1992 Race Recap

Assassin, joint Overall Winner in 1992

1992 Kodak Sydney - Hobart Race

Despite the presence in the fleet of several of the latest high-tech maximum size yachts, Kialoa's record of 17 years was safe for another year by some 5 hours (as was the $100,000 offered by Kodak for the first yacht to break the record).  The low retirement rate of only 7%, the smallest for 6 years, attested to the relatively moderate conditions experienced by most yachts.  

Race Program

Prior to each race Cruising Yacht Club of Australia publishes a separate official race program (with details of competing boats, the results of past races and articles about the race and its participants and other important events).  The 1992 Edition is here.    

Race Documents

Sailing Instructions (copy provided courtesy of Australian National Maritime Museum)

Weather

The 1992 Kodak Sydney Hobart Yacht Race attracted a fleet of 110 starters, representing an increase of about 10% on the previous race.  The fleet included several new state-of-the-art IMS racing yachts and the Whitbread Round The World IOR maxi New Zealand Endeavour.  Hopes of a spinnaker start ended when the breeze backed from the southeast to the east shortly before the start.  Again there were two starting lines and with the wind 10 knots from the east, the fleet was able to lay the turning marks at the Heads in one starboard leg.

It was a "work" to the 2-mile sea mark before the fleet turned south. 

The race gave medium to fast times for the fleet and was characterised by the lack of the hard nor'east spinnaker runs or the southerly flogs, regarded as common for this race.  Instead, the fleet experienced one-leg "works" with the fresh sou'westers and hard reachers with strong westerlies, interspersed with night-time calms off Jervis Bay and in the Derwent.

The race computer digested the fleet performance and came up with an overall average windspeed of 12 knots.