Sydney to Hobart 2020 Guide: Start time, results, how to watch, yachts, TV, tracker, distance

In doubt for months, the 2020 Sydney to Hobart yacht race is going ahead. How to watch, the yachts, start time, the history and more in our GUIDE to the Boxing Day race.

The 2020 Sydney to Hobart is the 76th edition of the race.

It will lack its usual international flavour due to coronavirus restrictions but the famous bluewater class is going ahead with a large fleet of yachts and sailors determined to end the year on a high note.

After a 2020 none of us will ever forget, race numbers have swelled with sailors clearly wanting to again experience the camaraderie and challenge of racing one of the toughest short ocean races in the world.

And while things will be different in the lead-up - with minimal festivities and limited access to the dock at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia on Boxing Day - sailors will be tested as they always have been in the 627 nautical mile race to Tasmania.

Crowds gather near Hornby Lighthouse on South Head at the start of last year’s race.

LINE HONOURS FAVOURITES

Big is usually better in yacht racing when its comes to the fastest time race and this year the fleet will be headed by Sydney skipper Christian Beck and his team on InfoTrack and Peter Harburg and his crew on Black Jack.

Unlike past years where there has been multiple 100-footer, this year only two super maxis will race south.

THE OVERALL CONTENDERS

Until the weather forecast settles, it could be any one of a number of yachts.

There’s the former winner, Alive from Tasmania, and then the two-time winner Ichi Ban, raced by Matt Allen.

There’s also the team on Gweillo, a 52-footer, the 100-footer InfoTrack and any number of other yachts.

Black Jack is one of only two supermaxis in the race this year.

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.

It is now a tradition for spectators to watch the race star from the foreshore.

ANNIVERSARY

The 76th Sydney to Hobart is the 75th anniversary of women in the race with two heading south back in 1946. One made it to Hobart. The other did not.

THE START

The Sydney to Hobart fleet is sent on its way from different start lines. The fleet races in size from 100-foot to 30-foot. this year a fleet of two-handed boats are competing for the first time.

A stunning day for the starr of the race in 2018.

VANTAGE POINTS

You will need to check what access is allowed around the foreshore this year.

But traditionally, as the start lines are just north of Shark Island and Bradley’s Head on Sydney Harbour, the best vantage point 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.

Once the fleet has started, the high land area at North and South Heads are the best viewing spots as is 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.

THE COURSE

The Sydney to Hobart fleet heads out through Sydney Heads, turns right and begins its journey down the NSW south coast after the starting canon fires at 1pm.

Yachts then race across the infamous Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania to the finish line on the Derwent River.

The 2020 Sydney to Hobart is the 76th edition of the race.

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.

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.

InfoTrack in race mode last year.

TV

Channel seven through 7mate.

RECORD BREAKERS

These are the yachts which have set race records during the 76-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

The star of the race can be chaotic.

STATS THAT MATTER

The largest fleet was in 1994, the 50th Anniversary, when 371 yachts started the race.

This years fleet boasts for the first time a new double-handed class.

Back in 1946, 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.

Now the line honours winners arrive in around two days or less unless the conditions are bad.

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.

MORE SPORT

Ironman swaps surf for Sydney to Hobart

The impact of women in the Sydney to Hobart

How COVID-19 will affect the race

Black Jack’s weakness against InfoTrack rival

Supermaxi’s surprise win pre Sydney to Hobart

Originally published as Sydney to Hobart 2020 Guide: Start time, results, how to watch, yachts, TV, tracker, distance