When was the first Sydney to Hobart yacht race?
Trivia type
Trove trivia
A. The event was first held in 1945.
The race was originally meant to be a cruise, but a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, suggested, 'Why don’t we make a race of it?'. The rest was history, with 9 starters setting sail at noon on Boxing Day.
Read Pix magazine’s account of preparations for the 1949 yachting classic, which includes the story of Illingworth’s own vessel disappearing for six days before reappearing to win the inaugural race.