1983 sydney hobart yacht race

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Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Winners 1980 to 1989

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• Posted on December 26, 2022 December 26, 2022
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The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event, which was first sailed in 1945. The race takes place over 5 days and attracts over 100 yachts of all types and sizes.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in December is an icon of Australia’s summer sport. The course covers a distance of 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to the East coast of Australia, Bass Strait, the Tasmanian east coast, Storm Bay, Derwent River and finally Battery Point in Hobart, Tasmania.

Line Honours goes to the first yacht to cross the finishing line. The Overall Winner is determined by each yacht’s finish time adjusted by several factors. As a result, the fastest boat is often not the Overall Winner.

Overall Winner = ow     Line Honour = lh Time is shown as   DD:HH:MM:SS     Days:Hours:Minutes (and Seconds where available)

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Sydney to Hobart tragedy leaves lasting legacy for sailors and those who raced to help

Topic: Sailing

When this year's Sydney to Hobart fleet sets sail, it will do so bearing the memory of those who lost their lives doing so 20 years ago.

Key points:

• Sailor John Saul recalls waves 25 metres high
• Eden volunteer heard "screaming", desperation on radio
• Tragedy resulted in changes in race weather information

Six sailors died during the 1998 race as a result of some the worst weather conditions seen in the history of the Bluewater Classic.

Hobart-based sailor John Saul was there. He skippered Computerland that year and recalls when the race morphed from sport to survival, and adrenaline took over.

"It's a bit like skidding a car; you don't think about it when the car's skidding, you think about it when the car stops," he said.

John Saul pointed his yacht towards New Zealand to escape the storm that was tearing his boat apart. ( ABC News: Jack Tegg )

Saul recalls his boat being battered by the huge southerly buster which struck the fleet the day after Boxing Day.

Wind gusts reached 90 knots and there were reports of waves 25 metres high.

"We knocked the wind gear off the top of the mast in a wave with a knockdown, broke the safety fence around the side of the boat. A fair few things were falling off," Saul said.

"We were just getting knocked down too much pointing it at Hobart, so we pointed it at New Zealand and she held together."

Computerland managed to navigate to calmer waters and make it to Hobart relatively unscathed.

"We had good people on board. We made good decisions, and we were bloody lucky. Simple as that," he said.

The Business Post Naiad, on which two crew died, being cut up for disposal. ( Supplied: Chris Timms )

Others were not so fortunate. Tasmanian yacht Business Post Naiad was hammered, and two of its crew would perish.

Another entry, the Winston Churchill, was claimed by the Southern Ocean, taking with it three men. Glyn Charles on Sword of Orion also died.

During the mayhem, 55 sailors were winched to safety, in what remains the largest search and rescue effort in Australian peacetime history.

'You could hear the desperation'

When it became apparent the race was no longer one to Hobart, but one for survival, crews retreated to the New South Wales town of Eden.

Barry Griffiths was working as the divisional commander of the Eden volunteer coastal patrol.

He pulled a 32-hour shift that year, manning radios and helping to coordinate the rescue effort.

Barry Griffiths recalled the desperation in some of the voices over the radio. ( ABC News: Vanessa Milton )

"There was a terrible lot of screaming. You could hear the desperation in some of the voices," he said.

"Sometimes their radios went dead, and there could have been a multitude of reasons; [they] were dismasted, some lost power or had too much moisture getting into the radio."

"I reckon looking out the window there that the top of the waves was nearly as high as this window. It was mountainous seas."

Griffiths would be one of a multitude of townspeople whose lives would be changed by the events of '98, as Eden became the centre of the sailing universe.

Kari Esplin is another. She took 16 stricken sailors into her home, providing them with food and shelter.

Kari Esplin had the crew of two yachts sleeping on her family room floor. ( ABC News: Vanessa Milton )

They slept on the floor of the Esplin family room, and some ended up staying for weeks.

"We couldn't help with the rescue, but we knew people would need warm drinks, dry clothes and a bed to sleep in," she said.

"Sailors were coming in drenched and desperate, and just needed a refuge.

"They were tying their boats down and trying to get everything back together, and at about 3:00am we were back picking up people to bring home so they could get a good night's sleep.

"We are a seafaring town, and we take care of seafarers. It's part of our history, and I've known that since I was a child."

'A sad job'

Crane operator Chris Timms broke up one of the boats and returned money and children's gifts to family in Tasmania. ( ABC News: Vanessa Milton )

The events of '98 continue to ripple through the life of crane operator Chris Timms.

After the tragedy, he was given the grisly task of breaking up Business Post Naiad when the insurer declared it unsellable.

It would be a job that would stick with him two decades on.

"Some of the yachts had been out at sea for three or four days, most of them were dismasted," he said.

"I remember B52 was almost broken in half, we had to make a special cradle to lift her out.

"Business Post Naiad was the saddest one.

"It was a sad job, all their personal belongings were on board. I found a wallet belonging to Bruce Guy with a lot of money in it, which we made sure his wife received.

"And Phil Skeggs had bought two nice keyrings with his children's names … I sent them off to Tassie to his family."

'Something we'll never forget'

Solo Globe Challenger had to be lifted from the water by crane at Eden. ( Supplied: Chris Timms )

Out of the tragedy came an inquest which saw a Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) race director resign, and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) increase the depth of its forecasting.

It has become known as the legacy of those who lost their lives in 1998, and has ensured experienced sailors like Skeggs and Guy did not die in vain.

"We've put a lot of work into making sure we've improved on what was already a pretty safe race," CYCA past commodore David Kellett said.

"But if you get those extreme conditions, you have to be ready to face it.

"It's something we think about every time we go through Bass Strait, it's something we will never forget.

"But we've learnt from it and we're much better prepared for it."

On the second day of the race, a minute's silence will be observed by those at sea — remembering those who never made it to port two decades ago.

Dismasted yacht Stand Aside tows a liferaft while stranded in the Bass Strait. ( AP: Ian Mainsbridge )

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Australia’s Nautical Rite of Passage

By Christopher Clarey

• Dec. 23, 2017

Still smarting from losing the America’s Cup in Bermuda in the Northern Hemisphere summer, Tom Slingsby and Jimmy Spithill are back home and back on the water for the Southern Hemisphere summer.

Both will race in Australia’s maritime rite of passage, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, a 628-nautical-mile sprint from Sydney Harbor to Hobart, on the island of Tasmania, which begins on Tuesday. But only Spithill, still on a quest for his daily dose of adrenaline at age 38, sounds truly fired up about it

“I think it’s because it’s been two years and I’ve forgotten,” Spithill said with a laugh in an interview from Sydney, Australia. “The first one I did in 1998 I got seasick, and that’s pretty embarrassing for someone who grew up essentially on a little island, but I think that’s why you do it, because it can really humble you at times. At some point, every race, you are out there, and it’s a bit miserable and you’re thinking about all your mates sitting on the couch watching the cricket and eating leftover Christmas dinner as you’re trying not to throw it up in the Bass Strait.

“But I think that’s what is kind of cool, because as a team going through that, it brings you together, and if you are fortunate enough to make it to Hobart, the reception they give you at the finish, regardless of where you finish, is something really special.”

Both Spithill and Slingsby, the most prominent Australian sailors of their generation along with Glenn Ashby, have finished first in the Hobart race. Spithill took line honors on the super maxi Comanche in 2015 and will be back as part of Comanche’s all-star crew this year. Slingsby was on Perpetual Loyal in 2016 when that super maxi smashed the race speed record, finishing in one day, 13 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds.

That meant just one full night at sea, which suited Slingsby just fine. His preference for sleeping in his own bed — and for a good night’s sleep in general — was one of several reasons he turned down offers to compete in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race, which circumnavigates the planet and features some legs that last 20 days or more.

“Ocean racing in general isn’t my thing,” he said. “The Hobart is long enough for me.”

Slingsby, now 33, was not planning on doing the Hobart this year but made a late decision to return as skipper on the former Perpetual Loyal, now under new ownership and renamed InfoTrack.

He has had other, much more expensive challenges on his mind. While Spithill has been riding his new foiling surfboard and promoting the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, Slingsby has been trying to raise money for an Australian America’s Cup team to challenge Emirates Team New Zealand in 2021.

In the last America’s Cup, Slingsby and Spithill were the leaders of the Cup defender Oracle Team USA, owned by the American billionaire Larry Ellison. Oracle had won the Cup twice, but its predominantly Australian crew was outmaneuvered and soundly beaten by Team New Zealand in Bermuda.

“Ultimately we were too conservative collectively, and I think for myself looking back, I didn’t go with my instincts enough both on and off the water,” said Spithill, the helmsman in Bermuda who has yet to announce his plans for 2021.

For now, the only Australian sailor who holds the Cup is Ashby, the skipper and star wing trimmer of Team New Zealand, which, unlike Oracle, took calculated risk after calculated risk that paid off. Those included the decision to use stationary bikes on boar d to generate hydraulic power, an innovation that Dan Bernasconi, the Team New Zealand design coordinator, said would not be permitted in 2021.

Slingsby said his understanding was that Ellison did not plan to back a challenge in 2021. Of the six teams that took part in Bermuda, only Team New Zealand and the British syndicate, Land Rover BAR, appear set to continue, and despite all the sailing talent in Australia, Slingsby is far from certain his prospective team will make it to the starting line either.

Team New Zealand and challenger Luna Rossa Challenge have released early plans for the new class of Cup yachts, and although the design is undeniably innovative — a high-performance foiling monohull with twin canting foils and no keel — it also has raised cost concerns because of its complexity.

Though the class rule is not set to be released until March, Team New Zealand has confirmed that it plans to have an open hull design, meaning teams will be free within the constraints of the rule to explore (and spend heavily on) different options. The rigid wings used as mainsails in the last two Cups are unlikely to be used in 2021, and there may be no limits on how many soft sails a team can make.

“It confuses me, especially for a boat designed to be out of the water, why we have to have an open hull design,” Slingsby said. “You’re just adding unnecessary costs in some areas. I had my time writing rules for the America’s Cup, and we lost fair and square, so it’s not in my hands, but I just hope they are not overdoing it.”

After initially estimating the budget for his team at $100 million, Slingsby is now concerned that it may need to be closer to $150 million, which is proving dissuasive to investors.

“When the boat came out, it was really exciting thinking this really takes sailing into a new spot, but as soon as you start getting into breakdowns of the financials and the complexity of the engineering and the cost of some of these components, you quickly realize this America’s Cup is going to be very, very expensive; a lot more than the last one,” Slingsby said. “They’ve got to do something to rein in the costs; otherwise new team bids like potentially Team Australia are not going to happen.”

Australia has a rich history in the Cup. Australia II, bankrolled by Alan Bond and skippered by John Bertrand, sparked a national celebration in 1983 when it ended the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year winning streak and brought the trophy down under.

Bertrand has been advising Slingsby. But an Australian team has yet to win it again, and largely because of the cost factor, there has been no challenger from Australia since 2000, when Spithill was a 20-year-old helmsman on the underfunded syndicate Young Australia.

Since then, most Australians of great means who are interested in sailing have been content to fund Sydney-Hobart campaigns and enjoy the annual Boxing Day spectacle as the yachts leave Sydney Harbor.

But there is no doubt that this generation of Australian sailors is exceptional, and Slingsby, who says he needs firm financial commitments in the next month, said it would be a shame to miss the bigger opportunity.

“It’s just the right time with the Cup in New Zealand and so many of our great sailors at the peak of their careers,” he said. “They’re all raring to go for an Australian team, but I’ve got to be able to find the platform for these guys and myself to do what we do best.”

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

• Corinthian - IRC
• Corinthian - PHS
• 2-Handed IRC
• 2-Handed PHS
• 2-Handed Line Honours
• Line Honours

Standings information for the current race will not be available until approximately three hours after the start.

Race Organiser Notes

Unless otherwise flagged, all positions are obtained by a report from a GPS transceiver on the yachts.

• No Report Position unknown
• Deduced Reckoning No report received - position deduced using previous position
• Estimate No report received - position estimated
• Radio Report No report received - position obtained by radio from yacht
• Sighting No report received - position obtained by sighting of the yacht
• Interpolation No report received - position interpolated from earlier and later known positions.
• Protest Pending
• Penalty Applied
• Redress Applied

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Hall of Fame

The CYCA Hall of Fame was established in 2018, recognising Members past and present with notable involvement to the Club and sailing achievements.

Members of the CYCA Hall of Fame by year of induction:

Lou Abrahams

Richard hammond, peter kurts, iain murray am, sir james hardy obe, gordon ingate oam, alan payne am, kay cottee ao, mervyn davey, jack earl oa, grant simmer oam, stan darling, syd fischer am obe.

• Magnus Halvorsen
• Trygve Halvorsen

Captain John Illingworth

Hugh treharne oam, michael york oam.

Lou Abrahams was a Member of the CYCA from 1970 until 2014. He was also a Member of Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) from 1964, where he was Commodore in 1972/73.

The Junior Sailing Centre at SYC is named after Lou due to his influence on young sailors and his generosity.

He competed in 44 Sydney Hobart Yacht Races between 1963 and 2007. The first with Sir Arthur Warner on Winston Churchill before becoming an owner and racing 43 consecutive races in eight yachts.

He won the race twice, first with Challenge 11 in 1983 and the second with Ultimate Challenge in 1989. He was also second overall in 1991. With the 1983 victory, Challenge II became the first Victorian yacht to win the race.

Lou’s ocean racing success was not restricted to the Hobart.

• He was Australia’s Team Manager for the 1979 Admiral’s Cup, which Australia won.
• He won the 1980 Great Circle Around Tasmania with Vittoria.
• He raced in the Kenwood/Clipper Cup in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 1996.
• He was part of the Admiral’s Cup team in 1985 & 1987 – on Challenge III and Ultimate Challenge.
• He was third overall on Challenge in the 2002 and 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobarts.
• He was first in the Sydney 38 Division on Challenge in the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobarts.
• He was Sydney 38 National Champion on four occasions.

In recognition of his achievements, Lou was awarded:

• Victorian Yachtsman of the Year – 1983
• CYCA Ocean Racing Yachtsman of the year – 1990
• CYCA Veteran Yachtsperson of the year – 1996, 2002 and 2006

Lou Abrahams was inducted into the CYCA Hall of Fame in 2023.

Better known in the sailing fraternity as ‘Sighty’, Richard Hammond went from a young skiffy out of Manly to become one of the most renowned ocean racing navigators.

Sighty was a Member of the CYCA from 1967 until he passed in 2013. He competed in his first Sydney Hobart in 1952 aboard Wanderer (the stories of his early voyages were legendary) before joining Russell Slade aboard Janzoon and Janzoon II, where he met his lifelong sailing mates Colin Betts and Richard Norman.

He went on to become the first yachtsman to compete in 40 Hobarts, winning overall in 1968 aboard Koomooloo , taking Line Honours the following year on Crusade and being instrumental in navigating Sovereign to the line and handicap double in 1987. In addition, he navigated yachts to second and third places in several races.

Australia’s involvement in the Admiral’s Cup was a particular favourite of Richard’s, where he represented Australia seven times, including seven Fastnet races, all as navigator and becoming the only Australian to be on two winning Australian team sin 1967 and 1979.

He was instrumental in Australia’s success over the years, with his intimate knowledge of English conditions, and was mentor to all Australian Teams from 1967 to 1989.

Sighty was also part of several Australian teams in the Kenwood Cup in Hawaii, winning the inaugural event in 1988.

Richard Hammond was inducted into the CYCA Hall of Fame in 2023.

Peter Kurts was a Member of the CYCA for 38 years from 1967 until he passed in 2005. Peter competed in 31 Sydney Hobarts, winning twice overall, a second place and two fourth places, as well as six divisional wins.

Peter competed in his first race in 1964 aboard Kaleena before launching the first of his five yachts, Mister Christian , followed by the famous Love & War, in which he won two of her three Hobarts, becoming only the second boat to achieve three wins in the history of the race.

He also built Once More Dear Friends, Drake’s Prayer and Madeline’s Daughter , all successful yachts which in his career carried him to:

• Win the 1966 Brisbane to Gladstone Race.
• Win the 1967 Sydney to Brisbane Race.
• Represent NSW and Australia in six Southern Cross Cups, three as Team Captain.
• Have the top scoring yacht in the 1987 Southern Cross Cup as a member of the winning team.
• Win the 1973/74 Blue Water Pointscore with Love & War
• Be owner/skipper of six challenges for the Admiral’s Cup (only Syd Fischer has done more) with a second and third place.
• Be the Australian Team Captain twice.
• Compete in eight Fastnet races.
• 1983 Australian Team at Kenwood Cup in Hawaii.
• Win Line Honours in the 1980 Bermuda Race aboard Bumblebee 4.
• Helm Nefertiti as Trial Horse for Dame Pattie in 1967 America’s Cup in Newport, Rhode Island.

Peter Kurts was inducted into the CYCA Hall of Fame in 2023.

A skiff sailor, yacht designer, ocean racer, Olympian, America’s Cup helmsman, Regatta Director, High Performance Manager for Australian Sailing and an innovator in yachting technology. Iain Murray AM is the complete package.

He is a World Champion in 18-footers and Etchells, as well as Australian Champion in Cherubs, 18-footers & Etchells.

A Member of the CYCA since 1985, Iain has competed in 27 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Races, winning three times, including as the designer of three winning yachts and crewing aboard 10 Line Honours victors, including in 2022 aboard Andoo Comanche.

He won the 1973 Cherub Championship at age 14, in a boat he designed and built himself at 12. He won six World 18-footer Championships in a row from 1977

Iain was the first to use carbon fibre in boat building in Australia with John McConaghy.

His first Hobart of 26 was in 1977, when he sailed with Denis O’Neil and Peter Kurts, before skippering Bumblebee 5 to win the 2001 Hobart on the yacht he also designed and built.

Iain competed in three Admiral’s Cups, winning in 2003.

He was the Australian Yachtsman of the Year in 1984 and was awarded an Order of Australia in 1991.

In the America’s Cup, Iain was skipper of the 12 Metre Advance in 1983 and stayed on in Newport to skipper trial horse for Australia II .

His America’s Cup record included:

• 1987 Skippered, managed and designed Kookaburra.
• 1991 – Skippered, managed and designed Spirit.
• 1995 Head of the design team for One Australia.

He was also Etchell World Champion in 1984 & 2019.

Iain represented Australia at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing in the Star.

He has been Regatta Director for the America’s Cup in 2013 (San Francisco), 2016 (Bermuda), 2021 (Auckland) and has been appointed for the 2023 edition in Barcelona.

Iain became Regatta Director for Sail GP in 2019 and was High Performance Manager for the Australian Sailing Team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Iain Murray AM was inducted into the CYCA Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sir James has been a Member of the CYCA since 1971, celebrating his 50th anniversary last year.

As one of the first committee members of the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy, he played a key role in establishing the YSA, which has become an institution of our Club.

A successful sailor from an early age, he was Australian champion in the 12 square metre Sharpie class in 1959, Flying Dutchman class in 1964 and world 505 champion in 1966.

Sir James represented Australia in two Olympic Games, skippered three America’s Cup challenges and competed in four Admiral’s Cups.

His name is deeply etched in the history of the America’s Cup, having competed as crew, then skipper aboard Gretel in 1967, skipper of Gretel II in 1970, on Southern Cross in 1974, on Australia in 1980 and as relief skipper and advisor to John Bertrand for Australia II’s win in 1983.

As helmsman aboard Impetuous in the 1979 Admiral’s Cup, Sir James assisted the Australian team in winning the prestigious trophy for the CYCA.

He also enjoyed many Sydney Hobart Yacht Races over the years, from his first in 1955 with Norm Howard on Southern Myth to those as skipper of his own yachts – Nyamba , Police Car and the famous family yacht Nerida , on which he raced in the 50th Sydney Hobart in 1994.

In recognition of his contribution to sailing and the community, Sir James was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1975 and knighted for his services to yachting in 1981.

He was then inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in ’94 and was awarded the Australian Sport Medal in 2000.

Inducted in 2022.

Gordon served as the CYCA’s Rear Commodore in 1965. He is currently the second longest serving Member of the Club, having joined in 1949.

A year later, he competed in his first Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, aboard the 29-foot Jasnar .

In 1962, Gordon purchased Caprice of Huon , and competed in four Sydney Hobarts, his best result being second-place overall in 1972.

Gordon and Caprice of Huon qualified for the 1965 Admiral’s Cup, where she recorded the exceptional result of three wins in four races, resulting in the team placing second.

Gordon qualified Caprice of Huon again for the 1967 Admiral’s Cup team. As he was campaigning with Sir Frank Packer’s team for the ’67 America’s Cup, he lent the boat to Gordon Reynolds, assisting that famous Admiral’s Cup win.

Gordon sailed on a wide range of yachts, from ocean racers to one-design Dragons and 5.5s. He won the 5.5m Australian Championship in 1961, 1962 and 1969, also winning the Scandinavian Gold Cup in 1969.

Following the 1967 America’s Cup campaign, Gordon went back to one-design sailing in the Tempest class, winning a national championship and selection to the Australian team for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

In 1976, Gordon purchased Gretel II from Alan Bond and challenged for the 1977 America’s Cup. He continued to race Gretel II on Sydney Harbour and in 12m World Championships, before returning to the Dragon Class, where he has had exceptional results. In 2018, at the age of 91, Gordon won his fourth Prince Philip Cup, a remarkable achievement.

For his many services to sailing, Gordon was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

After competing in the inaugural Sydney Hobart Yacht Race aboard Horizon , Alan became one of the CYCA’s earliest Members in the late 1940s.

He was a cadet draughtsman during World War II while training as a naval architect, and established a naval architect practice following the war.

Alan enjoyed early success with his designs Nocturne , Solo and Cherana – three overall wins and three Line Honours wins between them in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Alan was commissioned to design Gretel , Australia’s first challenger for the America’s Cup in 1962, as well as Gretel II for the 1970 America’s Cup.

In the 1980s, Alan was co-opted by the CYCA, along with Professor Peter Joubert and Gordon Marshall, to assess the construction of ocean racing yachts. They recommended the American Bureau of Shipping Rules be adopted in Australia and eventually, with Alan’s support, they were used as a worldwide reference for construction standards.

Aside from being a most talented designer, Alan was known as a thorough gentleman, never pursuing financial success, nor trading on his reputation. He was unflappable, meticulous, warm, sincere, patient, understanding and always good for a laugh.

Alan was a Member of the CYCA until he passed away in 1995.

Vic Meyer joined the CYCA in 1950, when he owned the motor sailor, Lauriana .

He assisted the Club in purchasing its first property, the Rushcutter Yacht Service, for 10,000 pounds, with a loan guaranteed by Vic, Merv Davey and Colonel Albert Saafeld.

In 1952, Vic offered Lauriana for use as the Radio Relay Vessel in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. On the cruise back from Hobart, the engine was shut down and Vic experienced the joy of sailing. From then, he was hooked.

In 1954, Vic approached a young naval architect, Alan Payne, to design him a cruising yacht. A 57-foot steel-hulled sloop was built by Vic and his son. They named her Solo – a born winner.

Vic was a hard driving skipper and never expected his crew to do anything that he would not do himself. Vic and Solo enjoyed incredible success in the 1950s and 1960s.

In eight Sydney Hobart Yacht Races between 1955 and 1962, Solo won two Tattersall Cups, two John H Illingworth Challenge Cups and was second on line four times.

She won many other major ocean races, including six Line Honours wins and four overall wins in the Montague Island Race, as well as five Line Honours wins and two overall wins in the Brisbane Gladstone Race.

Vic circumnavigated Australia in 1962 and retired Solo from racing the following year, spending the next decade cruising around the world, often with an all-female crew.

Vic retired to Maroochydore, where he passed in 1991.

Kay Cottee could be termed a CYCA baby; the daughter of prominent members of the time Jim and Joy McLaren, she was taken sailing for the first time when only a few weeks old.

Kay along with her four sisters spent her youth around the CYCA where her love of sailing developed and where she met and married the son of another prominent CYCA family. She was a member of the club in 1970’s re-joining in 1993.

In 1988, Kay became the first woman to sail single handed non-stop and unassisted around the world, aboard the 37ft yacht Blackmores First Lady. On her return through Sydney Heads on 5 th June 1988, she was greeted by tens of thousands of well-wishers.

Following the famous voyage Kay undertook an 18-month national schools tour, speaking to over 40,000 high school students and raised in excess of $1million for the Rev. Ted Noffs’ Life Education Program.

Kay was the Australian of the Year in 1988; awarded an Order of Australia in 1989 and was Chair of the Australian National Maritime Museum from 1995 to 2000. In 2017 she was an inaugural inductee of the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.

Inducted in 2019.

Stan Darling was born in Hobart in August 1907. He worked for the ABC as a radio announcer and in 1936 was transferred to Sydney before enlisting for service in World War II in the Royal Australian Navy. Stan returned from the war as one of the most decorated Australian naval officers being awarded three Distinguished Service Crosses.

In 1947, Stan joined Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen as navigator aboard Peer Gynt thus embarking on a yachting career with equal distinction, making up the third member of the most consistently winning ocean-racing team ever put together.

Stan competed in 27 Sydney Hobart Yacht Races, taking Line Honours twice (1953 Solveig and 1976 Ballyhoo) and was overall winner five times (1954 Solveig, 1957 Anitra, 1963 and 1964 Freya and 1970 Pacha).

Due to illness, the Halvorsen Brothers did not sail in 1954, leaving Stan to skipper Solveig to an overall win. In 1967, Stan was navigator in the winning Admiral’s Cup team aboard Balandra.

Inducted in 2018.

Mervyn Davey could be termed Mr. CYCA.

Merv joined the CYCA in 1945, the 25 th member. He served on the Board of Directors for a number of years before becoming Rear Commodore 1947 and 1948 and Commodore from 1949 to 1951 and again in 1957 to 1958.

Merv was elected to Life Membership of the club in 1961 and in 1962, was appointed Secretary and continued in that capacity until 1971 when he became the full time Sailing Secretary.

Along with the Board, Merv was responsible for the acquisition in 1951 of the small boatshed at Rushcutters Bay as the first CYCA clubhouse and was one of the guarantors for the loan; the first marina in 1952 and the building of the addition to the clubhouse in 1958, the marina extensions in 1960 and the completion of the new clubhouse building in 1965 and the acquisition of the adjoining boat yard and marinas in 1968.

Merv designed and supervised the construction of his 44 foot yacht “Trade Winds” which was the first modern ocean racing yacht constructed of steel in Australia. He skippered her to wins in the 1948 Montagu Island race and the 1949 Sydney to Hobart race.

As a highly qualified engineer, Merv was also well known for his measuring skills and was a leading exponent of the RORC rule and the development of the IOR rule in the 1970’s. A very principled man, he was Chief Measurer for the Australian Yachting Federation and represented the country on the world rating Councils.

He was described by the highly respected yacht designer Olin Stephens as “a brilliant young man who was a credit to the CYCA and Australian yachting”.

One of the founding fathers of the CYCA and the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Jack Earl OA, the noted marine artist owned a Colin Archer designed 43’ gaff rigged ketch named after his beautiful wife “Kathleen Gillett”. Jack and Kathleen lived aboard and cruised with their son Mick and daughter Maris. He and Peter Luke were friends who cruised together and had the idea of forming a cruising club, which they did on 6 th September 1944.

Jack competed in the first CYCA race in October 1944 from Sydney to The Basin in Pittwater.

It was Jack’s intention to cruise to Hobart in December 1945 along with Peter Luke and the Walker brothers which was the foundation of the Sydney to Hobart race.

In 1947 Jack departed Sydney for a circumnavigation of the world only the second Australian yacht to do so, arriving home in November 1948. He completed another circumnavigation in the 1960’s aboard his Tasman Seabird yawl “Maris”.

Jack was a great supporter of the CYCA over his long membership until his death in 1994.

Syd Fischer has been a Member since 1962, and has competed in 47 Sydney Hobart yacht races, owning 14 different yachts along the way. His first Hobart in the Lion Class Malohi in 1962 was followed in 1968 by the most famous of his yachts, the 48’ Sparkman and Stephens-designed Ragamuffin, in which he went on to race to Hobart in six races, rarely out of a podium finish either overall or in division. Syd won the race overall in 1992 and took Line Honours twice in 1988 and 1990.

Syd was a committed competitor and was part of the Australian Team in the Admiral’s Cup in six events, Captaining the Team on five occasions and winning the Fastnet race in 1971 and leading the winning team in 1979. In addition, Syd challenged for the America’s Cup five times involving many CYCA Members, particularly junior sailors in many of his challenges.

Trygve Halvorsen & Magnus Halvorsen

Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen are among the most successful ocean racers ever to have sailed out of Sydney. Their record performance in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is unlikely ever to be broken and overshadow their unquestioned distinction in boat building, yacht design (Trygve’s great talent) and ocean yacht navigation (Magnus’s self-taught specialty).

Trygve joined the CYCA in 1946 serving on the Board of Directors and Rear Commodore 1953-54. Magnus joined in 1947 and had an active role in the Safety Committee

The brothers designed and built all their boats meeting great success in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race with five overall wins (1954 Solveig, 1957 Anitra, 1963,64 and 65 Freya), in addition to five second-place finishes.

Magnus went on to win the race again in 1974 as navigator on Love & War, as well as Line Honours twice, 1971 Kialoa II and 1975 Kialoa III. The race record, set by Kialoa III in 1975, stood for 21 years.

Captain John Illingworth was one of the greatest exponents of sailing and ocean racing. Following World War II, he was the Chief Engineer Officer at the Royal Navy Repair Base at Garden Island. His reputation as an accomplished ocean racer in the UK had preceded him, notably his knowledge of all aspects of yacht design, rigging and racing and his willingness to share his knowledge with others earned him the deep admiration of would-be ocean racers in Australia.

Following a meeting of the newly formed CYCA in May 1945, Illingworth was invited to join Peter Luke, Jack Earl and Bert Walker in a cruise to Hobart over Christmas that year. Illingworth suggested  “Why don’t we make a race of it” and the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was established.

Through Illingworth’s connection with the RORC, their rating rule was utilised to measure the fleet. Illingworth went on to take Line Honours in the first race and win the event on handicap.

John Illingworth is considered the Father of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and was elected a Life Member of the CYCA in 1957 and remained a friend of the CYCA for the rest of his life.

A member since 1987, Grant came to prominence in 1983 when he navigated AUSTRALIA II to win the America’s Cup, an obsession which has seen him involved with 6 America’s Cup campaigns, winning 4 times.

In addition, Grant is a distinguished ocean racer having competed in 21 Sydney to Hobart races, winning aboard Yendys in 2000 and a Line Honours victory aboard Drumbeat . He also competed in the Australian Admirals Cup Team in 1981, 1985 and 1983 and other major regattas throughout the world.

After the 1983 success Grant stayed with Alan Bond’s syndicate and was navigator on AUSTRALIA IV during the 1987 Defender selection series.

He was co-owner of North Sails Australia for 17 years until 2000 when he joined ALINGHI as managing director and head of design. Grant helped design the winning 2003 and 2007 America’s Cup boats as well as ALINGHI 5 for the 2010 America’s Cup defence.

In 2010 Grant joined Team Origin as CEO but they withdrew and in 2012 he became general manager of Oracle Racing, overseeing the day to day operations at the 2013 and 2017 America’s Cup.

Grant was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2017.

He joined Ben Ainslie Racing in late 2017 to prepare for the current America’s Cup.

A Member since 1971, Hugh Treharne is one of the most exceptional sailors in Australia, having won the America’s Cup in 1983, Admiral’s Cup in 1979, Sydney Hobart race twice (1992 and 1993), the Fastnet Race in 1971, the World One Ton Cup in 1971 and Half Ton Cup in 1975 and the World 18-foot Skiff Championship in 1970 as well as numerous national titles in yachts and skiffs.

Hugh has sailed in 30 Sydney Hobart races commencing with Norm Brooker aboard Seawind in the mid 1960s. He sailed aboard many top-quality yachts including Ragamuffin winning the race overall in 1992 and winning overall again in 1993 aboard Cuckoo’s Nest.

Hugh sailed in six Admiral’s Cup campaigns, including winning the Fastnet Race aboard Ragamuffin in 1971 and winning the Cup for Australia in 1979 as helmsman aboard Impetuous.

Michael York is the longest-serving member of the CYCA, having joined in 1945. Mick and his wife Jeannette have been a part of the CYCA virtually since inception and have contributed much to the fabric of the club. The annual drinks party at the York’s waterfront home for visiting international yachts out for the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race are fondly remembered.

The consummate seaman Mick was in high demand aboard ocean-racing yachts in his day and was a crew member aboard Gretel in Australia’s first challenge for the America’s Cup in 1962 and aboard Caprice of Huon in the 1965 Admiral’s Cup team. With the arrival of the maxi yachts contesting Line Honours in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Mick was a regularly crewman aboard Kialoa and was aboard Kialoa III in 1975 when she set the race record which stood for 21 years.

In 1974 Mick skippered his Tasman Seabird yacht Tui Manu to an overall win in the Sydney Noumea Yacht Race. He and Jeanette spent many years cruising their yacht Rockhopper in the Pacific.

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