Tall Ships, Cruiser/Racer Yachts to compete in King of the Derwent

by Peter Campbell on 7 Dec 2010 The Derwent Sailing Squadron has included a Cruiser/Racer Yachts division and a Tall Ships division in the Jeanneau King of the Derwent, to be sailed on Sunday, 2 January 2011.

The KOD, apart from being a iconic event on the River Derwent, is the third and final race in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s Sovereign Series and Salamanca Series, and the final race in the Derwent Sailing Squadron’s TasPorts Series.

The Tall Ships division will include the 44m STS Young Endeavour and the Hobart-based tall ships, the brig Lady Nelson and the brigantine Windeward Bound.

'Having at least three tall ships will add a dimension to the King of the Derwent that we have not seen for some years and we again expect a large fleet of visiting and local yachts,' Commodore Geeves said at today’s launch of the Jeanneau King of the Derwent and the Heemskirk Consolidated Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Races.

'We also have a new sponsor for the King of the Derwent, Jeanneau, the French designers and builders of a range of fast, luxury cruising yachts that are already popular in Tasmania,' the Commodore added. 'The Derwent Sailing Squadron already has an excellent sponsorship with Boat Sales Tasmania, the Hobart agents for Jeanneau, through our Try Sailing programme.'

Vice Commodore Ron Bugg announced the Cruiser/Racer division which, he said, would cater for the increasing number of yachts in Hobart that competed in twilight races. Yachts eligible for the Cruiser/Racer division will be those that have been designed to sail in longer offshore races if brought up to the required safety category.

'This separate race will start 10 minutes after the Jeanneau King of the Derwent fleet,' the Rear Commodore added. 'We expect this will add significantly to the number of yachts competing on the day of the Jeanneau King of Derwent.'