Planning has already begun for the White & McAllister 2009 Van Diemens Land Circumnavigation Cruise conducted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and Royal Geelong Yacht Club. The cruise will take 5 weeks, commencing from Hobart on Wednesday 11 February 2009. This is 2 days after the long weekend of the 2009 Australian Wooden Boat Festival.

This cruise-in-company provides an opportunity for visitors from other parts of the world, as well as the local cruising fraternity, to undertake one of the world's more adventurous and spectacular cruising experiences, supported by people with practical knowledge of Tasmanian conditions.

The route and recommended anchorages are based on careful research, previous experience and detailed local knowledge. Participating boats are required to meet strict safety requirements (Safety09 ) and participate in daily radio schedules with an accompanying radio relay vessel.

Entrants will be supplied with preparatory information, including a safety checklist and qualifying requirements (Experience). This will include demonstrating that the vessel's HF radio works effectively on 4483 kHz over at least 100 nautical miles.

Once a boat has been accepted as an entry, her skipper will be supplied with a satchel including a cruise manual with pilotage information such as chart numbers, passage distances, tide tables and Tasmanian coastal station radio frequencies and sked times, plus the latest version of the RYCT’s Tasmanian Anchorage Guide … and much more besides.

Because of limits on the capacity of ports and anchorages along the way, the size of the fleet is limited to 45 boats.

Once the cruise is under way, nothing is compulsory except an obligation to check in at least once a day with the Radio Relay Vessel. However, the Cruise Commodore will encourage participants to attend various prearranged social events staged about once a week during the cruise. The format of these occasions varies from barbecues on beaches to sit-down dinners at local yacht clubs. The Cruise Commodore will also encourage all the fleet to take the same weather window for the more difficult passages.

There were 44 vessels on the 2007 cruise, with most Australian states represented, plus crews from Germany and Britain. Several vessels came from Port Phillip Bay and joined the cruise in the Hunter Group at the north-west corner of Tasmania

The entry procedure is a staged process beginning with the owner of a vessel lodging an expression of interest (EOIForm) with RYCT and culminating with final acceptance of the entry by the organising committee in December 2008. The entry fee is between $A450 or $A650 - depending on whether the vessel is privately owned or for commercial charter.

It is quite possible there will be more expressions of interest than the fleet limit of 45 boats. If this is the case, boats  that satisfy the various requirements will be placed in a provisional acceptance queue in order of receipt of a completed expressions of interest form and remittance of the $75 processing fee. If boats already accepted as entries drop out for whatever reason, the next boat in the queue will be invited to participate.