Please select your home edition
Edition
Zhik 2024 December

Australia's oldest offshore race, around Bruny Island, starts tomorrow

by Peter Campbell on 9 Feb 2001
Australia's oldest offshore race, around Bruny Island, starts tomorrow

Few small islands around the Australian continent have been mentioned so often in the logs of early navigators than Bruny Island off the south-east coast of Tasmania - the English captains Cook, Bligh, Flinders and Bass, the Frenchmen d'Entrecasteaux, Baudin and Furneaux all dropped anchor in Adventure Bay or sailed past across Storm Bay.

Few of these famous explorer/navigators circumnavigated Bruny Island, but tomorrow a hardy group of Tasmanian yachtsmen will sail in their wake when they contest the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Bruny Island Yacht Race.

First sailed in 1898, the 90 nautical mile Bruny Island Race is said to be the oldest offshore race in Australian waters and while some years were missed, it has been conducted every year since 1936, with the exception of the War years.

In the early years it was just referred to by the RYCT as 'The Ocean Race' but it is now officially the Bruny Island Race. Winner of the inaugural race was Sunbeam (J.Blackley) which, from a picture in 'Sailing On', a history of The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, was a gaff-rigged cutter with an open cockpit and little or no cabin.

Over the years many of Tasmania's most prominent yachtsmen and their yachts have won the Bruny Island Race, but it has also attracted the occasional mainland competitor including the famous Culwalla III, skippered by W.M. Marks from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, which in 1910 set a longstanding record for the course of just under 90 nautical miles.

The 2001 race will start off Hobart's Castray Esplanade at 9.30am tomorrow with a fleet of 16 modern ocean racing yachts taking part, including 2000 Telstra Sydney to Hobart competitors, Breakaway (Wayne Banks-Smith), Doctor Who (Roger Jackman), Mirrabooka (John Bennetto), Interum (Craig King) and B52 (Hughie Lewis).

Joining them in the Pepsi-Juicy Isle IMS division will be Fine Cotton (J.Radonic), Cyclone (Stephen Keal), Invincible (H.D. Clark) and T42 Solandra (Craig Escott).

Each of these of these yachts will also race in the Sargisons PHS division, with the addition of Valheru (Tony Lyall), Quetzalcoatl (J.Ey), Grand Chancellor (M.Ballard), Madman's Woodyard (A. Peterson), Wattle Dove (A.Shaw) and Southern Comfort (S.Mannering).

The RYCT race officer will make the decision on which way to send the fleet around Bruny Island will be determined by the wind direction prevailing and forecast tomorrow morning.

Favourites for line honours are Doctor Who, Cyclone and Valheru.


Further information: Peter Campbell - 0419 385 028 or Rowan Johnston at the RYCT on (03) 6223 4599.

Related Articles

20% off P&B Sails!
Fresh offers in 2025, and an even simpler way to shop Fresh offers in 2025, and an even simpler way to shop. Explore the P&B UK loft and make huge savings on all P&B performance sails.
Posted today at 11:00 am
P&B Phantom Nationals overall
A couple of injuries and commitments reduced those taking to the water to 52 Accounting for day two's abandoned and cancelled races, the RO planned three races instead of two on the final day, planning for success, the course was set inside the breakwater.
Posted today at 9:54 am
14th Great North Asymmetric Challenge
Bassenthwaite hosts 56 teams for 14th edition Following a week of forecast highs and lows, gales and drifters, the 14th Great Northern Asymmetric Challenge, sponsored by Trident UK, proved to be a tale of two halves. The Lake District is known for being a little damp.
Posted today at 8:39 am
Melges 15 Fittings Guide
A breakdown of the fittings based on a complete Allen Brothers fit-out If you are looking to upgrade or replace the hardware on your Melges 15, it helps to know exactly which fittings you need and what their role is on the boat.
Posted today at 7:30 am
Fortaleza World Sailing Championships announced
Test event in January 2026, and the real thing in January 2027 World Sailing has confirmed the dates for Fortaleza 2027 World Sailing Championships as 22-30 January 2027, with a Test Event being held one year prior.
Posted today at 6:40 am
Craftinsure Supernova Travellers at Emberton Park
A challenging course makes the most of the lake September sunshine and a lively south westerly welcomed the Supernova fleet for their first visit to Emberton Park Sailing Club and round one of the Craftinsure Supernova Travellers Series.
Posted today at 5:48 am
All set in Trieste for the Melges 24 Worlds
Racing set to begin at Yacht Club Adriaco The countdown is nearly over. In just a few hours, the Yacht Club Adriaco will oversee the start of one of the most eagerly awaited international sailing events of the season.
Posted today at 4:41 am
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 1
Wind gods fail to deliver in Oyster Bay, NY Sadly day one of the 2025 Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (SCYC) proved to be a non-starter as the wind failed to make an appearance.
Posted today at 12:51 am
Norfolk 14 Foot One Design Championships
Water Wag sailors from Dublin Bay invited over to join in Over the weekend of 13th/14th September 2025, our historic Norfolk Dinghies competed on Wroxham Broad for the 21st Anniversary Cup first presented in 1952. The Class had invited an Irish contingent, who sail Water Wags.
Posted on 22 Sep
Firefly open meeting at Dell Quay
With the infamous legendary Pie & Mash supper The Dell Quay Sailing Club Firefly Open 2025 was more than just a regatta — it was a two-day spectacle set against the magnificent backdrop of Chichester Harbour and underscored by Dell Quay's centenary year celebrations.
Posted on 22 Sep