Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2024: everything you need to know

By James Dunlevie, ABC News

The sight of dozens of yachts zigzagging around Sydney Harbour's blue water on Boxing Day has competed with the cricket for TV audience eyeballs for a while now - so why all the fuss?

Is it just a case of rich sailors and their toys? Where is the start line? What happens if someone falls off?

So many questions - let's try and answer them.

When was the first Sydney to Hobart yacht race?

The race - officially called the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - is now in its 79th year and has been described as "one of the toughest, most respected ocean races" on the world sailing calendar.

The Australian National Maritime Museum notes the event began "in an off-the-cuff fashion" among World War II sailors keen to get back to peacetime activities by forming the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) in Sydney.

"At the end of the war, three of the members … planned a cruise to Hobart," the ANMM states.

"One evening John Illingworth gave a talk to members, and afterwards Peter Luke suggested Illingworth might like to join the cruise. Illingworth's reply was: 'I will, if you make a race of it.'"

On Boxing Day in 1945, "nine yachts set forth, including Illingworth in his recently purchased yacht Rani", a 34-foot wooden cutter.

The first race was a sign of things to come; a "strong southerly gale hit the fleet on the first day and many were unprepared for the rough seas", with several yachts thought lost, including Rani.

Illingworth, a Royal Navy Captain, pressed on and with a crew of "young Royal Navy officers and local amateur yachtsmen" won the race in a time of 6 days, 14 hours, and 22 minutes.

These days, teams that cross the line first win the JH Illingworth Cup, named in honour of Captain Illingworth.

From its beginnings as a challenge between sailing mates, the race has become a huge event, with this year's fleet expected to come in around 105 teams.

How long is the race?

The course is 628 nautical miles - that's 1,163 kilometres.

Starting at Sydney Harbour, the course runs down the south-east coast of Australia, and across Bass Strait before yachts sail past the Iron Pot and turn right into the River Derwent, to finish in Hobart.

It usually takes about 48 hours for the first boat to cross the finish line, depending on weather conditions.

Last year's race was one of the closest finishes in history, with just 51 seconds separating the line honours winner LawConnect from runner-up Andoo Comanche.

The current race record is one day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by Comanche.

When and where do they start?

The start is at 1pm AEDT (3pm in NZ) on Boxing Day in Sydney Harbour.

There are two starting "lines" with the larger yachts on the northern line just north of Shark Island, and the smaller boats on the southern line.

Two rounding marks off Sydney Heads compensate for the distance between the lines, before the fleet heads for the open sea outside the heads.

Two start lines?

Things get quite hectic on the water at the start, so two start lines are a "strategic arrangement" which "ensures a smooth and competitive start for all entrants", organisers say.

Wait, what ... there's a cannon?

Yes, a TINY CANNON shot signals the start of the race.

It is small, but LOUD.

Do yachts crash into each other?

Oh yes, especially at the start.

Usually, there are near misses that just result in a lot of shouting and an official protest being lodged (watch for red flags). But occasionally serious damage happens and a team could be out of the race on day one.

What are they racing for?

Mostly glory, as there is no prize money for the winners.

Crews race for trophies in many categories with the main events for casual race observers being line honours (first across the line) and overall (winner decided based on handicap).

The overall winner is considered a truer indication of sailing skill.

So the fastest boat doesn't always win?

Oh sure, the fastest boat wins the line honours prize (John H Illingworth Challenge Cup) which is a BIG DEAL and gets lots of media attention.

However, sailors view the overall winner (Tattersall Cup) - awarded based on handicap - as being the true indication of a team's skill and tactics, with the race sponsor describing it as the "trophy every skipper in the fleet dreams of holding".

As the appropriately named Jim Gale wrote for Sail World in 2017: "Imagine a horse race where some of the jockeys were on thoroughbreds, some on hacks, some on Shetland ponies and some on mules."

Who can take part?

The minimum age to compete in the race is 18 years of age. There is no upper age limit.

Each yacht generally carries between six and 24 crew members, the average across the fleet being 10 to 11 people on a yacht.

The head of the crew is the skipper and often the skipper also owns the yacht. Other positions include "helmsperson, navigator, tactician, trimmers and foredeck person, or for'ard hand", race organisers explain.

Boats in the doubled-handed category (introduced in 2020) attempt the course with only two crew members.

After the 1998 race, in which six sailors died, five yachts sank, more than 60 yachts retired and 55 sailors had to be rescued by helicopter, regulations were toughened and at least 50 per cent of crew members in a team must have completed a sea safety survival course.

If you are keen for a crack in 2026, one advertised course for Sydney to Hobart wannabe sailors offers "four days of skills and drills in Sydney Harbour" before taking part in the race as a crew member for $12,990, GST included.

What is it like onboard a racing yacht?

Conditions onboard can be cramped, with rough seas making it uncomfortable if you are trying to rest or do anything, really.

Imagine an aeroplane toilet, dehydrated food, snatching sleep and being wet a lot of the time and you will get the idea.

For smaller teams, sleep is precious. Rupert Henry said of his 2022 race in the two-handed division, "We only manage around four hours max of sleep each … we know when each other needs to crash so we do it then."

Each competitor is individually responsible for wearing a personal flotation device and carrying a personal locator beacon.

If a crew member goes over the side, teams have to circle back to collect them.

People who easily get seasick should probably give it a miss.

Who is racing this year?

There are more than 100 yachts entered in this year's event, including 2023 line honours winner LawConnect, as well as Wild Thing 100 and Comanche (as Master Lock Comanche).

Yacht names for this year's fleet include Bacchanal, Dark and Stormy, Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth, Dasher+Fisher How Bizarre, Hip-Nautic, Extasea, Lord Jiminy, Pacman, The Goat, Voltstar Yeah Baby, Trouble & Strife and Sailor Moon.

Most years feature some noteworthy teams.

This year Ben Crafoord is on Wild Thing 100 for his first race, along with his father Carl, who will attempt to complete his 38th Sydney to Hobart.

If they complete the course, it will make them just one of four families that have had three generations finish the event.

The race is not just a father and son affair.

Mother and daughter co-skippers Annette Hesselmans and Sophie Snijders will be sailing on Queensland double-handed yacht Fika.

Rich people and their toys?

With no prize money on offer, it is generally wealthy types, such as tech entrepreneur Christian Beck, who can afford it.

The bigger, newer yachts can cost several million dollars, plus all the expenses that go with it. Sails can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

However, the field also includes general sailing folk who crew boats without the high-tech gadgetry, motivated by the challenge of one of the toughest events the sport can offer.

What happens if a boat gets damaged?

Unsurprisingly, yachts are damaged quite often during the race, with teams pushing their equipment to the limit.

If the damage is serious, it can result in a team retiring and limping - or being towed - to the nearest port.

In the 2022 race, the yacht Huntress was damaged and lost the ability to steer.

With some of the eight on board experiencing seasickness and authorities informing them a "tow would be too dangerous", the "extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision" was made to "leave Huntress floundering 80 nautical miles (148 kilometres) offshore", the team posted on social media.

Huntress later washed up on a beach off the north coast of Tasmania - sparking a row with the local Aboriginal people over salvage rights.

Why the black sails?

Carbon fibre is used in sail manufacturing to increase durability under extreme conditions.

Once leading yacht racers started using black sails, many sailmakers caught on to the trend and began producing black sails even if their product contained no carbon fibre.

When does the first yacht finish?

Depending on the weather, the line honours winner in recent times comes in around 48 hours after the start, but that can very much depend on conditions during the 22.2-kilometre final stretch up the River Derwent to the finish line.

Yachts can finish at any time of the day or night.

Last year, LawConnect crossed the line just after 8am - just 51 seconds ahead of Andoo Comanche.

In 2021, Black Jack finished at 1.37am on December 29 followed by LawConnect at 4.11am.

In 2019, Comanche crossed the line at 7.30am on December 28, with InfoTrack about 45 minutes later.

Whatever time they finish, for the crews it will represent a huge personal achievement - and for the Line Honours skipper, jumping into the chilling waters of the River Derwent is tradition.

- This story was first published by the ABC