Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Map of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race route
First held	1945
Start	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Finish	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Competitors	103 (2023)
Champion	Alive (on handicap) LawConnect (Line Honours)
Most titles	Freya; Love & War; "Ichi Ban" (3) (on handicap) Wild Oats XI (9) (line honours)
TV partner(s)	Seven Network
Website	rolexsydneyhobart.com

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event 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).^[1] The race is run in conjunction with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.^[2]

The race was initially planned to be a cruise by Peter Luke and some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to racing; however, when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested it be made a race, the event was born. Since the inaugural race in 1945, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has grown over the decades to become one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world^{[citation needed]}, and it now attracts maxi yachts from all around the globe. The 2019 race was the 75th edition.

Australia's foremost offshore sailing prize is The George Adams Tattersall Cup, awarded to the ultimate winner of the handicap competition based on the length, shape, weight and sail dimensions of the yacht. Much public attention however, focuses on the race for "line honours" – the first boat across the finishing line, typically the newest and largest Maxi yacht in the fleet.

Along with the Newport-Bermuda Race and the Fastnet Race, it is considered one of the classic big offshore races with each distance approximately 625 nautical miles (719 mi; 1,158 km).

In 2017, LDV Comanche set a new race record finishing in 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, beating Perpetual Loyal's record of 1 day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds, set the previous year.^[3] Wild Oats XI, who crossed the line first, received a 1-hour penalty for her role in a near-miss collision at the beginning of the race and disregard of the starboard rule, handing LDV Comanche line honours.^[4] Wild Oats XI completed the course in an unofficial record time of 1 day, 08 hours, 48 minutes and 50 seconds.

Wild Oats XI has won line honours on 9 separate occasions (2005–2008, 2010, 2012–2014, 2018) and is the first boat to have claimed the treble – race record, line honours and overall winner.^[5]