How to see the start of the 2023 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by boat

It’s a spectacular event from shore, but there’s nothing like being up close to the action, actually hearing skippers and crew as they fight for position at the start of what will be a long, bumpy and sometimes dangerous ride down Australia’s east coast.

And after two years of pandemic, it’s finally a chance for everyone who has not seen the race start from the water to get out there and see what it’s all about.

So, what do you need to know about getting up close to the boats on race day?

Here’s the boatsales.com.au guide to becoming a Sydney Hobart spectator boat.

The start of the 2023 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is scheduled for 1pm on December 26. 

The thing is, though, that race officials can change that start time for reasons that range from the lack of wind to too much of it.

The Sydney Hobart race uses four start lines staggered east of Shark Island. This is because the fleet is so numerous that there is no room to have just one big, long start line for all the boats like you would if the race started out at sea.

The boats are split roughly into their sizes, with the big maxi yachts – the most spectacular of the race fleet – leading the pack.

The exclusion zones come into force from 11.30am on December 26, and will stay in place until 2.20pm. Sydney Harbour’s normal navigation rules kick in after that time.

It’s vital that you judge the size of your boat, and the number of people on it before making the call to hit the waters of Sydney Harbour.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s marine and ocean forecasts are your first stop on the journey. Visit this site at least a couple of days before deciding if it will be a good day to be on the water.

You can also use the bureau’s MetEye function that gives extended forecasts of wind and waves to help you plan as far ahead as possible. For instance, the current prediction for 2pm on Monday is around 9-17 knots of northwesterly wind.

Most of the northern part of the start line will be well protected from the weather, but if you’re keen on seeing the boats make their tacks around the mark off Sydney Heads, it may be a bit gusty and lumpy. 

Things are bad enough on Sydney Harbour when the ferries run and the wind is up, but add thousands of spectator craft jostling for position, and things will tend to rough up a bit.

It means that if you have a boat that tends to be a little wet, conditions are likely to be perfect for ensuring everyone on board will get a little bit wet, too.

Adding to the mess is the fact that the race start, officially scheduled for 1pm, will be on an outgoing tide running along the wind. If anyone is likely to get seasick, you’re probably better off staying in the lee of land on the northern side of the race course.

It makes sense that there’s an exclusion zone in place to ensure there’s enough room for the sailboats to get a clear passage out of Sydney Harbour.

Buoys will mark the edges of the exclusion zone, with no boats allowed to anchor or idle within a set distance of the exclusion zone. Despite the exclusion zones, we’ve seen some very near misses between racing yachts and spectator craft.

The places where you can stop or anchor are also acting as transit zones for all craft heading in or out of Sydney Harbour, so expect a lot of moving traffic among stopped boats as the race progresses.

Boat traffic will follow marine navigation laws, meaning boats heading into the harbour will make passage on the northern side of the race course, and outbound boats on the southern side.

Almost the entire area around the Sydney Hobart racecourse on Sydney Harbour is a 6.0-knot zone, or about the same pace as a slow jog.

However, the area north of Watsons Bay, Green Point to Sydney Heads, is a “minimum wash” zone, meaning if your boat kicks up significant wash at 6.0 knots, you’re going to have to slow down even more. This rule will be enforced, so make sure you know where it starts and ends.

Sitting on the start line of a yacht race is always exciting. Racing starts well before the signal cannon fires as the boats all jockey for position to get the best start possible.

Generally speaking, there’s lots of yelling and fast moves as skippers try and out-psyche rivals into giving away any advantages they may have.

Check the direction of the wind shortly before the race start to guess which side of the harbour the boats are likely to use. If the forecast stays true and there’s an east wind, no boat will want to be in the lee of the southern shoreline where there’s likely to be a big wind shadow. 

That will make the northern side of the course more exciting.

This year there are four maxi yachts entered – Andoo Comanche, SHK Scalliwag, Wild Thing 100 and LawConnect. Watching four big boats cross a line that’s 800 metres wide won’t be as exciting as watching 40 try and do the same thing in the same amount of space, so if you’re keen to see the start, sit more towards Bradleys Head on the lee side of the course where all the boats looking to make the best start will be concentrating.

If you want to follow the race fleet through the heads and out to sea, you’ll need to be in the eastern channel. 

The boats move fast, so if you plan on being there when the boats make their important tack south, you’ll need to be somewhere like Middle Harbour to make the slow 6.0-knot trek out ahead of them.

If you only plan on watching the start and don't wish to follow the fleet, then stick to the western side of the harbour. 

Good vantage points for spectator boats include Taylors Bay, Chowder Bay, Obelisk Bay and North Head on the west and Rose Bay, Watsons Bay, Camp Cove and South Head to the east.

Okay, so watching the race start out on the water is a bit challenging for whatever reason. The race start will be broadcast on free-to-air TV via the Seven Network, or online via social media and applications such as Yacht Tracker.