Australian Regattas
A growing guide to Australia's major yacht races and regattas — what each one is, its history, the course and classes, and how to enter or watch. Written by a working Grand Prix campaign that races the circuit.
Queensland
Airlie Beach Race Week
Airlie Beach Race Week is the Whitsunday Sailing Club's August regatta — tropical island racing off Airlie Beach, paired with the Whitsundays Festival of Sailing.
Read the guideQueensland · AugustHamilton Island Race Week
Hamilton Island Race Week is Australia's largest offshore keelboat regatta — a week of windward-leeward and island passage racing in the Whitsundays each August.
Read the guideQueensland · May, across five daysBrisbane Race Week
Brisbane Race Week is the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron's five-day May regatta on Moreton Bay, known for running a different race format almost every day.
Read the guideQueensland · EasterBrisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race
The Brisbane to Gladstone is a 308-nautical-mile Easter ocean classic run since 1949 by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club, from Moreton Bay to Gladstone Harbour.
Read the guideQueensland · AugustBrisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race
The Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race is the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron's signature offshore race — around 340 nautical miles north from Moreton Bay to Keppel Bay, much of it in the sheltered water inside the Great Barrier Reef.
Read the guideQueensland · Late August to early SeptemberMagnetic Island Race Week
SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week is a late-August keelboat regatta on Cleveland Bay off Townsville, run by Townsville Yacht Club since 2007.
Read the guideQueensland · Run over a long weekend on the Gold CoastSail Paradise
Sail Paradise is Southport Yacht Club's signature offshore regatta on the Gold Coast, with windward-leeward and passage racing across multiple divisions over a long weekend.
Read the guideNew South Wales
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
The Rolex Sydney Hobart is a 628-nautical-mile offshore classic from Sydney to Tasmania, run by the CYCA and starting every Boxing Day.
Read the guideNew South Wales · October (biennial)Lord Howe Ocean Race: Pittwater to Ball's Pyramid
The Lord Howe Ocean Race is the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club's new Category 1 classic — a roughly 900-nautical-mile loop from Pittwater out to Lord Howe Island, around Ball's Pyramid and back, first run in October 2026.
Read the guideNew South Wales · Autumn, with the start traditionally held in MarchPittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race
The Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race is a 226-nautical-mile offshore passage race run by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, north from Broken Bay up the NSW coast to Coffs Harbour.
Read the guideNew South Wales · Autumn — runs across several weeks from mid-April into early MaySail Port Stephens
Sail Port Stephens is one of Australia's largest sailing regattas — a multi-week autumn festival at Nelson Bay, NSW, spanning cruising, IRC, sportsboats and more.
Read the guideNew South Wales · December (Rolex Sydney Hobart lead-up)SOLAS Big Boat Challenge: Maxis on Sydney Harbour
The SOLAS Big Boat Challenge is the CYCA's spectacular Sydney Harbour maxi race each December — a charity curtain-raiser to the Rolex Sydney Hobart, with the biggest yachts racing close to the shore.
Read the guideNew South Wales · Early MarchSydney Harbour Regatta
The Sydney Harbour Regatta is one of Australia's largest inshore keelboat regattas, run each March by Middle Harbour Yacht Club across Sydney Harbour and offshore near the Heads.
Read the guideNew South Wales · Late JulySydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race
The Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race is a 384-nautical-mile offshore passage from Sydney Harbour to the Gold Coast, run by the CYCA each winter and known as The Great Winter Escape.
Read the guideVictoria
Festival of Sails: Geelong's Australia Day Regatta
The Festival of Sails is one of Australia's largest keelboat regattas, run by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club on Corio Bay over the Australia Day long weekend each January.
Read the guideVictoria · June long weekendAustralian Women's Keelboat Regatta: The AWKR
The Australian Women's Keelboat Regatta is the country's premier all-female keelboat regatta — run by the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron on Port Phillip each June since 1991.
Read the guideVictoria · Boxing DayCock of the Bay
The Cock of the Bay is the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's Boxing Day dash across Port Phillip — a roughly 21-nautical-mile sprint from Port Melbourne to Mornington.
Read the guideVictoria · March long weekendMarlay Point Overnight Race: The Trailer-Sailer Classic
The Marlay Point Overnight Race is Australia's only overnight race for trailer-sailers — a Gippsland Lakes classic run since 1969 that sends hundreds of small yachts racing through the night.
Read the guideVictoria · Late October, around the Melbourne Cup long weekendMelbourne to Devonport Yacht Race (The Rudder Cup)
The Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race is Australia's oldest ocean race — 195nm across Bass Strait from Port Phillip for the historic Rudder Cup, run by the ORCV.
Read the guideVictoria · Late December, starting 27 DecemberMelbourne to Hobart Yacht Race (Westcoaster)
The Melbourne to Hobart 'Westcoaster' is a 435nm ORCV ocean race from Portsea down Tasmania's wild west coast to Hobart, starting each 27 December.
Read the guideVictoria · Held roughly every four to five years, with starts in autumnMelbourne to Osaka Cup
The Melbourne to Osaka Cup is a roughly 5,500-nautical-mile double-handed yacht race from Port Phillip across the Pacific to Osaka, Japan, held only every few years.
Read the guideTasmania
Australian Three Peaks Race: Sailing Meets Mountain Running
The Australian Three Peaks Race was a gruelling Tasmanian endurance event combining offshore sailing with mountain running — three sailing legs and three peaks from Beauty Point to Hobart. Run from 1989 to 2013, with a 2028 revival proposed.
Read the guideTasmania · Early January — 2 January, after the Sydney Hobart fleet arrivesKing of the Derwent
The King of the Derwent is a one-day River Derwent yacht race held in Hobart on 2 January, for Sydney Hobart and other ocean-race finishers plus local boats.
Read the guideTasmania · Starts 27 December, over the Christmas–New Year periodLaunceston to Hobart Yacht Race
The Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race is a 285-nautical-mile offshore classic from the Tamar River to Hobart, starting 27 December and run by the Derwent Sailing Squadron.
Read the guideTasmania · NovemberMaria Island Race
The Maria Island Race is the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's annual offshore classic, run each November from Hobart around Maria Island and back — a Sydney Hobart qualifier.
Read the guideSouth Australia
Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race
The Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race is South Australia's premier offshore contest — around 156 nautical miles from Outer Harbour to Boston Bay each February.
Read the guideSouth Australia · February, the week following the Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht RaceLincoln Week Regatta
Lincoln Week Regatta is one of South Australia's largest sailing regattas, run each February on Boston Bay at Port Lincoln, following the Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race.
Read the guideWestern Australia
Bunbury and Return Ocean Race
The Bunbury and Return Ocean Race is a 170nm offshore passage from Fremantle south to Bunbury and back, run each February by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club since 1948.
Read the guideWestern Australia · OctoberFremantle to Geraldton Ocean Classic
The Fremantle to Geraldton Ocean Classic is Western Australia's premier offshore race — a roughly 220-nautical-mile blue-water sprint north from Fremantle, around Rottnest Island and up the coast, and an accepted Sydney Hobart qualifier.
Read the guideWestern Australia · February, run over several daysGeographe Bay Race Week
Geographe Bay Race Week is one of Western Australia's premier summer keelboat regattas, hosted by Geographe Bay Yacht Club at Busselton each February.
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