Sydney to Hobart 2019: Start time, results, how to watch, live updates, TV, tracker, distance, course
Here is your ultimate Sydney to Hobart Guide, including start time, vantage points, favourites and the course for the 75th Anniversary race.
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It is a race that has attracted billionaires, statesmen, rockstars, sport legends, titans of the business world and even members of royalty to Australia to test their mettle in a maritime challenge as famous as it is infamous.
The Sydney to Hobart celebrates it 75th anniversary in 2019 with the biggest - and most expensive - fleet since the 50th race back in 1994.
The multimillion-dollar armada in excess of 150 yachts will set sail off four separate start lines on Sydney Harbour on December 26, sent on its way when a replica canon fires at exactly 1pm.
For some it will be a race for the ages, for others their annual trek south and way of testing themselves physically and mentally against each other and Mother Nature.
Guide to the 2019 Sydney to Hobart yacht race
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THE START
Sydney Harbour will became a racetrack when the Sydney to Hobart fleet is sent on its way from four different start lines. The fleet, which is in excess of 150 yachts and includes four former line honours winners, ranges in size from 30 footer to 100 foot supermaxis.
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VANTAGE POINTS
The four start lines of the Sydney to Hobart are just north of Shark Island and Bradley’s Head on Sydney Harbour.
If you are on shore one of the best views, looking straight down the line, is from Nielsen Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
On the other side of the harbour the pick is Bradleys Head.
From both these spots you will be able to view all the starting manoeuvres of the yachts as they jockey for the best possible position and a clean start to the 628 nautical mile race.
Once the fleet has started, the high land area at North and South Heads will provide a great view as will Middle Head.
Georges Head and Obelisk Bay headlands also provide a good view once the action is underway and the fleet storms up the harbour and out into open sea.
Watsons Bay and the area near the lighthouse are prime spots to watch the front runners begin their race south in earnest.
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THE COURSE
The fleet will head out to sea, down the NSW South Coast, across Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania to the finish line on the Derwent River, following in the wake of the nine little yachts and their intrepid crews who sailed the inaugural event back in 1945.
HISTORY
This famous sporting event started as a cruise to Hobart back in 1945 with just nine yachts taking up the challenge. It is now recognised as one of the great ocean races in the world despite there being no prizemoney for winners.
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GOING THE DISTANCE
The race is 628 nautical miles long but yachts cover significantly more ground as they tack and gybe, run and reach their way south according to the wind direction and current. The majority of the yachts usually finish around two to three days after the start depending on weather conditions.
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
The Sydney supermaxi Wild Oats XI was the first yacht to cross the finihs line last year. The Tasmanian boat Alive claimed the coveted handicap honours.
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SIZING UP RIVALS
Yachts must be sized between 30 foot and 100 foot according to the rules of the race.
The minimum crew is five people while the superm, axis carry around 19-20 crew, depending on the forecast. They could easily take more but weight is crucial to a yachts performance.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE RACE
The moves and shakes of yachts can be followed on a race tracker on the race website which is activated once the race has started.
The tracker obtains a position using the GPS satellite network and then transmits that position using the Iridium satellite network.
TV
The Seven Network, through 7Mate, will broadcast the start of the race.
RECORD BREAKERS
These are the yachts which have set race records during the 75-year history of the Sydney to Hobart.
1945 - Rani (UK) 6 days 14hrs 22 min 0secs
1946 - Morna (NSW) 5:02:53:33
1957 - Kurrewa IV (NSW) 3:18:30:9
1962 - Ondine (US) 3:03:49:16
1973 - Helsal (NSW) 3:01:32:09
1975 - Kialoa (US) 2:14:36:56
1999 - Nokia (Den/Aus) 1:19:48:12
2005 - Wild Oats XI (NSW) 1:18:40:10
2012 - Wild Oats XI (NSW) 1: 18. 23.12.
2016 - Perpetual Loyal (NSW) 1:13.31.20
2017 - LDV Comanche (NSW) 1:09.15.24
BIG, SMALL, FAST AND SLOW: STATS THAT MATTER
The largest fleet was in 1994, the 50th Anniversary, when 371 yachts started the race.
This years fleet is the largest since this race.
The slowest Hobart overall winner was the yacht Christina which took six days, 18 hours, 51 minutes and 15 seconds to complete the 630nm journey in 1946.
The closest finish was in 1982 when just seven seconds separated Condor of Bermuda and Apollo.
The yacht with the best Hobart record is Freya which won the race three times in succession in 1963-64-65.
The best line honours record is held by Morna which was first to Hobart in 1946-47-48 and when renamed Kurrewa IV was first home in 1954, 1956 and 1957.
The smallest yacht to win the race overall was the 30-footer Screw Loose in 1978.
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