What is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta?

The Crown Series Bellerive Regatta is Tasmania's largest combined keelboat and off-the-beach sailing regatta, held annually in February on the River Derwent at Hobart and run by the Bellerive Yacht Club. Open to sailors of all ages and a wide spread of classes, it draws hundreds of competitors across keelboats and off-the-beach dinghies into the biggest mixed-fleet regatta in the state, and it incorporates several Tasmanian class championships.

Who organises the Bellerive Regatta and where is it held?

It is organised by the Bellerive Yacht Club, based on the foreshore of Bellerive on the eastern shore of the River Derwent at Hobart. The club is one of Tasmania's largest and most active, with over a thousand members, and it marked its centenary in 2026. The racing takes place on the Derwent, the same stretch of water that hosts the finish of the Sydney Hobart and much of Hobart's summer sailing.

When is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta held?

The regatta is held each year in February, in the heart of the Tasmanian summer sailing season and a few weeks after the Sydney Hobart fleet has come and gone. Its February timing makes it a centrepiece of the state's summer calendar, running over three days across a long weekend of racing on the Derwent.

What classes race at the Bellerive Regatta?

The regatta is a genuine mixed-fleet event, catering to both keelboats and off-the-beach classes at once. Keelboats race under handicap and one-design divisions while off-the-beach dinghies and catamarans race in their own fleets, and the regatta hosts several Tasmanian state championships within the programme. With entrants ranging in age from children to sailors in their eighties, it is designed to bring the whole Tasmanian sailing community together.

How big is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta?

It is the largest mixed-fleet regatta in Tasmania, regularly drawing several hundred sailors and close to a hundred boats across its divisions in a typical year. That scale, spanning keelboats and off-the-beach classes and a very wide age range, is what makes it the standout combined regatta on the Tasmanian calendar, though exact entry numbers vary from year to year.

Tasmania

Crown Series Bellerive Regatta

The Crown Series Bellerive Regatta is Tasmania's biggest combined keelboat and off-the-beach regatta, run each February by the Bellerive Yacht Club on Hobart's River Derwent for sailors of all ages and classes.

Photo: Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

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The Crown Series Bellerive Regatta is Tasmania's biggest combined regatta — a mixed fleet of keelboats and off-the-beach classes racing together each February on Hobart's River Derwent. Run by the Bellerive Yacht Club for sailors of all ages and abilities, it is the standout summer gathering of the state's sailing community.

What it is

What defines Bellerive is its breadth. Rather than a single-class championship, it brings keelboats and off-the-beach dinghies together in the one regatta, from grand-prix-style handicap yachts to small sailing dinghies, with competitors ranging in age from children to sailors in their eighties. It is the largest mixed-fleet regatta in Tasmania, and within its programme it hosts several Tasmanian state championships, giving class sailors a genuine title to chase.

Who runs it, and where

The regatta is organised by the Bellerive Yacht Club, on the foreshore of Bellerive on the eastern shore of the River Derwent at Hobart. One of Tasmania's largest and most active clubs, with over a thousand members, it marked its centenary in 2026. The racing unfolds on the Derwent — the same celebrated stretch of water that hosts the finish of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and much of Hobart's summer sailing.

The format and fleet

The regatta runs over three days across a long weekend, using windward-leeward and fleet racing suited to the different divisions:

Keelboats race under handicap and one-design divisions.
Off-the-beach dinghies and catamarans race in their own fleets.
Several Tasmanian championships are decided within the programme.

That mix of formats side by side is the essence of the event. If you are new to how the divisions differ, our guides to line honours versus handicap and one-design yacht racing are a useful primer.

When it is held

Bellerive is held in February, in the heart of the Tasmanian summer and a few weeks after the Sydney Hobart fleet has come and gone — a natural centrepiece of the state's season, when the Derwent is at its liveliest with racing.

How to follow

Entries and results run through the Bellerive Yacht Club, with the Notice of Race and details on the club's website. Being right on the Derwent at Hobart, the racing is easy to watch from the Bellerive and Hobart foreshores. The sailing terms glossary covers the vocabulary you will meet across the keelboat and off-the-beach fleets.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta?: The Crown Series Bellerive Regatta is Tasmania's largest combined keelboat and off-the-beach sailing regatta, held annually in February on the River Derwent at Hobart and run by the Bellerive Yacht Club. Open to sailors of all ages and a wide spread of classes, it draws hundreds of competitors across keelboats and off-the-beach dinghies into the biggest mixed-fleet regatta in the state, and it incorporates several Tasmanian class championships.
Who organises the Bellerive Regatta and where is it held?: It is organised by the Bellerive Yacht Club, based on the foreshore of Bellerive on the eastern shore of the River Derwent at Hobart. The club is one of Tasmania's largest and most active, with over a thousand members, and it marked its centenary in 2026. The racing takes place on the Derwent, the same stretch of water that hosts the finish of the Sydney Hobart and much of Hobart's summer sailing.
When is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta held?: The regatta is held each year in February, in the heart of the Tasmanian summer sailing season and a few weeks after the Sydney Hobart fleet has come and gone. Its February timing makes it a centrepiece of the state's summer calendar, running over three days across a long weekend of racing on the Derwent.
What classes race at the Bellerive Regatta?: The regatta is a genuine mixed-fleet event, catering to both keelboats and off-the-beach classes at once. Keelboats race under handicap and one-design divisions while off-the-beach dinghies and catamarans race in their own fleets, and the regatta hosts several Tasmanian state championships within the programme. With entrants ranging in age from children to sailors in their eighties, it is designed to bring the whole Tasmanian sailing community together.
How big is the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta?: It is the largest mixed-fleet regatta in Tasmania, regularly drawing several hundred sailors and close to a hundred boats across its divisions in a typical year. That scale, spanning keelboats and off-the-beach classes and a very wide age range, is what makes it the standout combined regatta on the Tasmanian calendar, though exact entry numbers vary from year to year.

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