It’s been thirty years since the Fremantle Sailing Club organised a yacht race to Exmouth. In 1991 it was political unrest in Indonesia forcing the abandonment of a Bali Race and this time around, the Covid pandemic halted international events.

Thirtyeight yachts will cross the start line on Saturday 8th May, almost evenly split between race and rally entries. Craig Carter’s Indian, a Carkeek 47, is line honours favourite and rightfully so.  With two Siska Trophies in his cabinet (the Siska is the de facto offshore championship for WA) Carter has a solid record of fastest times, though he could be tested by Anthony Kirke’s GP42 Enterprise NG, a super lightweight flying machine. Thopugh still relatively new to WA, Enterprise has shown her ability to match it with her bigger rival.

The rally fleet includes the two yachts which topped the points tally in the last Bali race, Paul Shapper’s Toroa IV and Phil and Robbie Hearse’s Hanse 50, Kondili.

In a town focussed on the sea, whether it be in the prawn industry or tourism pursuits, it is hardly surprising that long distance yacht racing captures the imagination of the local community. 

In 2000, the town hosted a stopover in the Fremantle to Darwin Splash, a yacht race based on the famous “Bash” principles setting out to raise funds for the United Way charity. It was spectacularly successful and by far the most generous contributors to the cause were the good folk of Exmouth.

This year’s race has extraordinary support from the Exmouth community. Headline sponsors include the Shire of Exmouth, MG Kailis and Exmouth Wild Prawns.

The Exmouth Yacht Club and Exmouth Game Fishing Club are assisting with social activities and the whole town will be involved with a Kids’ Community Fun Day at the Exmouth Yacht Club, where sailors will be on hand to present a range of activities including a trial sail in Optimist dinghies. Later in the day, race and rally yachts will be open for inspection by the locals.

A unique feature of the event will be a prize for environmental awareness and care. Yachts will be encouraged to plan their voyage for minimal impact on the environment, right down to the type of packaging used for their food, to fuel usage for battery charging, or for rally boats, to maintain speed when winds drop away.  A points system rewards boats for each element so a team of judges can identify winners in both the race and rally divisions. 

Bernie Kaaks