Its on - Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race

by 20th Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race Media Team on 14 Feb 2008 Runners and sailors from around the world are gearing up to take on Tasmania's ultimate endurance challenge this Easter.

The Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race is set to celebrate its 20th annual event with a bigger, faster and more exciting fleet than ever before.

Competitors from Israel, New Zealand, Queensland, NSW, Victoria and around Tasmania make up 24 teams already signed up for the four-day, 335-nautical mile sail to Hobart and three marathon runs.

However, race organisers expect more entries before the fleet sets sail from Beauty Point in northern Tasmania on Good Friday, March 21.

'The prospect of the 2008 race exceeding the record fleet of 30 teams set in 1989 appears to be a real possibility for the 20th race,' race director Alastair Douglas said.

'This large entry list will make for a very exciting race overall and in all three divisions, main, cruising and fully-crewed.'

'The yachts expected will range from a 50-foot catamaran to a 30-foot monohull and vary in style from comfortable cruisers to out-and-out racers.'

Douglas said 13 entries were expected in the main racing division, which sees teams of three sailors and two runners tackle the gruelling racecourse.

High-profile entries include the Murray Burns Dovell 12 in which Tasmanian Ken Gourlay became the fastest Australian to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world in 2007. Gourlay's sons Adam and Tristan, nephew Rob and Launceston runners Nathan Fellows and Steven Jaffray will sail the yacht under sponsor's name Modern Living Carpet Court.

Also in the main racing division is Queenslander Bruce Arms' 14m catamaran Big Wave Rider, winner of the 2007 solo trans-Tasman race, and defending champion Philip Marshall, of Devonport, Tasmania, who will be looking for a fourth straight victory in his Chamberlin 9 catamaran Shearwater Pure Sprouts.

Numbers are also up from last year in the cruising and fully-crewed divisions.

Late entries are still being accepted. Visit the website at www.threepeaks.org.au