The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is delighted to announce eight yachts have agreed to participate in the inaugural Club Marine 2009 Cruise.
The 2009 cruise to Hobart is an initiative of the CYCA Cruising Committee. Introduced into the 2008/2009 sailing calendar, the Club Marine 2009 Cruise is the result of a strategy to offer members of the club and other cruising enthusiasts the opportunity to take part in an organised long coastal cruise that conforms to a list of objectives.
Applications to participate have come from far and wide with yachts such as Phillips Foote Witchdoctor, well known for holding the record for the most Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Races (27), and Caprice of Huon, originally built in Port Cygnet in Tasmania in 1951 and a veteran of the first two Australian Admiral’s Cup challenges having applied. An application has also been received from a 52 foot steel yacht all the way from Seattle, USA.
Participants are welcome to leave Sydney when they desire though they have a designated arrival time in Hobart of no later than 1200 hrs on 5 February. The routes to Hobart and transit anchorages are unrestricted.
The arrival time coincides with the Australian Wooden Boat Festival held in Hobart from 6-9 February, and also with the start of the 2009 White & McAllister Van Diemen’s Land Circumnavigation Cruise.
Participants may proceed at any time under sail or power and will be encouraged to sail in company with a stopover in the NSW coastal port of Eden.
The aim of the cruise is to perform excellent seamanship, navigation and communication disciplines with no advantage caused by, or any need for competitive speed during the cruise. A celebratory dinner, with awards for such disciplines, will be held at The Royal Yacht Club Tasmania (RYCT) on Friday 6th February 2009. The RYCT is proud to be working in co-operation with CYCA to help facilitate the needs of the cruise participates while in transit and on arrival into Hobart.
Garry Linacre, CYCA Vice Commodore commented, “On behalf of members of the Club Marine 2009 Cruise Committee, we are delighted with the level of interest the event has secured. Having the support of Club Marine as naming rights sponsor for the inaugural cruise is tremendous, and greatly appreciated by the CYCA and cruise participants.
“We are confident the strategy of adding a long coastal cruise to the CYCA Sailing Calendar each year will be well appreciated by the members of the CYCA who prefer to go cruising than racing and look forward to the event growing over time.”
The Club Marine 2009 Cruise Committee has designated the cruise as a category 2 event and therefore participants will be subject to the YA Special Regulations pursuant to such an event. Participants will conform to safety and communication disciplines detailed in the Cruise Directions available in the cruising section of the CYCA website www.cyca.com.au.
