Round Australia 2011

More info emerging about Bob Williams' revitalised race

Invitations for yachts to make a slot reservation for the 7500 nautical mile 2011 Around Australia Ocean Race were opened in late June 2009 and the interest from racing fleets has proven very strong.

The Around Australia Ocean Race incorporates nine principal start/finish ports around the coastline of Australia from which Australian and overseas yacht owners may elect as their start/finish port.

Western Australia: Fremantle, Albany.
South Australia: Adelaide.
Victoria: Melbourne.
New South Wales: Sydney.
Queensland: Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Townsville.
Northern Territory: Darwin.

Stop-over ports incorporated into the Race event are Broome, Southport, Keppel Bay, with Geraldton and Esperance as emergency ‘pit-stop' ports. Hobart in Tasmania is a pit-stop port for the Division 0 leg around Tasmania.

Yachts from Fremantle start first in late June 2011 and race to Albany. From Albany the race continues to Adelaide. As participants in the Race reach each principal start/finish port ahead they are joined by participants starting from that port. The fleet gathers as it rounds Australia and is complete when the Race event fleet leaves Darwin in early September 2011, to head down the west coast of Australia to Broome and to Fremantle and the ‘Fremantle Race Week' regatta.

Once the fleet arrives in Fremantle in late September the Fremantle boats will have completed their circumnavigation and will have established the benchmark overall divisions' handicap times and line honours times for the race around Australia.

As the remainder of the fleet leave Fremantle and race port-to-port, yachts reaching their home port will complete their circumnavigation and record their times. The overall winner may not be known until the last boats to join the race fleet - that may be Townsville or Darwin - have arrived at their home port in November 2011.

The driving force behind the 2011 ‘Around Australia Ocean Race and Rally' is Bob ‘Freight Train' Williams from Western Australia.

Bob's ocean racing experience includes skippering his yacht and completing the 1979 Fastnet Race, the Parmelia Race-Plymouth to Fremantle. Bob has raced every major race course on the Western Australian racing calendar including Esperance to Fremantle and Fremantle to Cocos Island races for which his yacht Freight Train still holds the elapsed time record. Freight Train was a regular competitor on the east coast in the 1980's taking out the 1985 Burns Philip South Pacific Maxi Championship and going on take Division A honours in the 1985 Sydney Hobart Race.

Throw into the ring being the owner/operator of the Perth Wildcats Basketball Team, back-to-back national titles, introducing yacht racing to a country in the Indian Ocean region and his Antarctica Cup Ocean Race event, gives Bob broad experience in event ownership and management. Bob is ably supported by his son Richard and many experienced Western Australia yachting people.

"It's very gratifying to see such interest in the event," says Williams. It's plain that the event has such national and international appeal with Event Slot Reservations coming in from England, the USA, and New Zealand already.

"There are not many race or rally venues as attractive as sailing Around Australia. For many sailing around Australia is up there with sailing around Cape Horn, only a bit easier and warmer.

"Having a plaque saying that you participated in '2011 Around Australia Race and Rally' mounted in your boat or elsewhere will be a nice thing to have.

"In 1988 there was a fleet race around Australia, the one and only so far, to commemorate Australia's bicentenary.

"That event was won by Sir Peter Blake on Steinlager One. Also in that event was Dr Gavin LeSuer and his partner, now Mrs Catherine LeSuer, sailing together on the 40 foot catamaran John West.

"Dr LeSuer has made his Slot Reservation for the 2011 Rally and after a 21 year gap waiting for the next event is going around again. Welcome Gavin.

'We now have the wonderful problem of managing a very major fleet race and rally around Australia. We intend it to be the best. Please keep the Slot Reservations coming."

Ocean Events have posted a Provisional Notice of Race on the event website with an Event Slot Reservation Form ready to be completed.

More about the Race

The 2011 Race event is for monohull and multihull yachts (Category 1). The event format is designed to allow yachts from all around Australia, and overseas, to compete.

The IRC handicap winner will not be known until the shortest elapsed circumnavigation times are decided and there will be a similar multihull handicap awarded.

Williams continues: "We are working in collaboration with yacht clubs around Australia including the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Southport Yacht Club, Fremantle Sailing Club, Darwin Sailing Club, Broome Sailing Club, Ocean Racing Club of Victoria and are in discussion with other strategic clubs around the Australian coastline.

"We are planning to incorporate into the ‘Around Australia Ocean Race' circuit some of Australia's iconic monhull yacht race events such as the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast Race, and Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach and Audi Hamilton Island Race Week in collaboration with the clubs that own and organise those events.

"In July we announced the introduction of the reinstated ‘Melbourne to Sydney Race' last held in 1978 after 22 years with some of Australia's most famous off shore racing yachts and famous skippers, including America's Cup skipper ‘Jock' Sturrock, and the legendary Lou Abrahams – 44 times Sydney Hobart race competitor. But it doesn't stop there.

"We have added a Broome to Fremantle Race which at 1,250 NM will be the longest and most decisive individual race incorporated into the Around Australia Ocean Race event. Discussions are underway with yacht clubs around Australia to complete a chain of races that will reach from Fremantle to Fremantle.

"There has been some understandable concern expressed about racing from Adelaide to Hobart in the southern winter month of July and the event organisers have taken this into account and provided two race scenarios for the July and October race from Adelaide to Melbourne.

"The first scenario is that part of the fleet will race Adelaide to Melbourne keeping King Island in Bass Straight to port. The other scenario is that the bigger boats with the bigger crews and the most experience on board will race Adelaide to Melbourne with a pit-stop in Hobart arriving in Melbourne with time in hand to join the Melbourne to Sydney Race.

"The 2011 Around Australia Ocean Race and Rally will have many opportunities for participants to line their trophy cabinets. There will of course be the ‘Around Australia Grand Champion' Perpetual Trophy – monohull and multihull divisions which we hope will be fought over by yachts from Australia and around the world.

"Over the past 63 years the following yachts have represented their country in the iconic Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and taken home handicap and line honours -

UK – Rani 1945, Morning Cloud 1969, Crusade 1969, Aera 2004.

New Zealand – Fidelis 1966, Rainbow 11 1967, Buccaneer, 1970, Pathfinder 1971, New Zealand 1980, NZ Endeavour 1992, Alfa Romeo 2002.

USA - Ondine 1962, Ondine II 1968, Kioloa II 1971, American Eagle 1972, Ondine III 1974, Kialoa III 1975, Kialoa III 1977, Sayonara 1995, Sayonara 1998, Rosebud 2007.

Germany – Raptor 1994, Morning Glory 1996.

South Africa – Stormvogel 1965.

Sweden – Nicorette 2000, Assa Abloy 2001.

Denmark – Nokia 1999.

France – Pen Duick III 1967.

Hong Kong/China – Beau Geste 1997.

"We will be very happy if we can further this foreign participation in our Australian yacht races and we expect there will be some entrants who decide to head south for Sydney to Hobart in a bid to add their name to that very prestigious list, will plan to come six months earlier for a great 2011 Around Australia Ocean Race adventure.

"Particularly the super maxi multihull owners from France who we invite to bring their boats to Australia and participate in the ‘Around Australia Ocean Race'. The first opportunity being in 2011."

There are members from 38 yacht clubs including from around the world rearing to go and the numbers of participants for the Race and Rally is forecast to be 150 for each.