King of the Derwent

The King of the Derwent is a one-day inshore yacht race on the River Derwent in Hobart, run by the Derwent Sailing Squadron on 2 January for ocean-race yachts that have just finished the Sydney Hobart and other Hobart classics, together with local boats. It is the unofficial coda to the summer ocean-racing season — a short, intense river contest staged in front of the city while the Sydney Hobart fleet is still tied up at Constitution Dock.

First held in 1978, the race has become one of Tasmania's great summer sailing occasions, prized as much for the spectacle as for the silverware.

What it is

The King of the Derwent is an inshore handicap and line-honours race held on the River Derwent, the broad estuary that runs through Hobart. Unlike the long offshore passages that precede it, this is a round-the-buoys river event — typically a single afternoon's racing close to shore, where tactics, local knowledge and clean boat-handling matter as much as raw boat speed.

What gives the race its character is the calibre of the fleet. Because it falls in the first days of January, it catches the cream of the season's ocean racers while they are still in port — maxis, grand prix raceboats and well-sailed cruiser-racers — and pits them against sharp local Tasmanian crews on their home water. If you are new to the language of the sport, our glossary of sailing terms explains the handicap and rating concepts that decide who wins.

History

The King of the Derwent dates back to 1978 and has been a fixture of the Hobart summer ever since, marking its 40th anniversary in 2018. The concept is simple and durable: once the great fleets have finished their long runs south, gather them on the Derwent for one more race before they disperse.

Over the decades the start line has featured many of the most famous names in Australian and international ocean racing, drawn by the chance for a quick, high-profile hit-out in front of a large crowd. That continuity — a single date, a single river, an open invitation to the best boats in port — is what has turned a local club race into a recognised event on the national calendar.

The course and format

The race is sailed entirely on the River Derwent off Hobart, starting near the Derwent Sailing Squadron at Marieville Esplanade in Sandy Bay. It is a windward-leeward and round-the-marks affair rather than a coastal passage, which keeps the action compact and visible from the shore. The Derwent is famous for its shifty, fickle breezes, so the racing rewards crews who read the water well and keep the boat moving in the lulls.

The format blends two ways of winning. The overall title — the King of the Derwent itself — is awarded on IRC corrected time, making it fundamentally a handicap result rather than a pure dash to the finish. Alongside it, the race scores AMS and PHS handicap divisions and awards a separate trophy for line honours, the first boat physically across the line. If that distinction is new to you, our explainer on line honours versus handicap sets out how the two results can go to different boats in the same race. The mix of grand prix machinery and club-level cruiser-racers also makes this a useful primer in grand prix yacht racing and how handicap systems try to level very different yachts.

The fleet and classes

The defining feature of the King of the Derwent is who lines up. Entry is open to monohulls that meet the eligibility requirements of the Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne to Hobart and Launceston to Hobart races, so the fleet is built largely from yachts that have just completed one of those ocean classics — and they are joined by eligible local Tasmanian boats.

That produces an unusually varied start line: offshore maxis and modern raceboats sharing water with seasoned local campaigners. It is a handicap fleet rather than a single class, but the same logic underpins it as the strict one-design yacht racing you see elsewhere — give boats of different shapes and speeds a fair contest. Invicta, our Melges 40 grand prix yacht, races the kind of tightly governed one-design circuit that sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from a mixed-handicap river race like this one; you can read more about the design in our Melges 40 explainer.

How to enter

Entry is managed by the Derwent Sailing Squadron, which acts as the organising authority for the race. Owners of eligible monohulls — those satisfying the requirements of the Launceston to Hobart, Melbourne to Hobart or Sydney to Hobart races, plus qualifying local boats — enter directly through the squadron's official event page, where the notice of race, entry form and timing are published each year.

Because the race sits immediately after the ocean events, visiting crews are typically already in Hobart with their boats measured and rated, which makes entering straightforward. For where the King of the Derwent fits among our own season's events, see the Invicta racing programme.

How to follow

Few races are easier to watch. With the course set on the river in front of the city, the Derwent's foreshore and headlands form natural grandstands, and a spectator fleet usually follows the boats on the water. The combination of close-quarters racing and a holiday crowd has long made the King of the Derwent a colourful piece of theatre.

For entries, results and confirmed timing each year, the Derwent Sailing Squadron is the authoritative source, publishing details through its website and social channels in the days around the race.