So what is the most common yacht that sails in the annual Sydney to Hobart race? Maxis? Custom? Nope – in this year’s race Beneteau was equal first with Sydney at 9 yachts apiece. Followed by Reichel Pugh at 5 yachts, and then Maxi at 4. Within the Beneteau and Sydney yachts groups, the most common model was Beneteau 40.7 First, and Sydney 38 respectively.
With a fleet of 86 yachts, the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race will be a truely spectacular sight as usual. Of course the high profile, big dollar maxis, like Wild Oats, Lahana, Ichi Ban and Investec Loyal take the headlines as the favourites for line honours. Unfortunately, the world’s youngest solo Sailor to navigate the globe – Jessica Watson has been deemed “Too Young” to compete in Australia’s premier Yacht Racing event or else I’m sure she will be the headline among the headlines.
I’ve also discovered there is an excellent web site to track the Sydney to Hobart yachts. It has info on all yachts, realtime updates, and good chart graphics for yacht location. Visit http://rolexsydneyhobart.com and track their movements in real-time!