The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania will conduct Australia’s oldest long offshore/inshore yacht race, the 84th Bruny Island Race, this weekend, with 31 yachts entered for the historic circumnavigation of the elongated island south  of Hobart.
First conducted in 1898 by the Derwent Yacht Club which became The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania just over a century ago,  and sponsored this year by Veolia Environmental Services, the 89 nautical mile race will start from Hobart’s Castray Esplanade at 9.30am on Saturday, 6 February 2010. 

The Bruny Island Race is a demanding combination of ocean and inshore racing, with a great range of offshore winds and seas in Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea, while in the d’Entrecasteaux Channel the fleet will have the challenge of currents and tides and flukey breezes in the winding waterways of the Channel. Either way, the fleet will sail past historic landmarks, including Adventure Bay where many famous early 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 its influence on the sport nationally.  Winners have included yachts that represented Australia at the Admiral’s Cup and the One Ton Cup and won the Sydney Hobart Race. 

Early winners  included such famous  yachts as CR Rex’s Mistral, Culwalla III from Sydney, which won just 100 years ago,  the Tasmanian One Design class Weene in 1914 and 1911 (she’s still racing on Sydney Harbour), the McKean Bros Ninie, early Sydney Hobart winner Westwood, skippered by the legendary Jock Muir, and Ken Gourlay’s Southerly Buster which scored a hat-trick between 1960 and 1962.  

Prominent ocean racing yachts to have won the Bruny Island Race include Mistral V, Terra Nova, Kintail, Caprice of Huon, Huon Chief and Margaret Rintoul II, and the maxis Sovereign, Konica Minolta and Bumblebee 5.  

Between 1985 and 2006 Don Calvert’s Admiral’s Cup representative Intrigue scored seven rating handicap wins, while between 1991 and 2007 Roger Jackman’s Doctor Who notched up seven wins on corrected time, as well as taking line honours several times.  Harold Clarke’s Invincible has had five wins on corrected time in the rating divisions.  

In history-making results, women skippers have won the last two Bruny Island Races,  Dianne Barkas sailing her Sydney 38 Asylum (now Sullivans Cove Whisky) to an IRC and PHS win in 2008 and Sally Rattle’s Archambault 35 Archie winning the IRC division in 2009.  Both are competing this year. 

Favourites for line honours in the 84th Bruny Island Race include Andrew Hunn’s Mr Kite, Rob and Tony Fisher’s Helsal III, Gary Smith’s The Fork in the Road, while strong handicap contenders include Sally Rattle’s Archie and Dianne Barkas’ Sullivans Cove Whisky,  David Creese’s Dekadence,  Whistler, skippered by David Rees, David Bean’s Auch and David Taylor’s Pisces. 

Missing the race this year are past winners Invincible and Intrigue but it is still a great fleet circumnavigating this unique and historic island. – Peter Campbell