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Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Ultimate Guide: Why pensioners Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham are aiming to go one better this year

How to Watch the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Posted by Tom Fleming 17/12/2021

It’s time to take to the high seas, as the passage from Sydney to Hobart once again becomes a place of competition for the annual yacht race. With its previous years’ instalment cancelled due to COVID, 2021 will be the bounce-back year for Australia’s most decorated race on water, but how can you watch the action unfold? Read on with Canstar Blue to find out how you can watch the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

How to watch the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in Australia

Fans of the open water can catch the 2021 Sydney to Hobart race through 7Mate, with coverage live on the free-to-air channel.

Watch the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on 7Mate

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is available to watch live on 7Mate, with the free-to-air channel the sole live broadcaster of the event.

When is the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race?

The 2021 Sydney to Hobart race begins on December 26, 2021, and will finish on January 1, 2022. The race will begin at 12pm (AEST) on December 26.

How long is the Sydney to Hobart course?

The Sydney to Hobart stretch is 630 nautical miles, which equates to just under 1,200 kilometres. As the title of the race suggests, the course starts at Sydney, and ends with a circumnavigation of the coast of Tasmania. The fastest completion of the course was undertaken in 2017, when LDV Comanche crossed the line in just one day and nine hours.

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Best Places to Watch the Sydney to Hobart Race

Are you looking for the best place to watch the Sydney to Hobart race? I have three favourite ways to see all the action unfold that I would like to share with you, so let’s go… 

Over the years, watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart has become a Sydney holiday tradition. Thankfully, the race has a lunchtime start, so there is no need to crawl out of bed at dawn to be part of the action.

Updated: 14 December 2023

What is the Sydney to Hobart?

What time does the sydney to hobart race start, where does the race actually start, up close in the middle of the action on a harbour cruise, boxing day lunch cruise, boxing day byo picnic cruise, boxing day race to bondi cruise, from the north – mosman and middle head, from the south – the gap and south head.

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Every Boxing day since 1945, (other than 2020 because of Covid) Sydney Harbour has hosted the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. An arduous journey of 628 nautical miles south to Constitution Dock in Hobart. These yachts, from small vessels to super maxis, make an impressive sight as they leave the harbour and add the spectator craft, and it feels like a party out there.

The race attracts sailors with a variety of experience from weekend warriors to professionals. This year sees 120 boats registered , including 9 international boats.

Not being much of a sailor I had been content to watch it on TV for years however about 5 years ago I had a cousin visiting from Canada, and she was keen to see the race up close, so I was finally convinced to leave the comfort of the sofa and check it out. Even for a non-sailing enthusiast, it was damn impressive. I can see why it’s a favourite way to spend Boxing Day.

Some race basics

The starter’s gun will sound at 1 pm with a warning shot ten minutes earlier. However, boats will start getting into a position from much earlier, and the harbour is a pretty incredible site with all the competitors and spectator vessels filling this usually spacious waterway.

The official starting line is just off Nielsen Park, making this one of the most popular spots on the eastern shore to watch the action. Read more about how they manage the start of the race on the official Sydney to Hobart website.

Where are the best places to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart race 

That’s a good question and one with more than one correct answer, here are my three favourites.

I don’t think you can go past watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart from the water. Being out amongst the action as the boats head down the harbour and out of the heads is fantastic. You can see the sailors working furiously to get into position for the start and see all the little boats jostle for the best spots.

Tip : It can feel a bit more choppy with all the boats moving about, so if you are partial to seasickness, it might be an idea to grab some tablets.

Lots of boats on offer with a variety of price points and luxury. Some of my favourites are:

Captain Cook Cruises

One of the premium operators on the harbour Captain Cook will have three vessels out to get amount the Boxing Day action this year.

You can choose from the 3 hour BYO picnic cruise (on board bar), the popular lunch cruise and a special cruise that will travel outside the heads to Bondi!

The MV Sydney 2000 is a great ship with a full roof deck for the best views and commentary and TV coverage inside the boat to keep up to date with all the action.

One of the main reasons I like this cruise is the amount of space on the outdoor decks and the huge picture windows that are a feature of the boat.

They also have a fantastic spot to anchor at Parsley Bay between Watsons Bay and Nielson Park, which sees them perfectly positioned to watch the vessels race to the Heads.

Seating is at individual tables, and the huge windows mean everyone can see. Window seating is available too. This year they are offering two dining options across the ship’s three decks.

• Sky Deck – which is a 5-course premium menu with a beverage package that includes house spirits, superior wines, beers & soft drinks.
• Club Deck – a 3 course menu with a beverage package of superior house wines, beers & soft drinks.
• Ocean Deck – Shared platters, reserved seating and a welcome drink included – Sold out!

All levels have access to the outdoor open star deck

The Cruise departs 10.30am Darling Harbour, King St Wharf and returns at approx 3pm.

Board the John Cadman and make your way to the eastern corner of the harbour, dropping anchor at noon near Parsley Bay to watch the fleet make their way out of the heads.

The race begins at 1pm and the ship will stay put until 2pm when it will spend the next hour on a relaxed cruise returning to the wharf at 3pm.

Got the stomach for the open seas? Follow the action and the fleet out of the heads and down to Bondi on one of the Red Rocket Catamarans.

This 2.5-hour cruise is BYO everything , including drinks. There is indoor and outdoor seating and free wifi on board.

Vagabond’s MV Spirit

3 hour Boxing Day sail will be out on the water near the starting line for the big race. Along with great views of the Sydney to Hobart race, the captain will provide live race commentary. The price includes a 3-course seafood and carvery set menu. Beverages may be purchased on board. The cruise departs from Circular Quay at 11:30am and return approx 2:30pm.

The 2021 race celebrated 75 years of women in the race with excellent representation across the fleet

A harbourside picnic is a great way to use up some of the Christmas day leftovers and relax at the same time. Depending on how energetic you feel, you could combine a bit of a bushwalk to reach your chosen picnic spot.

One of my favourites is Georges Heights Lookout at Mosman. If Christmas festivities have you worn out, you might want to make the trip by bus otherwise you can easily walk from Taronga Wharf. Parking is at a premium so leave the car behind if you can.

Where: Georges Heights lookout along the Taronga to Balmoral Beach walk When: Front row positions fill quickly I suggest being in your spot by noon. How:  M30 or 178 buses from Wynyard Wheel-friendly: not really, prams with plenty of lifting may be possible Dog-friendly : No

Related: Check out more great picnic spots here

Many suggest that the trek up to the lighthouse is THE best Sydney to Hobart view. You can watch the yachts race up the harbour and view them as they move out of the heads and along the coast.

It certainly is popular here, so pack your picnic basket and nab your position early. I would say by 10 am to be safe. If you are coming from Circular Quay ferries will stop running at about 11.40am and start again at about 1.45pm. Do not attempt to drive here. There is no parking by just after sunrise!

With three great dining options, Watson’s bay is also my favourite choice if you prefer not to pack a picnic. Choose from a fish and chip take away from the wharf, a pub lunch from the Watson’s Bay hotel or fine dining at Doyle’s on the beachfront. All will be busy and require patience 🙂

Where:   Hornby Lighthouse  When:  Early – say 10 am to allow time to grab something to eat and walk up to the lighthouse  How: Early ferry from Circular Quay (they have stopped by 11 am in previous years) or bus 324, 325 or 380  from either Circular Quay or Edgecliff stations. Parking here is terrible on a good day, so try to avoid bringing your car if you can.  Cost: Meals from $10 takeaway to $$$ at Doyles

Looking for somewhere to stay near all the action? Check out the Watson’s Bay Hotel or Hotel Bondi

Where do you think is the best place to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race? Do you have any insider tips to share?

5 thoughts on “Best Places to Watch the Sydney to Hobart Race”

Living near San Diego harbor I know how thrilling a big race can be. Love the different choices you’ve outlined and wish I were going to be there to cheer the race on.

Wow, it must be some sight to see all the yachts making their way from the start. I’d love to take part, but I know that conditions can be really hairy on the Sydney-Hobart, so watching from the clifftops might be the best place to be.

Looks like a really fun event! Have never been to Sydney but we will be there in 2016 for a few months. Will try to catch this if possible, thanks for the tips on best places to watch it from!

The Sydney to Hobart race seems amazing. When I visited Sydney earlier this year, I remember seeing all of the stunning boats. I can barely imagine how exciting this will be.

Best place I watched it from was Sydney Tower. I became the unofficial commentator to all those around me and much cheaper than going by boat

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Aussie yacht navigator adrienne cahalan set to make rolex sydney hobart history when she joins forces with the old enemy.

Big rule change to this year's Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Record-setting sailor Adrienne Cahalan has joined forces with one of the fancied overseas boats in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race .

Cahalan, who will become the first female to do the race 30 times, will be aboard British boat Sunrise, which has scored high overall placings in most of the world’s other major offshore races.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Big rule change to this year’s Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

In 2021, Sunrise was the overall winner of the 2021 Fastnet and was second in the Middle Sea race and earlier this year won her division of the RORC Caribbean 600.

The fleet of 111 includes eight international entries, the first overseas-based boats to contest the race since 2019.

Cahalan is the most successful female sailor in Sydney to Hobart history with six line honours wins and two overall victories.

Five of the line honours victories and both overall wins were aboard supermaxi Wild Oats XI and she was also first across the line on 80-foot Swedish maxi Nicorette.

Sunrise is much shorter than those big boats at 38-foot and will be the smallest Sydney to Hobart entrant Cahalan has sailed on this century.

She has sailed before on other yachts with Sunrise’s boat captain Dave Swete, who is lining up for his seventh Sydney to Hobart.

The other British and New Zealand crew members won’t arrive until about a week before the race, but Cahalan felt their familiarity with the boat would offset their lack of sailing preparation in Sydney.

“I guess they do it all year, flying in and out of races, they don’t worry about it so much,” Cahalan said.

“I’m the local knowledge person, they’ve got a regular navigator, so I’ve got a little different role this year. I’ll be on the deck as well as back-up navigator.

“This race is well suited to having two navigators because it’s very intense and you really don’t have time to go to sleep.”

Not counting the cancelled 2020 race, Cahalan hasn’t missed a Sydney to Hobart since 2007, when she was eight months pregnant.

“I’m very proud of my record in this race and for me I just can’t imagine being on the shore watching the fleet leave without me,” Cahalan said.

When Cahalan made her Sydney to Hobart debut in 1984, she recalled being one of only around five females in the race, while this year there will be more than 100.

“Now it is really becoming more and more hopefully merit-based and people don’t need to ask the question anymore, “ she said.

“It’s all about you just bringing your skills to the table and you are taken for who you are, not whether you’ve got an M or a F after you on your birth certificate.”

How to watch

The Rolex Sydney Hobart will be live and free from 12:30pm AEDT on Boxing Day on 7mate and 7plus .

Sydney 12.30pm on 7mate and 7plus

Melbourne 12.30pm on 7mate and 7plus

Brisbane 11.30am on 7mate and 7plus

Adelaide 12.00pm on 7mate and 7plus

Perth 9.30am on 7mate and 7plus

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Race is on to win 2024 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race

Over 30 boats will be on the start line for the 2024 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race this Friday when monohulls, a multihull and two-handed entries will share the start line off Barrenjoey Headland for the 1pm start.  

Respected sailor, Theresa Michell, has joined forces with Paul Beath and his J/99, Verite, for their first major two-handed race together. Newcomers to the Pittwater Coffs, Beath did the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart in two-handed mode with another co-skipper. He and Michell’s first two-handed training session was a four-day return trip from Hobart.

“It was all upwind. Not particularly pleasant,” Beath remembered. “One of the reasons she is doing this race with me is because she sailed with me fully crewed in the Sydney Gold Coast race and the rest of the Blue Water Pointscore last year and we get on well.

“And this race is at a nice time of year,” the Novocastrian said of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s (RPAYC) 226 nautical mile race.

Although she halted racing at the end of the 1990s to raise a family, Michell’s credentials are outstanding in both two-handed and fully-crewed sailing, as a skipper, navigator and crew.

She contested the 5500 nautical mile two-handed Melbourne to Osaka race in 1999 on an Adams 10 that she also skippered in the 1998 Double-Handed Trans-Tasman Challenge from Sydney to New Plymouth in New Zealand. She has sailed on the international scene, done Sydney Hobarts and sailed an Olympic class dinghy.

“This is a new team in a new race and we think it’s a good distance. We’ll get our systems together and get organised,” Beath commented.

“It will be a demanding race because of the currents and fluctuating conditions.”

The pair are expected to be competitive against all-comers, including other two-handed entries such as Chris O’Neill, who returns with Blue Planet after finishing the race seventh overall last year.

“We also won PHS and were second in ORC – and these results were exactly the same in the two-handed division,” he said.

This time he will be co-skippered by Tom Johnston, who helped him to sixth in the two-handed division of the 2023 Sydney Hobart.

“It’s a fun race and a good location in Coffs, it’s not too strenuous and importantly, there’s been sufficient time between this race and the Sydney Hobart – I’ve forgotten all the pain,” O’Neill said wryly.

Among the latest fully crewed entries for the 38 th  ‘Pittwater to Coffs’ is David Griffith’s record breaking JV62 Whisper, which will likely battle Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72, Antipodes, for line honours. Whisper is also a favourite for the overall win, but due to the many weather vagaries at this time of year, the race really is wide open in all classifications.

On his quarry, Whisper’s owner says: “With her long waterline length, if Antipodes gets reaching conditions, she is quick, she will take off. We’re in pretty good shape though and the boat’s in perfect order.”

Griffith says his crew will also hold them in good stead. Among them are Rear Admiral Lee Goddard, Michael Coxon, Dougie McGain, Michael Fountain and Brett Van Munster. 

“Either way, it’s a wonderful race and the Alfreds do a great job,” Griffith said. “Everyone loves a destination race and Coffs Harbour is a great destination with lots to do.”

Others chasing overall glory are regular DK46 rivals Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson/Rob Aldis) and LCE Old School Racing (Mark Griffith). At the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta in early March, the latter placed second in the Open division on home turf, while Griffith’s boat, from RPAYC, was second. Another DK46, Nine Dragons, was declared the winner. 

Pierre Gal has entered the Asia catamaran Stealth 12.60 named Fez. The French expat, who lives on the NSW north coast, is a name locally and internationally, competing in the America’s Cup for France and has Australian victories too.

Incidentally, Gal won Division 4 of the 2019 Sydney Gold Coast race with Mistral, the same Lombard 34 that won the 2023 Pittwater Coffs race for two-handed sailors, Rupert Henry and Greg O’Shea last year.

Follow the fleet on the race tracker at:  https://yb.tl/pittwater2024

For all information go to:  www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au

Di Pearson/RPAYC media

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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023

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The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will again start in accordance with tradition with the firing of a starting cannon. The start will be at 1.00pm on Boxing Day, 26 December.

The fleet will start from start lines off Nielsen Park with boats on the northern line rounding "Victor Mark" and boats on the southern lines rounding "X-Ray Mark", at the Heads, and all boats heading out to sea and rounding "Mark Zulu", one nautical mile east of the Heads. The larger boats in the fleet will start off the front line, just north of Shark Island. The rest of the fleet will start from the southern lines, 0.2 nautical miles between each. Having two rounding marks at Sydney Heads will compensate for the distance between the lines before the fleet heads to sea on the ocean voyage to Hobart.

To give the yachts a clear area in which to manoeuvre before the start and then ample room to tack or gybe as they race to the Heads, NSW Roads and Maritime Services have declared an exclusion zone from 12 noon to 2:20pm on Boxing Day. A 6 knot no-wash zone will cover the Harbour from Garden Island and Bradley's Head to a line between North Head and Macquarie Light. Spectator craft may not enter the exclusion zone between these times and once the race starts the yachts must sail within the zone until they clear Sydney Heads.

As the countdown to the start begins, the CYCA's historic cannons will be fired aboard the official starting vessel, Olympic Storm, to draw attention to the starting flag sequence as follows:

12.50pm: 10 minute Warning Signal - Event flag hoisted and cannon fired.

12.55pm: 5 minute Preparatory Signal - Code flag P hoisted and cannon fired.

1.00pm - Starting Signal - Event Flag and Code flag P dropped and cannon fired.

A further signal (Code flag X) and a single cannon fire may indicate premature (OCS - On Course Side) starts by individual yachts which must then return and re-start. Yachts which have started prematurely will also be advised by radio within 10 minutes of the start. There will be no general recall.

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Full Standings available approximately three hours after the start.

OFFICIAL ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART MERCHANDISE

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

From casual to technical clothing, there is something for all occasions. Be quick as stock is limited!

Hobart protest rally calls for end to native forest logging in Tasmania, as Liberals vow to increase timber harvest

Less than a week from Tasmania's state election, thousands of people have marched in Hobart in protest against the logging of native forests, with veteran wilderness campaigner Bob Brown saying "our job is to get rid of the Earth destroyers".

Parts of the CBD were closed to traffic on Sunday morning because of the large crowd, which marched down Murray Street to the lawns of parliament, demanding an end to the practice.

The 'March For Forests' rally, organised by the Bob Brown Foundation, called on the major parties to follow the lead of Western Australia and Victoria – the only two states to end to end the logging of native forests.

Anti-logging campaigner and former federal Greens leader Brown said the protest was the "biggest pre-election crowd" that he had ever seen.

"We expected 500 and got more than 3,000. There is a huge move to get rid of the logging old parties. The swing away from Liberal and Labor will only grow in the coming week," he said.

"We are Earth, and Earth is us. Our job is to get rid of the Earth destroyers."

Liberals pledge to 'unlock' native forests for timber production

Neither the Liberals nor Labor are on-board with the push to halt timber harvesting for Tasmania's native forests.

In their policy announced in February, the Tasmanian Liberals said a "re-elected majority Rockliff Liberal government" would "unlock Tasmania's native forestry 'wood bank', providing an up to 10 per cent boost in the annual supply of high-quality sawlog to Tasmanian sawmillers".

"The Liberals are the strongest supporters of Tasmania's high-value native forestry industry, backing in Tasmanian sawmillers, contractors, and local jobs," Liberal Leader Jeremy Rockliff said.

The Tasmanian Liberals said if returned to government they would "make available up to 40,000 hectares" of the native forest "wood bank" and "make available an additional wood basket of up to 158,000 cubic metres of high-quality sawlog to Tasmanian industry".

In addition to their forest policy, the Tasmanian Liberals, while in government, enacted what have been described as "anti-protest" laws, which in February resulted in 19 Tasmanians receiving indefinite bans from entering any of the state's public native forestry estate — an area covering 812,000 hectares — after they protested logging activity.

Labor has promised, if elected after the March 23 poll, to launch an independent review into the state's native and plantation forests available for logging.

It will also stop the current plantation sawlog expression of interest process being conducted by Sustainable Timber Tasmania.

Major parties in 'race to the bottom', activist says

Campaign manager for the Wildness Society Alice Hardinge, who spoke at the Sunday rally, described the policies of the two major parties as a "race to the bottom when it comes to environmental politics".

"What we're actually seeing in the Liberal government is an increase in native forest logging. Last year alone over 7,000 hectares of native forests were logged in lutruwita/Tasmania," she said.

"I think the crowd here today shows that the vast majority of people do have a real passion for environmental issues."

The Tasmanian Greens say if elected they would end native forest logging, commence a transition program for forestry workers to exit the industry, and formally set aside a reserve of 356,000 hectares of forest.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff told protesters that "change is possible".

"The Greens message to you and Tasmania this election is we don't need to continue the destruction," she said.

"It is a crime of nature and the Greens will be standing parliament as we always have to make sure we do everything possible to fight it."

No change in course, Rockliff says

Earlier, Mr Rockliff told the media his party would not reconsider its policy on native logging.

"We've got our position very clear; we back the industry, we back rural and regional jobs," he said.

"None of my candidates are signing a green front group pledge which is essentially signing away jobs in rural and regional Tasmania.

"It's an anti-job pledge."

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