ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART RACE 2021: HOW TO WATCH THE GREAT RACE

North Sails Has You Covered For the 76th Edition

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is a staple on the Australian sailing calendar, and a much-anticipated event for sailing fans around the world. Each Boxing Day, hundreds of sailors, watched by thousands of shoreside spectators (pre-Covid of course), depart Sydney Harbour for the trek to Hobart.

This 628nm offshore classic is renowned for being one of the most difficult races in sailing. Throughout the years there have been both moments of triumph and tragedy. Our sport’s highest-profile teams sign up for the Sydney-Hobart with hopes of claiming line honors and, if the weather is right, smashing course records. Amongst the fleet there is a variety of boats- comprised of unique sailor skillsets and crews made up of professional sailors, family members, and friends. Take for example North Sails apprentice Manny Scott and Sail Expert Aaron Cole. 2021 marks Manny’s third Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, and he’s sailing with his father— a 15-time race veteran. Aaron Cole is participating in this year’s race for the nineteenth (!) time alongside his wife Jade, who is celebrating her milestone 10th race. They say this race is a family tradition for many participants, and we’re proud to have been onboard for these memories.

North Sails has a storied history with the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Our Australian-based teams have collectively sailed in hundreds of races, while North clients have consistently found themselves at the top of leaderboards over the years.

With the 2020 race canceled, the year’s fleet is chomping at the bit to get the 76th edition of “The Great Race” underway. Here is what’s in store and how you can follow along:

Weather Forecast:

Gabrielle Woodhouse, forecaster from the NSW Bureau of Meteorology, delivered the race’s long-range weather forecast. The fleet should be ready for southerlies and possible thunderstorms early after the Boxing Day start, and a series of transitions afterwards, which all but erase expectations of a record-breaking race.

Read more from the official pre-start press conference on the Rolex Sydney Hobart website.

If you’re in Sydney…

Spectator boats positioned in the eastern channel can watch the race start, then can follow the fleet down the harbour to the iconic Sydney Heads before heading out to sea. Once underway, the fleet will move quickly, so if you want to see the leaders sail through the Heads, it’s recommended to get a ways down the harbour towards Middle Head before the start. At the Heads, make sure to keep well clear of the rounding marks.

If you only plan on watching the start, head to the western side of the harbour. Good vantage points for spectator boats include: Taylors Bay, Chowder Bay, Obelisk Bay and North Head on the west and Rose Bay, Watsons Bay, Camp Cove and South Head on the east.

For our global audience watching from home:

Watch a webcast of the live broadcast on the homepage of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race website.

If you miss the live webcast, a replay of the start program will be available on the website as well.

Included on the website is the complete list of yachts entered in the 2021 edition of the race.

You can also view past race data including past results, historical reports, and statistical information; designers of line and overall winners; and profiles of some of the race luminaries over the years.

Follow along on Social:

Official race social channels will keep followers updated start through finish. There will be a live stream of the start (which can be viewed after the fact), as well as race updates, Line Honors announcements, an Overall Winner Declaration, as well as a Regatta Recap.

Rolex Sydney Hobart @rshyr @RolexSydneyHobart

North Sails @north_sails @NorthSailsWorldwide

Track the fleet:

Track the 2021 fleet from start to finish by utilizing the link for the Tracker below. Yacht Tracker uses a specially designed tool that calculates the predicted results for each and every boat in the fleet, so you can see how each boat is performing. Each competing boat is given a tracker that will obtain a position using the GPS satellite network and then transmit that position back to HQ using the Iridium satellite network.

Positions will be updated every 10 minutes

TRACKER

Play along:

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has teamed up with Virtual Regatta to provide the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Game, allowing virtual skippers to race the same route as the boats that will be participating in the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Sign- up and join the Race by clicking the link below.