Rudder Cup 2025: Melbourne to Devonport
The energy and enthusiasm for offshore yacht racing has never been more evident with a large fleet entered in the Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race, also known as the Rudder Cup.
Close to 40 boats will be on the start line of this historic 195 nautical mile yacht race across Bass Strait from Melbourne to Devonport, which is conducted by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) and the Mersey Yacht Club (MYC) on the north west coast of Tasmania.
The Rudder Cup Perpetual Trophy is awarded to the measurement handicap winner of the race. The race is also part of the ORCV Offshore Championship and is open to yachts fully crewed, 4-plus autohelm, and double-handed.
The race will start from the historic maritime village of Queenscliff, Victoria at 2pm on Friday 31 October with the fleet heading to a finish line at the mouth of the Mersey River in Devonport.
Race organisers expect plenty of spectators along the shoreline and on the waters of Port Phillip Bay as Melburnians take advantage of the Melbourne Cup long weekend, and if the weather gods deliver a northerly spring breeze for the start, they can expect a spectacular kaleidoscope of colourful kites as the fleet sets off for the Apple Isle.
Melbourne to Devonport Ocean Yacht Race
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: 1 November 2024 (was 27 December each year )
Race Record: 19h 32m 56s by PROWLER in 1998
❊ When ❊
Date: Friday 31st October 2025
❊ Venue ❊
⊜ Portsea Pier Portsea Map
✆ 03 9646 4677
❊ Web Links ❊
→ Rudder Cup 2025: 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.
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