Countdown begins for the 35th Bay To Bay Race
By Julie Hartwig
The 2015 Bay to Bay Yacht Race will achieve another milestone when competitors descend on Tin Can Bay next month for the 35th running of the race. First held in 1981, event organisers, Hervey Bay Sailing Club, expect similar entry numbers to previous years of around 130-140 boats.
Run over two days, the Category 5 passage race covers a 90km course along the Great Sandy Strait, from Tin Can Bay to Hervey Bay, with an overnight stop at Garry’s Anchorage on Fraser Island.
Race action from the 2014 Bay to Bay Image Jon Colless, Coast Guard Sandy Strait
With naming rights sponsor, the Hervey Bay Boat Club, signed on for another year, the race is an inclusive, open to all levels of competitive racing and cruising sailors. As in previous years, eligible trailable standard and sports monohulls, and standard and sports multihulls, will compete in five divisions in mixed fleet and class-based racing, under various handicapping formulas that will guarantee exciting racing and close results.
The race weekend kicks off on Friday May 1 with a pre-race function at the Tin Can Bay Yacht Club. The fleet will gather on Tin Can Inlet on Saturday May 2 and face the starter’s gun from 11am for the first leg to Garry’s Anchorage. On Sunday May 3, the fleet will race north to Hervey Bay. The trophy presentation will be held at the Hervey Bay Boat Club that evening.
Online race registration is now open and entries close on April 21. Pre-and post-event marina berths are available at Tin Can Bay Star Marina and marinas in Urangan Boat Harbour. Bookings are essential. Alternatively, a designated anchoring area will be available in Snapper Creek in front of the Tin Can Bay Yacht Club. For more information, visit the Hervey Bay Sailing Club website at www.herveybaysailingclub.org.au.
