organiser Notes

Unless otherwise flagged, all positions are obtained by a report from a GPS transceiver on the yachts.

• No Report Position unknown
• Deduced Reckoning No report received - position deduced using previous position
• Estimate No report received - position estimated
• Radio Report No report received - position obtained by radio from yacht
• Sighting No report received - position obtained by sighting of the yacht
• Interpolation No report received - position interpolated from earlier and later known positions.
• Protest Pending
• Penalty Applied
• Redress Applied

• Bear's Books

This Cat Is Sailing in a Historic Boat Race (He’s Not Really in It to Win It)

By Annierose Donnelly

Have you ever met a cat with sea legs? Or a cat that likes water even a little bit? Meet Oli, a cat with a passion for sailing.

Oli is making history. He is the first cat to take part in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023 .

Oli’s owner, Bob Williams, a former naval officer, is at the helm for their entry into this year’s race. Bob has spent his life sailing around the world, and he loves to take loveable Oli with him. “I think Oli quite likes the boat life,” he shared in a recent interview.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Live Sail Die (@livesaildie)

Bob, alongside co-skipper Chris Warren, is currently taking part in the race from Sydney, Australia to Hobart, Tasmania. The race started on Boxing Day (December 26), and they are hoping to arrive before New Year’s Eve. You can track their progress on the race’s official website.

They are sailing on the oldest boat in the race, Sylph VI , a 40-foot (12-meter) yacht built in 1960. Bob has sailed around the world 2.5 times in this boat, including a recent circumnavigation of the globe, which saw him sail around the world in 193 days, cruising via all the great capes. Sylph VI has sailed in the Sydney Hobart race six times, but the last time was in 1972.

“She’s an older, heavier boat. We might be at the back of the fleet, but we’re just here to have fun and participate,” said Bob.

The competition is open to smaller boats with two-handed skippers as well as larger super yachts with up to 24 crew. Over 100 yachts are taking part in the race, which has been an Australian sporting tradition since it started in 1945. With a racing distance of 630 nautical miles (1,170 km), it is one of the world’s most challenging offshore yacht races with varying conditions at this time of year.

Best of luck to Bob, Chris, and Oli on their historic race.

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Start of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. Photo: Andrea Francolini

Excitement Builds for the Start of the 2024 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race

Sydney, Australia The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is set to start on July 27, 2024 at 1300hrs. Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), this year’s race promises thrilling competition and exceptional seamanship as 51 yachts, including 13 Double Handed boats, prepare to embark on the challenging 384-nautical mile course from Sydney Harbour to the Gold Coast.

The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is one of Australia’s premier offshore yacht races, attracting top-tier sailors and vessels from around Australia. Participants will navigate the picturesque yet demanding coastline, testing their skills and endurance against the elements.

Key Highlights:

• Diverse Fleet:  The race features a diverse fleet of 51 yachts, ranging from cutting-edge racing machines to seasoned ocean cruisers. The inclusion of 13 Double Handed entries highlights the growing interest in this demanding and strategic category.
• Notable Competitors:  The lineup includes several renowned yachts and seasoned crews, all vying for line honours and handicap victories. The competitive spirit and camaraderie among participants promise an exhilarating event for both sailors and spectators.  URM Group , the defending champion, is no doubt eye-ing down the Line Honours victory. CYCA Director David Griffith’s J/V62  Whisper  will also be in the fight for line honours. Rupert Henry’s  Mistral  competes as a strong double handed contestant, after claiming Double Handed IRC honours in the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart. Other notable double handed entries include Iam Smith’s  Jupiter  and Shane Connelly’s  Rum Rebellion . 
• Spectator Opportunities:  The race start will be a visual feast for onlookers, with Sydney Harbour providing a stunning backdrop. Spectators can witness the fleet’s departure from various vantage points around the harbour, including the iconic Sydney Heads. For the best on-water visibility spectators can book a ticket on the  CYCA Official Spectator Vessel . 
• Challenging Conditions:  The course presents a variety of challenges, from navigating coastal currents and winds to enduring the unpredictability of the open ocean. Competitors will need to demonstrate exceptional navigational skills and teamwork to succeed. The smaller yachts in the fleet are anticipating strong winds this year, providing a fast ride up the coast.
• Race Coverage:  Fans and supporters can follow the race in real-time through comprehensive coverage on the official race website and CYCA’s social media channels. Live tracking, updates, and engaging content will keep everyone informed and entertained throughout the event.

Commodore Sam Haynes of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming race, stating, “The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is a great race. I had the honour of winning this race in 2014 with my son onboard  Celestial . I wish all the competitors the best of luck during the race.”

As the countdown to the start continues, the anticipation and excitement are palpable. The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is set to deliver another unforgettable chapter in the storied history of Australian offshore racing.

For more details, visit  Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race News . For more information, please visit the official race website at  goldcoast.cycaracing.com .

Facebook: @SydneyGoldCoastYachtRace Instagram: @sgcyachtrace

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