100 Days to 2022 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Q: How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

Q: What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

Q: Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

100 Days to 2022 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

17th September 2022

Afloat.ie Team

2018 Tattersall Cup winner, Alive, is one of 89 entrants so far for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Credit: Andrea Francolini/Rolex

An international and star-studded fleet is building for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with just 100 days to go until the 77th edition of the historic race.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, organiser of the race, has welcomed 89 entrants to date.

The fleet features eight international boats – from Germany (Orione), Great Britain (Sunrise), Hungary (Cassiopeia), New Caledonia (Eye Candy and Poulpito), New Zealand (Caro) and USA (Ocean Freeway and Warrior Won).

Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban, the Overall winner in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, is back to chase more history with Howth ex-pat Gordon Maguire onboard as Sailing Master. Ichi Ban is looking to become just the second boat to win the Tattersall Cup in three consecutive races and the first to win Overall honours four times.

Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100 Black Jack – Line Honours winner in 2021 – is one of four 100-foot maxis entered in the 2022 race, alongside race record holder Andoo Comanche (three-times Line Honours winner), Hamilton Island Wild Oats (record nine-times Line Honours winner) and Christian Beck’s Juan-K 100 LawConnect (Line Honours winner as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016).

There will be another strong contingent of short-handed sailors, with Crux (Carlos Aydos’s S&S 34) and Speedwell (Campbell Geeves and Wendy Tuck) among 13 two-handed entrants.

Arthur Lane, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said: "The fleet for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart is set to be one of the race’s biggest over the last decade, outside of the 75th anniversary race in 2019.

"We are delighted to see so many international and interstate entrants returning to take part in the race after the challenges of the last few years. There are many former winners, as well as a large number of first-timers, taking on what is one of ocean racing’s greatest challenges.

"The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia thanks Rolex for its ongoing support of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and sailing worldwide, as the Club celebrates 20 years of partnership with its Race Sponsor."

Of the 81 Australian entrants to date, 52 are from NSW, 13 from Queensland, six from Victoria, four from Tasmania, four from South Australia and two from Western Australia.

Some of the notable boats competing in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart are:

Alive: Philip Turner’s Reichel/Pugh 66, skippered by Duncan Hine, won the Tattersall Cup in 2018.
Andoo Comanche: John Winning Jr has chartered the famous VPLP 100, which has won Line Honours three times (2015/2017/2019) and holds the race record.
Black Jack: Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100, skippered by Mark Bradford, won Line Honours for the first time in 2021.
Caro: Justin Ferris’ Botin 52, skippered by Maximilian Klink, is expected to be among the frontrunners in a competitive group of 52-foot boats.
Celestial: Sam Haynes’ TP52 was second overall in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Crux: Carlos Aydos’ S&S 34 was second on all handicaps in the inaugural Two-Handed Division last year.
Hamilton Island Wild Oats: The Oatley Family’s Reichel/Pugh 100 – formerly Wild Oats XI – returns to the race. She holds the record for most Line Honours wins (nine), also winning Overall honours twice.
Ichi Ban: Matt Allen’s Botin 52 has back-to-back Overall wins to her name and a joint-record three in total.
Kialoa II: Patrick and Keith Broughton are the proud owners of the 1971 Line Honours winner.
LawConnect: Christian Beck’s 100-footer won Line Honours for Anthony Bell as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016.
Maluka: Peter Langman will be at the helm of the smallest boat in the fleet, the 9-metre Ranger.
Moneypenny: Sean Langman’s Reichel/Pugh 69 won Overall honours in the 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
Quest: Craig Neil’s TP52 has twice won the Tattersall Cup, as Quest for Bob Steel in 2008 and as Balance for Paul Clitheroe in 2015.
Sunrise: Tom Kneen’s JPK 1180 won the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race, was second in the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race and won divisional honours in the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600.
Warrior Won: American Chris Sheehan will race his highly-fancied TP52 in Australia for the first time, having made headlines by winning the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600.

Entries for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart close at 1700hrs on Friday 28 October 2022.

Published in Sydney to Hobart

Tagged under

Sydney Hobart

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The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual offshore yacht racing event with an increasingly international exposure attracting super maxi yachts and entries from around tne world. It is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km).

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1pm (AEDT) on Monday 26 December.

This is the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

88 boats started the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, with 50 finishing.

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - FAQs

How many Sydney Hobart Yacht Races have been sailed?

The number of Sydney Hobart Yacht Races held by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia since 1945 is 75

How many yachts have competed between 1945-2019 in the Sydney Hobart Yacht?

6,257 completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht race, 1036 retired or were disqualified)

What is the estimated total crew to have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race?

About 60,061 sailors have competed in the Sydney Hobart Race between 1945 and 2019

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets?

Largest fleets: 371 starters in the 50th race in 1994 (309 finished); 154 starters in 1987 (146 finished); 179 starters in 1985 (145 finished); 151 starters in 1984 (46 finished); 173 started in 1983 (128 finished); 159 started in 1981 (143 finished); 147 started in 1979 (142 finished); 157 started in 2019 (154 finished)

What were the largest Sydney Hobart Race fleets post 2000?

116 in 2004 (59 finished); 117 in 2014 (103 finished); 157 in 2019 (154 finished)

What was the Smallest Sydney Hobart Race fleet?

Nine starters in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 1945

What was the largest number of international entries in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2015 and 2017 there were 27, including the 12 Clipper yachts (11 in 2017). In the record entry of 371 yachts in the 50th in 1994, there were 24 internationals

Who was the first winner of the Sydney Hobart Race?

Rani, Captain John Illingworth RN (UK). Design: Barber 35’ cutter. Line and handicap winner

What was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race fleet size?

157 starters, 154 finishers (3 retirements)

Who was the 2019 Sydney Hobart Race winner?

IRC Overall: Ichi Ban, a TP52 owned by Matt Allen, NSW. Last year’s line honours winner: Comanche, Verdier Yacht Design and VPLP (FRA) owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, in 1 day 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds. Just 1hour 58min 32secs separated the five super maxis at the finish

What is the Sydney Hobart Race record?

1 day 9 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds, set in 2017 by LDV Comanche after Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour in port/starboard incident for a finish time of 1d 9h 48m 50s

Who is the oldest ever skipper to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

The oldest ever sailor was Syd Fischer (88 years, 2015).

Who are the youngest ever sailors to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

As a baby, Raud O'Brien did his first of some six Sydney Hobarts on his parent's Wraith of Odin (sic). As a veteran at three, Raud broke his arm when he fell off the companionway steps whilst feeding biscuits to the crew on watch Sophie Tasker sailed the 1978 race as a four-year-old on her father’s yacht Siska, which was not an official starter due to not meeting requirements of the CYCA. Sophie raced to Hobart in 1979, 1982 and 1983.

Quite a number of teenage boys and girls have sailed with their fathers and mothers, including Tasmanian Ken Gourlay’s 14-year-old son who sailed on Kismet in 1957. A 12-year-old boy, Travis Foley, sailed in the fatal 1998 race aboard Aspect Computing, which won PHS overall.

In 1978, the Brooker family sailed aboard their yacht Touchwood – parents Doug and Val and their children, Peter (13), Jacqueline (10), Kathryne (8) and Donald (6). Since 1999, the CYCA has set an age limit of 18 for competitors

Who was the first woman to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

Jane (‘Jenny’) Tate, from Hobart, sailed with her husband Horrie aboard Active in the 1946 Race, as did Dagmar O’Brien with her husband, Dr Brian (‘Mick’) O’Brien aboard Connella. Unfortunately, Connella was forced to retire in Bass Strait, but Active made it to the finish. The Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the first female skipper to finish the race

What is the oldest yacht to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race?

In 2019, Bill Barry-Cotter brought Katwinchar, built in 1904, back to the start line. She had competed with a previous owner in 1951. It is believed she is the oldest yacht to compete. According to CYCA life member and historian Alan Campbell, more than 31 yachts built before 1938 have competed in the race, including line honours winners Morna/Kurrewa IV (the same boat, renamed) and Astor, which were built in the 1920s.