Intrigue

The fleet of 20 modern ocean racers will sail the same course that eight gaff-rigged wooden boats took when they set sail from Hobart on March 17 1898 -  down the Derwent River to circumnavigate elongated Bruny Island that runs almost to the southernmost shores of Tasmania.

The Bruny Island Race will start from Hobart’s Castray Esplanade at 9.30am on Saturday, when the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania race committee will signal yachts in which direction they must circumnavigate Bruny Island, depending on the weather forecast.

The fleet will sail either straight out from the river past the Iron Pot into Storm Bay and down the ocean side of Bruny Island  to round Tasman Head and Cape Bruny before entering d’Entrecasteaux Channel and then sail up the inshore passage back to the Derwent and Hobart – or a reverse course.

The race is a demanding combination of ocean and inshore racing, with its variety of offshore winds and seas in Storm Bay and inshore, the currents and tides and wind variations of winding d’Entrecasteaux Channel.

Either way, the fleet will sail past historic landmarks, including Adventure Bay where many early famous navigators anchored and watered during their voyages of exploration.

The list of past winners of the Bruny Island Race reads like a history of yacht racing, not only in Tasmania, but also of its influence on the sport nationally, with several prominent Sydney, Melbourne and even overseas yachts competing over the past 110 years.

Apart from its remarkable longevity, this year’s race will create history in that there will be two women skippers among the 22 yachts entered.

Sally Rattle, who earlier this season won the Maria Island Race and then the Melbourne to Hobart Race, will skipper her Archambault 35 Rattle, while Diane Barkas will skipper her Sydney 38 Asylum.

Two RYCT yachts that share the record of six handicap wins in the Bruny Island Race are competing again – Roger Jackman’s Dr Who, skippered by his son, Rod, and Don Calvert’s Intrigue, with Don’s David as skipper.

Other entrants include David Taylor’s Pisces, the top-performing Tasmanian yacht in the recent Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and winner of the 2008 King of the Derwent.

While there have been some breaks, notably during the two World Wars, the Bruny Island Race has been sailed almost continuously since that first race in 1898.   For the first 30 years it was simply known as The Ocean Race.

The race in 1902 was sensational when out of the five starters only two finished. The race started in light weather but by the time the Friars (off Tasman Head) was reached, a gale force sou’wester had developed. Two boats turned back with the other three battling across the bottom of the island. Off Cloudy Bay Mabel, sailed by G.Cheverton,  opened up and the skipper was forced to run her ashore.  The crew had to scale the cliff and walk to the South Bruny lighthouse where they were hospitably treated. Mabel was smashed to pieces by one of the crew salvaged her flag.

There was no race in 1905 and again in 1909 but in 1910 renewed interest was aroused by the entry of W.M.Mark's Culwalla III from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.   The race was sailed in very light winds, with Marks leaving behind a permanent record of his victory by presenting a handsome tablet to the Club on which the names of the winners of the race are inscribed.

Weene

The 1938 race saw another wellknown mainland yacht compete, with Acrospire IV sailed by Commodore J.White of the Royal St Kilda Yacht Club taking line honours in then record time of 14 hours. This record stood until 1991 when Helsal III scorched around the 89 nautical mile course in a fresh nor’easter in the time of 9 hours 41 minutes and 30 seconds. The Sydney maxi yacht Sovereign, skippered by David Kellett for owner Bernard Lewis, took line honours in the Bruny Island Race following her line and handicap win in the Sydney Hobart Race, as did the 2001 Sydney Hobart winner overall winner Bumblebee V, skippered by Roger Hickman. 

The record fell again in 2005 when the New Zealand maxi yacht Konica Minolta, skippered by Stewart Thwaites, sailed the course in 8 hours 02 minutes and 59 seconds, also winning the IRC handicap division. 

While both Intrigue and Dr Who have so far each won the race six times on either rating or performance handicap, Dr Who has also taken the double of line and handicap honours four times. Last year, two boats of widely varying age size and age fought out the race, Dr Who, a Davidson 52, finally taking line honours by just 1 minute 19 seconds from the Thomson 9.2 sports boat ABN AMRO Morgans.  Dr Who, skippered by Rod Jackman also won the IRC division, while ABN AMRO Morgans, skippered by the late Bruce Calvert, won the PHS division on corrected time. 

Many of Hobart’s most prominent yachting families have won the Bruny Island Race over the years. Skippers like C R Rex and Guy Rex (almost 50 years apart), WP and H Batt,  Ted Domeney, Percy Coverdale, Jock Muir, Ken Gourlay , Duncan McRae, Joe Cannon, Les Gabriel, Don, Hedley and Bruce Calvert, Charles Davies, Max Geeves, Ian McIndoe, Dick Knoop, John Solomon, John Cole-Cook, John Fuglsag,  Ediss Boyes, Harold Clark,  Max Ballard and Roger and Rod Jackman appear on the honour roll of winners of Australia’s oldest ocean yacht race.