Rolex Sydney Hobart 2016
- December 13, 2016
From its humble beginnings, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has grown to become an icon of Australia's yachting world, and is now mentioned in the same breath as national events such as the Melbourne Cup, Australian Open and the cricket tests between Australia and England. The start of the race attracts huge media coverage, as domestic and international media jostle for space in the harbour to follow the flotilla.
100 yachts are signed up to take part in the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the 72nd running of this 628 nautical mile competition. There are a dozen international entries, including the first Korean entry in the history of the race, past winners, first timers, those about to break records and more. Record holder Wild Oats XI, owned by the Oatley family and skippered by Mark Richards, leads an intimidating array of boats, having never missed the race since launching in 2005. Last year’s overall winner, Paul Clitheroe’s Balance, also returns.
Pundits trying to pick an overall winner in the fleet are going to have a very hard time, and it would be easiest to close their eyes and point. As is well known, the weather on this famous course is known to be fickle, and a well maintained boat, slippery crew work, the right tactics and a bit of luck all play their part for the winner.
We have supplied tracking for this prestigious race since 2011 and are very proud to be doing so once again. All yachts will have one of our tracker installed on the rail, with a good view of the sky, before the start. The trackers will collect and transmit data at predetermined intervals throughout the race. This data is visualised onto a race player so friends, family and arm chair admirals from around the world can follow the fleets progress.
For more information on the race, course and participating yachts please visit the Rolex Sydney Hobart website. You will also be able to view the race player once the race has started, by clicking here.
