Mega fleet on its way

The fourth-largest fleet ever — including 16 yachts from Tasmania — will line up for the 75th Sydney to Hobart this year.

THE largest fleet in 25 years and the fourth-largest fleet ever will compete in the 75th Sydney to Hobart blue water classic later this year.

Official entries closed yesterday with the final total of 170 entrants the largest since 371 yachts started the 50th anniversary race in 1994.

And part of the surge in entries has been due to the increased number of Tasmanian yachts taking part.

This year there will be 16 Tasmanian yachts leaving Sydney Harbour for Hobart, also the highest number from this state since the 1994 edition.

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Paul Billingham was delighted to have such a big fleet for the 75th event.

“To receive such an incredible number of entries this year is astonishing and testimony to the enduring appeal of the Great Race,” Billingham said.

“The range of yachts is truly impressive and the spectacle we will witness on Boxing Day will be unprecedented in the modern era of the race.”

Among this year’s number are five super maxis; Black Jack (Qld), the record holder Comanche (NSW); InfoTrack (NSW); the Oatley family’s reigning line-honours champion, Wild Oats XI (NSW); and SHK Scallywag from Hong Kong.

There will also be an international representation to the fleet with yachts from Great Britain, Ireland, France, China, Hungary, Poland, Hong Kong and USA — and, while NSW has predictably yielded the largest Australian numbers with 96, the other states have produced healthy numbers.

There are also a few ‘first timers’, most notably the first Aboriginal crew to ever take part in the race with the Beneteau 47.7, Tribal Warrior.

There are 10 past overall winners representative of various sizes and eras, from the 2018 winner, Tasmania’s own Alive; as well as Ichi Ban, Quest (which also won as Paul Clitheroe’s Balance seven years later), Oskana, the 46year-old classic yacht, Love & War (one of only two threetime winners in the race’s history) and two-time winner Wild Oats XI.