Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2021: 100 plus fleet, new rules, nine past winners, six women skippers

After its Covid cancellation last year, the 2021 Sydney to Hobart has a 100 plus fleet, new favourites, six female skippers, a famous round the world winner and some interesting new rules.

Scallywag is one of the favourites for this years race south.

The Sydney to Hobart yacht race has bounced back from its Covid cancellation last year and will boast an impressive fleet of nine former winners, two overseas entrants, six female skippers and 20 two-handed crews in the famed bluewater classic.

The 628 nautical mile race, which starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, will also have strict Covid safety plans in place. It is understood crews will need to be doubled vaccinated and all sailors required to have a Covid test done 72 hours before the 1pm start of the race to satisfy entry requirements into Tasmania.

Blackjack is one of the line honours favourites.

Further measures to keep crew safe will be in place and are being worked on by the conducting club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

The 2020 Sydney to Hobart was cancelled at the last minute due to the Covid outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches over Christmas last year.

While 111 boats had entered late on Friday, it is expected around 90 will be on the start line on Boxing Day.

Included in the fleet will be nine former overall or line honours winners in the Tasmanian entries Alive and Midnight Rambler, the Sydney yachts Ichi Ban, Kialoa II, Love & War, Perpetual Loyal (now Infotrack), Quest, Solveig and Wild Rose (now racing as a 43-foot Wild Oats).

While the bulk of the fleet hails from NSW, there are also four from Tasmania, 13 from Victoria, 11 from Queensland, three from South Australia and one from Western Australia.

Wendy Tuck, the first woman to win a round the world race.

The fleet will also boast the biggest fleet of female skipper or co-skippers in memory in

Rebecca Connor (Wonderland), Jen Linkova (Flat White), Genevieve Warlow (Wild Card), Jiang Lin (Min River), Wendy Tuck (Speedwell) and Felicity Nelson (Supernova)

Tuck is one of the best known sailors in the race having won the Clipper round the world race - the first Australian and woman of any nationality to achieve the feat.

A Hong Kong entry, Queensland hopeful and former winner from Sydney will share favouritism for line honours.

The most winning boat in race history, Wild Oats X1, has opted to miss the race south while Comanche, which claimed line honours for US and Australian skippers in 2015, 2017 and 2019, is now owned by a Russian and this month set a race record in the Middle Sea Race.

This leaves Scallywag, which has been based in Australia, the Peter Harburg’s Queensland boat Black Jack and Sydney businessman Christian Beck’s Infotrack, which won as Perpetual Loyal in 2016, as the main line honours contenders.

On-board the Infotrack supermaxi before the 2020 race was cancelled. Pic: Andrea Francolini

WILD OATS XI PULLS PIN ON SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE 2021

EARLY OCTOBER: The most successful supermaxi in Sydney to Hobart history in October pulled the pin on its 2021 campaign in the world renown race south.

The Oatley owned 100-footer Wild Oat X1 and its crew have confirmed they will not be on the start line of the Boxing Day race due to ongoing uncertainty with Covid-19 restrictions.

The supermaxi, skippered by Pittwater’s Mark Richards, is a former overall winner, race record holder and has claimed a record nine line honours victories.

While Wild Oats X1 is out, the supermaxi Black Jack is racing as is the Hong Kong entrant Scallywag.

ALTERNATE PLAN FOR SYDNEY TO HOBART RACE FLOATED

SEPTEMBER: Plans are full steam ahead for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race but alternative long and short versions of the famous race are also being considered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There is also no D-Day for a potential cancellation of the race which was canned just days before its traditional December 26 start last year after the coronavirus outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches saw Tasmania shut its border.

The start of the Sydney to Hobart is beamed around the world with the race both famous - and infamous - after the loss of lives in the deadly 1998 event.

Race officials said they are moving ahead with planning for the world renown sporting event which started in 1945 and has been raced every year since except 2020.

To date more than 60 entries have been received.

In whatever form the race takes it is unlikely there will be any international entries and interstate boat numbers will be low.

Officials are still expecting a fleet of around 100 boats on the start line if it goes ahead on its traditional start day of December 26.

“At the moment the race is on until someone tells we can’t do it,” said Noel Cornish, the Commodore of the conducting club, the Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia.

A yacht off the Tassie coast on the final approach to Hobart. Pic: Andrea Francolini.

“We are planning for it to go ahead. The sentiment is we want to go ahead.

“But we are also planning for alternative races in NSW waters. There are a number of options we are looking at.’’

Plans being floated is a race around Lord Howe Island and back or a race to Eden, on the NSW south coast, and return to Sydney.

The date of these races could be different from the annual Boxing Day start of the Sydney to Hobart.

A series of events is also in the mix with officials keen to have some form of racing over Christmas if it can be run in a Covid-safe manner.

“Whatever it takes we will make sure we are doing it,’’ Cornish said.

The Sydney to Hobart is one of Australia’s great sporting events and over the years has lured some of the richest men in the world to Australia, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Netscape’s Jim Clark, along with top athletes, TV celebrities and even future Prime Ministers.

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Originally published as Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2021: 100 plus fleet, new rules, nine past winners, six women skippers