Rudder Cup 2024: Melbourne to Devonport
Melbourne to Devonport Ocean Yacht Race
Starts in Melbourne on the 27th December each year
Devonport is our current destination for the post-Christmas dash across the paddock (Bass Strait) with Mersey Yacht Club kindly offering to host the fleet.
Devonport has been a popular destination for ORCV in past years and is a great place to visit again.
The 195nm Devonport race starts off Portsea, proceeds across Bass Strait to the finish line at the entrance of the Mersey River.
The Rudder Cup
In 1907, Thomas Fleming Day, editor of the American magazine "Rudder" wrote to his friend, the Commodore of the Geelong Yacht Club, T. A. Dickson, suggesting a race across Bass Strait to Tasmania in order to promote the sport of yachting. Day struck a trophy worth 60 guineas, a fortune at the time, as a prize for the winner.
More than 100 years later, yachts are still racing across Bass Strait for the honour of winning the Rudder Cup. The Rudder Cup is Australia's oldest ocean race and the 5th oldest organised ocean yacht race in the world, predating the Fastnet by nearly 20 years and the Sydney to Hobart race by nearly 4 decades.
The inaugural race was run from Port Phillip Heads to Low Head at the mouth of the Tamar River, a distance of 198 nautical miles. This first race was won by the 14.6m yawl Thistle skippered by Edgar Newland with a crew that included his wife and daughter. Conditions were reported to be very rough, so much so that Mrs. Newland refused to relinquish the Rudder Cup so as to dissuade other yachtsmen from attempting such a dangerous race. The race continued using alternative trophies including the Doc Bennel Perpetual Trophy funded by the Royal St Kilda Yacht Club.
In 1968, the original Rudder Cup trophy again came to light and was presented to the Cruising Yacht Club of Victoria, now known as the ORCV, by Edgar Newland's son. The Rudder Cup Perpetual Trophy is awarded to the measurement handicap winner of the race across Bass strait to Northern Tasmania - typically Devonport or Low Head at the mouth of the Tamar River.
The 195nm Melbourne to Devonport race forms part of the ORCV Offshore Championship and is open to yachts racing fully crewed, "autohelm plus 4" or Double Handed.
This is a Category 2 event, as amended by the ORCV Special Regulations which allows for use of Satellite Phone in lieu of HF radios by suitably equipped yachts.
Melbourne to Devonport Ocean Yacht Race
Ocean Race distance: 195 nautical miles
Safety Category: 2
Start Location: Portsea
Start Time: 1115 AEDT
Start Date: 27 December each year
Race Record: 19h 32m 56s by PROWLER in 1998
❊ When ❊
Date/s: Friday 27th December 2024 - Saturday 28th December 2024
❊ Venue ❊
⊜ Portsea Pier Portsea Map
✆ 03 9646 4677
❊ Web Links ❊
→ Rudder Cup 2024: Melbourne to Devonport→ www.orcv.org.au
❊ Also See.. ❊
→ Cock of the Bay 2024 | Yacht Race
→ Westcoaster | Melbourne to Hobart 2024 | Yacht Race
Disclaimer: Check with the venue (web links) before making plans, travelling or buying tickets.
Accessibility: Contact the venue for accessibility information.
Trending HOT
It's time to Be Our Guest! Disney's enchanting new musical, Beauty and the Beast, is now playing at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre. This timeless tale has been ..
Make the most of your weekend in Melbourne with these fabulous events. No city does it better than Melbourne, so get out and discover the very best shows, festivals, ..
Update Page Upgrade Page
