Sailing in Australia

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Sailing is a popular sport and recreational activity in Australia with its varied coastline and often warm climate.

Contents

Australian Sailing is the peak body in charge of sailing as recognised by the International Sailing Federation [1] In 2017-18 there were over 80,000 registered sailors and over 16,000 events held across the country. [2]

Clubs

Sailing Clubs are common in Australia. Large cities have significant numbers of clubs catering to boats from off the beach dinghies to serious ocean racing. Sydney for example, has over 40 sailing clubs. Most moderate sized towns with sailable water nearby have a sailing club. Many clubs hold weekly races, annual championships and annual races.

Sailing Associations

Australia has a large number associations ranging from one design class associations, which sail boats bound by strict rules to open associations for development and broad communities of boats. Associations are generally at a national level with state based subsidiaries, although some associations are state based where they represent classes or communities that are only found in one state. In 2019, Sailing Australia affiliated ### class and other associations, although not all class associations are affiliated.

Associations often hold annual state and national championships.

Major events

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is the premier blue water Australian race, starting on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day every year. The race attracts a wide variety of boats from supermaxi yachts to small private boats. The race was first held in 1945. [3]

The Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race starts on 27 January in Port Phillip Bay. Racers trace a course down the rugged west coast of Tasmania and along the south coast to Hobart. [4] [5]

Hamilton Island Race Week held in the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland in August is Australia's largest offshore regatta attracting over 250 boats. [6] [7]

Historical racing events

Australia hosted the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne [8] and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney [9] including the respective sailing events.

In 1983, Australia sailing in Australia II defeated the United States of America in the America's Cup, ending their 132-year stranglehold on the cup. This is considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sports history. The following America's Cup was held in 1987 in Perth with Australia losing the cup. [10]

Sailing around the states

Australian Capital Territory

Competitive sailing is based around Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. [11] [12]

New South Wales

Sydney is a mecca for sailing with Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay and Pittwater providing abundant sheltered water for sailing races for boats from small dinghies to large keel boats.

Australia Day regatta is held on 26 January every year. It is the world's oldest continuously held regatta, first held in 1837. [13]

Sailing was popular in Sydney from as early as 1900. Joshua Slocum commented in his account of his first around the world voyage that sailing was a popular sport. [14]

Queensland

Sailing on Moreton Bay. Whitsunday Islands offer excellent cruising. Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race [15] Bay to Bay yacht race [16]

South Australia

There are a number of off-the-beach sailing clubs along Adelaide's metropolitan coastline on the eastern side of the Gulf St Vincent with other clubs at major towns along the coast. Major yacht clubs are located in marinas around Port Adelaide and North Haven.

The Lake Eyre Yacht Club is notable as its events take place on a dry lake, which is only infrequently filled. In 2010, it held a regatta for the first time in over 20 years. [17]

South Australia offers excellent cruising grounds within Spencer Gulf and St Vincent Gulf with numerous islands, and the coasts of the Eyre, Yorke and Fleurieu peninsulas, as well as the coast of Kangaroo Island. [18]

Tasmania

Sailing in Tasmania focuses on the sheltered waters of the Derwent River around Hobart as well as in Launceston.

The Royal Hobart Regatta is held on the Derwent River annually in February. It was first held in 1838 and involves a wide range of water sports including sailing. [19] [20] [21]

The Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race is held annually beginning on 27 December. [22]

Northern Territory

Darwin has two yacht clubs, the Darwin Sailing Club and the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association.

The Darwin Ambon Yacht Race is held in August annually. [23]

Victoria

In Victoria, sailing is centred on Port Phillip Bay and Western Port Bay.

Sail Melbourne is an annual sailing Regatta run by Yachting Victoria at various yacht clubs around Port Phillip Bay. Sail Melbourne is a Grade 1 International Sailing Federation event and is the largest off the beach regatta in the Southern Hemisphere. [24]

Western Australia

Sailing centred on the Swan River in Perth.

The Fremantle to Bali yacht race and rally is a 2500 km yacht race starting in May. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yacht racing</span> Sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats

Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or other fixed navigational devices or racing longer distances across open water from point-to-point. It can involve a series of races with buoy racing or multiple legs when point-to-point racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race</span> Annual yacht race from Sydney to Hobart

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). 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.

Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania</span>

The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, is the largest yacht club in the Australian state of Tasmania, and is best known for its role as the finishing destination for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The club sports a range of facilities, from a 120-berth marina to on-site maintenance facilities.

The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria Inc. (ORCV) conducts ocean/offshore and bay yacht races and events in Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Hobart Regatta</span> Event in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

The Royal Hobart Regatta is a series of aquatic competitions and displays held annually in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and is Tasmania's oldest sporting event. The regatta began in 1838.

The Launceston to Hobart yacht race is a 285 nautical mile race, commencing at Beauty Point on the Tamar River, with competitors sailing out of the Tamar River, east along the northern coast of Tasmania, through Banks Strait and south down Tasmania's East Coast, through Mercury Passage between mainland Tasmania and Maria Island, across Storm Bay, to a finish line in the Derwent River. The race departs on 27 December each year. The race is known as the L2H race despite the race commencing at Beauty Point, some 45 kilometers north of Launceston.

Iain Murray is an Australian sailor and yacht designer

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race</span> 1993 annual yacht race in Australia

The 1993 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Kodak, was the 49th annual running of the Australian "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney.

The 2006 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Rolex, was the 62nd annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. As in past editions of the race, it was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales. As with previous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races, the 2006 edition began on Sydney Harbour, at 1pm on Boxing Day, before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.

The 2003 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Rolex, was the 59th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. As in past editions of the race, it was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales.It began at Sydney Harbour, at 1pm on Boxing Day, before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.

The 2010 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sponsored by Rolex and hosted by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, was the 66th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The 2010 race began on Sydney Harbour, at 1pm on Boxing Day, before heading south for 628 nautical miles (1,163 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Cadet Australian Championship</span>

The International Cadet Australian Championship is an annual series of championship races held in Australia as the top racing event for the Cadet class sailing dinghy in the country. Generally held as a qualifier for the world cup, the championship will reach its 50th event in 2011 when it will be held at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales from 27 December 2011 to 4 January 2012.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race</span> 2012 annual yacht race in Australia

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Akarana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race</span> 2019 annual yacht race in Australia

The 2019 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was the 75th annual running of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia sponsored by Rolex, it began on Sydney Harbour at 13:00 on 26 December 2019, before heading south for 628 nautical miles (1,163 km) via the Tasman Sea, Bass Strait, Storm Bay and up the River Derwent, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.

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References

  1. ↑ ISAF MNA Microsite
  2. ↑ 2017-18 Australian Sailing Annual Report. Australian Sailing. 2018.
  3. ↑ "Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2019". Rolexsydneyhobart.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  4. ↑ "Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster - ORCV12". Orcv.org.au. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  5. ↑ "About the Race - ORCV12". Orcv.org.au. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  6. ↑ Queensland Holidays - Hamilton Island Raceweek page
  7. ↑ "News - Australian Sailing". Sailing.org.au. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  8. ↑ "1956 Melbourne Olympic Sailing Competition : Events | ISAF | World Sailing | Official Website". Sailing.org. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  9. ↑ "Sydney 2000 Sailing - Results & Videos". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  10. ↑ "Looking back: The 1983 America's Cup win". 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  11. ↑ "The Canberra Yacht Club". Canberrayc.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  12. ↑ "The Sailing Club - YMCA Canberra". Canberra.ymca.org.au. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  13. ↑ "Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron - 180th Australia Day Regatta". Rsys.com.au. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  14. ↑ Slocum, Joshua (c. 1900). Sailing Alone Around the World.
  15. ↑ "71st Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race". Brisbanetogladstone.com. 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  16. ↑ "Bay to Bay Yacht Race". Hervey Bay Sailing Club. 1980-04-18. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  17. ↑ Malkin, Bonnie (2010-07-07). "Yachting regatta in Australian desert for first time in 20 years". Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  18. ↑ Thompson, Neil (1984). Cruising Gulf Logs: South Australian Waters. Brighton, South Australia: Spindrift Publications. ISBN   0-9590859-0-4.
  19. ↑ "Royal Hobart Regatta, Hobart, Tasmania". Royalhobartregatta.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  20. ↑ "Royal Hobart Regatta:175 years". LINC Tasmania. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Hobart Regatta, Royal (2016). "Royal Hobart Regatta, Hobart, Tasmania". royalhobartregatta.com. Royal Hobart Regatta.
  22. ↑ "Derwent Sailing Squadron's 2017 Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race". L2h-dssinc.org.au. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  23. ↑ "Darwin Ambon Yacht Race | The Annual Spice Islands Darwin Ambon Yacht Race". Darwinambonrace.com.au. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  24. ↑ "About - Australian Sailing". Sail Melbourne. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  25. ↑ "Fremantle to Bali 2020 | Fremantle Sailing Club". Fsc.com.au. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
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