Triple challenge

Competitors will cross Bass Strait, race around one of Tasmania’s most remote offshore islands and compete for a new trophy designed to encourage stronger participation between Victorian and Tasmanian fleets.

The offshore season will then build toward one of Australia’s most respected ocean racing challenges, the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster, which starts on 27 December.

New Bass Strait Cup

The Bass Strait Cup will be awarded annually to the yacht with the best aggregate result across the Melbourne to Devonport Race and the Three Hummock Island Race.

The trophy will use a low-score points system across both events, based on ORCc ratings, rewarding consistency, seamanship and performance across two different offshore courses.

For ORCV and PDYC, the new cup represents a closer interstate partnership and a shared commitment to growing offshore racing across Bass Strait.

Melbourne to Devonport

The campaign begins on 30 October with the Melbourne to Devonport Race.

A long-standing fixture on the Victorian offshore calendar, the Rudder Cup sends crews across Bass Strait to Tasmania’s north coast, where competitors will finish at Devonport and be welcomed by Mersey Yacht Club.

For many crews, Devonport will be only the first stage of the campaign.

After the race, boats will make the short passage east to the Tamar River, where visiting competitors will receive complimentary berthing for up to a week ahead of the Three Hummock Island Race.

Three Hummock Island Race

Hosted by Port Dalrymple Yacht Club, the Three Hummock Island Race has quickly developed a reputation as one of Tasmania’s most distinctive offshore events.

The course sends the fleet around remote Three Hummock Island, off Tasmania’s rugged north-west coast, before returning to the Tamar River.

The race is a navigator’s choice event, with crews able to round the island clockwise or anti-clockwise. The format adds a tactical dimension, with local knowledge, weather interpretation and routing decisions likely to play an important role.

PDYC will also host a series of social and hospitality events for visiting crews, showcasing northern Tasmania’s sailing culture, food, wine and waterfront lifestyle.

Together, the Melbourne to Devonport Race and Three Hummock Island Race offer more than a racing program. They create an offshore adventure built around competition, camaraderie and one of Australia’s most compelling sailing regions.

Westcoaster finale

The Bass Strait Cup will conclude in Tasmania, but the offshore season will reach its major finale on 27 December with the start of the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster.

For many Victorian sailors, the Westcoaster remains a defining offshore challenge.

The race takes competitors south across Bass Strait and down Tasmania’s west coast before rounding Maatsuyker Island on the state’s south-west corner and turning east toward Hobart.

It is a course that demands preparation, resilience and offshore skill, and has earned its place among Australia’s great blue-water races.

The reward is a memorable arrival into Hobart, with crews entering the River Derwent before berthing at Elizabeth Street Pier in the heart of the city.

Three races, two states

For owners and crews seeking meaningful offshore racing, the coming season offers a clear pathway.

The Melbourne to Devonport Race, the Three Hummock Island Race and the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster combine to create three Category 2 offshore challenges across two states, with Bass Strait at the centre of the campaign.

Entries for all races are now open through the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria and Port Dalrymple Yacht Club.

The Melbourne to Hobart “Westcoaster” Yacht Race is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania.

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Event details

Events: Melbourne to Devonport Race, Three Hummock Island Race, Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster
Organisers: Ocean Racing Club of Victoria and Port Dalrymple Yacht Club
Location: Victoria and Tasmania, Australia
Race category: Category 2 offshore racing
Melbourne to Devonport start: 30 October
Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster start: 27 December
New trophy: Bass Strait Cup
Scoring: Best aggregate result across Melbourne to Devonport and Three Hummock Island Race, using ORCc ratings
Entries: Open through ORCV and PDYC