Strong early entries for Race Around Australia 2028

by Race Around Australia media 5 Aug 01:10 PDT August 2028

Expressions of Interest for the Shorthanded Ocean Racing Association of Australia Inc (SHORAA) organised Race Around Australia 2028 (RAA) opened earlier this year and 10 teams are now approved provisional entrants, with many others considering entering.

This double handed yacht race, being held 40 years after - and in the spirit of the 1988 Bicentennial Around Australia Race - will sail more than 7,000 nautical miles over five legs, four stopovers and two sprint stages with pitstops.

The start will be in Sydney in August 2028, with teams heading north to the Whitsundays, then onto Darwin, Fremantle and Hobart before returning to Sydney in November 2028.

The 1988 Bicentennial Race was won by the legendary Sir Peter Blake and Mike Quilter (NZL) aboard the 60-foot trimaran Steinlager 1 in a total of 33 days. Second placed in multihulls were Ian Johnston and Cathy Hawkins (AUS) aboard their trimaran Verbatim and third Gavin and Catherine LeSueur (AUS) aboard their catamaran John West.

In the monohulls, Peter Neale and custom extreme 50' NBL Technovator co-skipper, Philip Airey, won in 45 days, followed by Alby Burgin on Alstar and Mayer Page on Australian Pacific.

Gavin LeSueur returns as the first entry in the 2028 race, this time racing with his son Fletcher, aboard a sistership to Verbatim.

"Around Australia with two people is the ultimate adventure sail, from the tropics to the roaring 40's,"," Gavin said. "I was there in 1988 and will be there again 40 years later in 2028. Excited!"

The race is open to multihull and monohull yachts of 40 to 60 feet (12-16m) with smaller fast and seaworthy monohulls able to seek eligibility to enter.

Of the 10 entrants to-date, five are monohulls and five are multihulls and are from12 to 15 metres.

A monohull from the 1988 race, Zulu Chief, has been entered by Peter Aitcheson of Brisbane (Qld), who is refitting her to be race ready 40 years after her last lap of Australia!

Other entrants are searching for their perfect boat to compete. Some are looking for fast monohulls and others are looking at trimarans.

Three Lock Crowther designed multihulls based in Cairns, Qld have entered. Other entrants are from Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and New Zealand. The youngest crew is 23 and the youngest skipper is 25, while the oldest skipper will be over 70 at the start.

Some crews are established teams, but at least one is actively searching for a co-skipper. The established pair of Rick Whitehouse and his co-skipper, Marty Bennett, have entered their proven Spirit of Downunder.

"It is great to see we have 10 entries two years out from the start," said Race Director, Guy Chester. "There is much interest and skippers are encouraged to express interest now to guarantee their place in what will be an amazing race.

"We are in discussion with stopover hosts now and the maximum fleet size will depend upon logistics at ports. Places are being offered in the race on a first come first served basis."

The race will be conducted under monohull and multihull handicapping, allowing smaller entries to compete against larger yachts. Additionally, there is a unique PredictWind Navigation Challenge which can be competed for across the fleet.

"It's been great to see the enthusiasm of all in conceiving the race and establishing SHORAA, we have a great team of advisors, as well as our Patrons, Lisa Blair OAM and Don McIntyre," Chester said.

"We plan to honour the 1988 race while adopting current safety standards. Add to that modern communications and we expect to create a great event for competitors and fans alike," Chester said.

Expressions of Interest remain open, with the Preliminary Notice of Race already published. The Notice of Race will be released later this year.

For more information, please visit Race Around Australia, www.racearoundaustralia.au and the Shorthanded Ocean Racing Association of Australia, www.shoraa.org