Darwin to Kupang Rally

by Event Media on 1 Aug 2006 It’s a tribute to just how international the annual Darwin to Kupang Rally has become when you know that only 34 boats of the 96 entrants in this year’s rally were from Australia. The rest were from a spread of Europe the USA and Canada, with one Panamanian, one Indonesian, and one Hong Kong yacht. The huge fleet set out for the 450 mile rally from Darwin on 22nd July, expecting to take between 3 to 6 days depending on the winds.

However, organisers may have been starting to regret allowing a certain Australian boat called ‘Gone with the Wind’ to enter the rally, as this multihull and a group of its fellows seems to have moved quickly to the fore AND taken all the wind with them. 5 knots was the most frequent wind speed reported, and no gale warnings. Closer to the finish, however, conditions picked up for some of the yachts with 30 knots providing some nice sailing.

As of yesterday, 82 boats had arrived in Kupang. Gentle Lady had returned to Darwin with fuel problems, but set off later to catch up with the revelry. It also says a lot about the spirit of the rally when two boats that had retired – Taipan and La Barca - have now advised that they intend to set out for Kupang tomorrow, 1st August, just 8 days after the scheduled departure. Maybe they heard what a good time the 82 arrivals were having in Teddy’s Bar!

The Darwin to Kupang Rally is the first stage of the Sail Indonesia, Sail Asia Darwin-Bali-Langkawi Rally that will take participating yachts through three countries over a five month period beginning in Darwin and finishing at the island of Langkawi, Malaysia in November.

This series of events begins with the Darwin to Kupang Rally following which yacht crews are invited to attend a series of Cultural Expos at five different islands in Indonesia. Each island has wide cultural differences, different arts and crafts even different languages and the Tourism Departments on each of these islands have planned at least two cultural events for this rally at each stopover, a gala welcome and a dinner along with the cultural and dance performances.

These are opportunities NOT available to a yacht making this passage independently, and may have something to do with the immense popularity of the rally. Following the events in Indonesia, the rally will then continue on into Malaysia finishing at the island of Langkawi in November.

Sail-World will be following the fleet as it makes its way northward, so keep tuned for further updates.

For information on how to join next year’s rally, please go to either Sail Indonesia website, or