Yachts line up in the harbour for the start during the 2017 Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Photo / Getty
Yachts line up in the harbour for the start during the 2017 Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Photo / Getty
Last year the famous race was called off at the last minute. This year it's going ahead with around 90 yachts and their crews heading south.
We take a look at the favourites, the yachts heading south and how to follow the famous race which starts on Boxing Day.
Line honours favourites
Big is best and there are three mighty big 100-footers - the maximum size for boats - in this edition in Sydney skipper Christian Beck's LawConnect, Peter Harburg's Black Jack and the David Witt skippered Scallywag which is usually based in Hong Kong.
Wild Oats will be back racing in the 2021 race. Photo / Getty
The start
The Sydney to Hobart fleet is sent on its way from a start line near Shark Island on Sydney Harbour.
The race is sent on its way when a canon fires at 3pm (NZT).
The fleet will start off different start lines off Nielsen Park with boats on the northern line rounding Victor Mark and boats on the southern lines rounding X-Ray Mark at the Heads.
The larger boats in the fleet will start off the front line, just north of Shark Island. The rest of the fleet will start from the southern lines, 0.2 nautical miles between each.
Having two rounding marks at Sydney Heads will compensate for the distance between the lines before the fleet heads to sea on the ocean voyage to Hobart.
The fleet
The fleet ranges in size from 100 foot to 30 foot. For the first time a division of two-handed boats are competing in the Sydney to Hobart. However they are not eligible for the overall win.
The fleet head for Hobart during the 2019 edition of the race. Photo / Getty
The course
The Sydney to Hobart fleet heads out through Sydney Heads, turns right and heads south down the coast.
Yachts then race across the infamous Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasmania, through Storm Bay and on to the finish line on the Derwent River in Hobart.
Race distance
The rhumb line - the shortest distance between Sydney and Hobart is 628 nautical miles. However, yachts will tack and gybe their way south dependant on wind direction and cover significantly more ground.
How to follow the race
The course of yachts can be followed on a race tracker on the race website which is activated once the race has started.
The tracker obtains a position using the GPS satellite network and then transmits that position using the Iridium satellite network.
-This years's fleet boasts a new double-handed class with the two-strong crews racing alongside fully crewed boats.
-The slowest winner was the yacht Christina which took six days, 18 hours, 51 minutes and 15 seconds to complete the 630nm journey in 1946.
-The closest finish was back in 1982 when just seven seconds separated Condor of Bermuda and Apollo.
-Freya which won the race three times in succession in 1963-64-65 boats the best Hobart record.
-The best line honours record is held by Morna which was first to Hobart in 1946-47-48 and when renamed Kurrewa IV was first home in 1954, 1956 and 1957.
