Sydney Harbour will host a fleet of genuine ocean-racing royalty come December, with 14 entries already locked in for the 2026 Sydney Hobart Classic Yacht Regatta.
Run by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia from 11-13 December, the regatta is now in its eighth edition. Last year's event pulled a record 36 boats to the start line, and organisers are aiming higher still for 2026.
Heading the charge is Simon Kurts' S&S 47 Love & War, built in 1973 and a three-time Sydney Hobart overall winner, taking the Tattersall Cup in 1974, 1978 and 2006. Love & War won Spinnaker Division 1 on PHS last December with two second placings, and just weeks later was among the frontrunners for the Tattersall Cup deep into the final 36 hours of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart.
She won't have it easy in Spinnaker Division 1. James Mackenzie's Dubois One Tonner Bimblegumbie, launched in 1981, finished second in Non-Spinnaker Division 1 last year and now steps up into the spinnaker ranks. Philip Bennett's King Billy, Simon Triggs' Swanson-designed Syonara and Tim Binns' Farr 11.6 Titoki round out the division.
Spinnaker Division 2 looks just as tight. Samuel Hunt's S&S IOR 3/4 Tonner Nike, built in 1973, missed out on last year's divisional title by a single point and will be chasing redemption. Standing in her way are Philip Brown's Halvorsen 38 Anitra V, winner of the 1957 Sydney Hobart overall, David Salter's Mister Christian, Mark Ayto's S&S 34 Western Morning and the Victorian entry Akala, a Robb Princess skippered by David McNeice.
There's real family history in the Non-Spinnaker fleet. Tiare Tomaszewski is back with Maris, a 1958 Tasman Seabird originally launched for her grandfather, CYCA founding member Jack Earl. Maris finished second in Non-Spinnaker Division 2 last year, one spot ahead of Tony Burgess' Vashti-class Valhalla, dating from 1964 and also entered again this year.
Non-Spinnaker Division 1 brings together Bill Ferris' Boden 60 Archina and David Champtaloup's Robert Clark-designed Caprice of Huon, a 1951-built yacht selected for Australia's first Admiral's Cup challenge in 1965. Champtaloup also chairs the CYCA's Classic Yacht Committee, the body behind the regatta.
Not everyone's confirmed yet. Several of last year's divisional winners are still to lodge entries, among them Peter Cummings' Adams 10 Madam X, winner of Non-Spinnaker Division 1, Warwick Ellis' S&S 34 Delinquent, which won both races in Non-Spinnaker Division 2, and Ben Gray's Peterson 3/4 Tonner Impeccable, the Spinnaker Division 2 champion.
Organisers want to hear from any owner whose yacht carries Sydney Hobart pedigree. Eligibility runs across two categories: Classics are yachts launched before 1976 that have competed in a Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, while Modern Classics cover those launched after 1975 and prior to 1996 that have also competed in a Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
