The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is pleased to invite eligible boats to enter 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
The 79th edition of the historic 628-nautical mile blue water classic will start on Sydney Harbour at 1300 hrs AEDT on Thursday 26 December 2024.
Two RPAYC's yachts, Pretty Woman (Skipper Richard Hudson) and XS Moment (Skipper Ray Hudson) have already signed up.
Ray Hudson’s XS Moment BNMH, an XP44, debuted in the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart and is a regular competitor in both their home Club's Blue Water Series at The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, as well as the CYCA’s Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore. The team finished 8th in IRC Division 1 in the 2023 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and competed in the Cabbage Tree Island Race in the lead up to the Great Race on Boxing Day 2023.
The 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Notice of Race (NoR) includes a few significant changes to the previous NoR. Most notably, to promote crew diversity and encourage more female and youth participation, IRC Rule 22.4 Crew Number/Weight will allow the addition of one additional crew to a boat's IRC crew number should the boat have any of the following on board for the race: two female crew, two youth (under 23 years old) crew, one youth and one female. This will only be applied once.
The 2023 edition saw 103 starters and 85 finishers in Hobart, including a highly-contested fight for Line Honours.
The maxi LawConnect won the John H. Illingworth Challenge Cup for Line Honours after beating defending champion Andoo Comanche by 51 seconds, becoming the second closest Line Honour finish in Rolex Sydney Hobart history.
Phillip Turner’s Alive, led by Duncan Hine, was the Overall Winner of the Tattersall Cup, becoming the second Tasmanian yacht to win the Tattersall Cup twice.
Skipper Duncan Hine confirms Alive's commitment to race in the 2024 edition, saying "We're looking forward to coming back for another crack at the Tattersall Cup. We're in it to win it. Phillip and the whole team are very excited."
Professional sailor Adrienne Cahalan navigated Alive to victory, earning her third Tattersall Cup. Cahalan currently holds the record for number of Rolex Sydney Hobarts sailed by a yachtswoman at 31 races. The Rolex Sydney Hobart is witnessing an upward trend of women sailors in the race, including professional sailors. The 2023 race saw a record 10 entrants owned/skippered by women.
Eight international yachts competed in the 78th running, including Caro (winner of the 2023 Rolex Fastnet Race) and Teasing Machine (2017 and 2023 winners of the RORC Transatlantic Race).
Eighteen double-handers took on the maritime challenge with Rupert Henry's Lombard 34 Mistral taking IRC honours for the second consecutive year and an impressive sixth IRC Overall.
Arthur Lane, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said: "It is my great pleasure to announce that entries are open for the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. We anticipate a strong fleet for the 79th running where our local Australian teams will be complemented by esteemed international competition."
"The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia once again extends its gratitude to Rolex for the ongoing support of the Race and the sport of sailing globally as well as our many valued race partners including our good friends at Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania as Race Finishing Partner."
Visit the Rolex Sydney Hobart website to view entrants.
Entries for the 2024 race will close on Friday 25 October 2024.
- The 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart starts in Sydney Harbour at 1300 hours AEDT on Thursday 26 December
- This is the 79th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The inaugural race was conducted in 1945 and has run every year since, apart from 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The race is 628 nautical miles
NOR and Online Entry available at: rolexsydneyhobart.com/competitors/online-race-entry
Pretty Woman; Richard Hudson
Richard Hudson leads his Farr 45 Pretty Woman’s seventh tilt at the Rolex Sydney Hobart. As CYCA’s 2023 Ocean Veteran of the Year, Richard and his crew racked up some impressive results in 2022, claiming the PHS Corinthian Division in last year’s race and 3rd under PHS Corinthian in the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast.
Mr. Hudson again blended experience with younger sailors from his home Club, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, in the 2023 Sydney to Hobart, allowing many young sailors to experience offshore racing at its toughest.
