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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
COMING SOON
18 March, 2026
View Results

Home Race 1993 Recap

1993 Race Recap

Cuckoos Nest (MYC2) - 1993 SHYR constitution Dock crew photo - Peter Campbell CYCA Archives

The crew of Cuckoos Nest in Hobart, joint Overall Winner in 1993

Kodak Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 1993 

The Kodak Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 1993 will be remembered as having one of the highest attrition rates in the history of the event, with only 38 yachts out of 104 starters completing the course.  For the first time two yachts sank and the skipper of another spent nearly five hours in the water after being washed overboard.

This was the last Sydney to Hobart to have an IOR handicap category.

Race Program

Prior to each race Cruising Yacht Club of Australia publishes a separate official race program (with details of competing boats, the results of past races and articles about the race and its participants and other important events).  The 1993 Edition is here.    

Weather

Wind strengths were generally more severe than 1984, although the wave conditions appear to have been less severe.  The major difference was that in the 1984 race the weather pattern abated after 36 to 48 hours whereas this year the strong to gale force winds continued throughout the four days taken by the leading yachts to complete the course. The exact cause was a low pressure complex which developed off the Australian south-east coast early on the second day of the race (December 27th), creating gale to storm force winds with some hurricane force squalls which persisted into the following day.  Wind gusts were in excess of 70 knots and 10-minute average wind speeds were around 45-50 knots during the height of the event. 

Waves of up to 10 metres were created as the winds blew against the southward-moving East Australia Current.  At 2300 hours EDST Monday, December 27th, the low pressure complex had a central pressure of 986hPa, the lowest over the whole event.