Spirit of Downunder joins Double-Handed Entries in 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race

Spirit of Downunder / Photo by Steb Fisher

Spirit of Downunder has a strong pedigree in ocean racing which skipper Rick Whitehouse will be keen to take advantage of when he races his Cameron Delange designed and built 12 metre yacht across Bass Strait and down the West Coast of Tasmania in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race (M2H).

Whitehouse, a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, bought the custom-built racing skiff from owner Laurie Ford in 2022 and will be sailing his first M2H, double-handed, alongside fellow Victorian, Marty Bennett.

Spirit of Downunder is already racing against the clock as the boat is readied for the Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’ qualifying race.

“The last time we sailed the boat was in the Melbourne to Devonport in 2023.

“It could be that I just end up doing the Melbourne to Hobart double-handed with Marty Bennett, as well as some other of the ORCV Coastal races.

“Marty and I did a few races together in 2023 before the boat stopped us doing anymore for a while, so after that, we decided to put in an electric motor and do a big upgrade of the electronics which has taken much longer than I thought it would,” said Whitehouse.

While Whitehouse is keen to avoid too much of the spotlight this early in his campaign in case things don’t come together, he is certainly enthusiastic about ocean racing since completing a circumnavigation in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race on the Chinese entry, Visit Sanya.

There’s no doubt that the Clipper open ocean racing experience coupled with intense training the program provides in advanced sea safety, planning for changing weather conditions, tides and strong currents will benefit Whitehouse when he tackles the challenges that the West Coast and the Southern Ocean can present.

Spirit of Downunder is an instantly recognisable boat with its distinctive graphics which Whitehouse believes is a combination of Indigenous and Aztec artwork. 

The boat, with its fractional rig, is a custom-built, full-size replica of an international one metre radio-controlled yacht designed by Gary Cameron in 1995. She was built in Mornington by Peter Delange and launched in 1997.

While the team’s goals are simple at this stage, “make it to the start line, finish and have fun,” Whitehouse is hoping for the perfect conditions to maximise the boat’s design in this year’s Westcoaster.

“The boat is designed to be very fast down wind and is perfect for this type of racing, although it’s not as quick upwind for me yet, but we’ll be looking for a moderately strong breeze from the north west of 15-20 knots in the race.

Whitehouse has chosen the double-handed option for his first Westcoaster to minimise the hassle of organising a big crew and for the sense of achievement you get from sailing short-handed.

“The advantage of double-handed sailing is that you don’t have to find a full crew, you get to sail periods of the race on your own, and you only have one other person to get along with.

“It certainly got pretty crowded on the Clipper Race with 20 crew.

“Marty and I have the same attitude towards safety, and we have the same attitude to getting things done and sailing the boat.

“I tend to do most of the navigation planning, and even though we haven’t sailed many times together, we are on the same page, with Marty really keen to do more short-handed sailing,” said Whitehouse.

Foggy Dew in the 2022 Winter Series Race 4 / Photo by Dave Hewison

Other double-handed entries received so far include Foggy Dew, sailed by Robert Darcy and Janet Wilks from Sandringham Yacht Club and Alex-Team Macadie skippered by Jock Macadie from the Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

Magellan during the 2024 Melbourne to Hobart / Photo by Michael Currie

Tasmanian sailor Richard Grant co-skippered Magellan to victory with his daughter Megan in the double-handed division in last year’s Westcoaster, and earlier this year finished second on AMS and third on PHS in the Melbourne to Osaka Race.

[Richard] Grant, from Bellerive Yacht Club is keen to see all of the double-handed entries do well in the race down the West Coast and offered some thoughts on things that they find helpful sailing two-up.

“Being familiar with your boat is so important, as is having clear reefing systems that can be handled by one person, to make things as quick and easy as possible and to avoid getting over-powered.

“What has worked for us in the past is to plan our race strategy before the start and set our waypoints conservatively so that we could safely sail the course without having to spend a lot of time at the chart table.

“Safety is always a priority, so we always make sure we do lots of training in our man-overboard recovery techniques and other emergency procedures.

“The ORCV and other sailors in the race offer lots of support to everyone competing which is one of the highlights of ORCV ocean races like the Westcoaster,” said Grant. 

And Grant’s final thoughts about the race?

“Make sure you get as much sleep as possible when off watch, drink lots of water and juices, but most of all, make sure you have fun.”

The M2H starts off Portsea at 1:30pm on Saturday the 27^th of December 2025 with the race taking the fleet through Port Phillip Heads, across Bass Strait, down the West Coast of Tasmania, past Maatsuyker Island before heading east to Storm Bay to the finish at Battery Point in the River Derwent in Hobart.

The Westcoaster is part of the ORCV Offshore and Double Handed Championship and is open to monohull boats racing fully crewed or 4+autohelm or double handed, and multihull boats racing fully crewed or 4+autohelm.

Early bird entries close on Monday the 10th of November with final entries closing on Monday the 24th of November 2025.

Enter the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race here.

By Jane Austin/ORCV Media

Entries open for 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race and New Premium Partner Announced

Entries are now open for the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s 2025 Melbourne to Hobart (Westcoaster) Yacht Race.

The 435 nautical mile yacht race from Portsea Pier down the West Coast of Tasmania to Hobart starts at 1:30pm (AEST) on Saturday the 27th of December.

The M2H is a prestigious and challenging blue-water ocean classic often described as one of the world’s best ocean races, and affectionately regarded as the people’s race.

The Westcoaster offers passionate skippers and crews an opportunity to pit their race-ready boats against wild and spectacular sailing conditions, from reaching down one of the world’s most stunning and unique coastlines to conquering the bucket list seas of the Southern Ocean.

ORCV Commodore Cyrus Allen, a M2H race veteran and 2025 Melbourne to Osaka competitor, holds the race in high regard.

“The Westcoaster is about grit, seamanship, and the raw beauty of Tasmania’s untamed West Coast.

“It’s a real race for everyday sailors chasing real adventure, not champagne at the dock.

“The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria is proud once again to welcome competitors to experience this iconic and uniquely challenging event,” said Allen.

The race is expected to attract yet another strong fleet of fully-crewed monohull and multihull boats (including four+ autohelm) along with a strong contingent of double-handed entries, while the new race record set by the multihull Rushour in last year’s race will also be up for grabs.

Early registrations include Alien, the Lidgard 36 skippered by the highly acclaimed Justin Brenan from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria (RYCV).

Brenan, a stalwart of the ORCV racing program for over 20 years, is a five-time overall winner of the race.

This year’s fleet also sees the return of the Spirit of Downunder, skippered by Rick Whitehouse from the RYCV.

Expect to hear more about this 12 metre Cameron De Lange boat which has taken line honours twice in the race and won on performance handicap in 2008, the same year Matthew Short skippered Shortwave to a new race record which stands to this day.

The ORCV is delighted to welcome yet another race supporter with On Track Meals announced this week as a premium partner for the 2025 race.

On Track Meals joins other race sponsors including Grace Removals, Strait Link, National Pies, and the Tasmanian Government (Events Tasmania), in their support for the 53rd race to Hobart.

Erin Wyatt, Co-owner of Australian-owned and made On Track Meals, is excited about the partnership and the alignment of their products with the spirit of the Westcoaster.

“For us at On Track Meals, being the official meal partner of the Westcoaster is about more than just putting food on boats.

“Offshore racing is demanding, both physically and mentally, and we know how important it is for sailors to have meals they can rely on when the conditions get tough.

“This partnership is a chance for us to support the sailing community we admire, to make life that little bit easier when crews are pushing themselves and their boats to the limit.

“We’re hoping that when sailors open one of our meals mid-race, they feel reassured, fuelled, and ready to keep going.

“That’s what this is about for us — keeping people strong, safe, and able to enjoy the incredible adventure that is ocean racing,” said Wyatt.

The diversity of conditions throughout the race necessitates the use of handicapping systems to level the playing field for different boat designs and performance capabilities, with yachts competing for the prestigious Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy, decided on AMS handicap, alongside the (almost) equally prestigious yellow Westcoaster cap.

The Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race is also the highest-ranking race in the ORCV's Offshore Championship Series.

Early bird entries close on Monday the 10th of November with final entries closing on Monday the 24th of November 2025.

Enter the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race here.

Photos provided by On Track Meals

By Jane Austin/ORCV Media

Pin End Strategy Leads Ginan to Victory in DYSC Marine Supplies Winter Series Race 1

The fleet of 36 boats battling it across the start line / Photo by Michael Currie

Melbourne, VIC – Under crisp winter skies and a solid northerly breeze, the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) DYSC Marine Supplies Winter Series Race 1 delivered spectacular racing this weekend. With 36 boats lining up for the start, competitors were treated to classic Port Phillip conditions – shifting winds between 10 to 20 knots, flat seas, and plenty of tactical opportunities.

Enjoying the flare drill / Photo by Michael Currie

The day began with a rare and expertly coordinated on water practice distress flare drill session on the waters off Royal Brighton Yacht Club, offering sailors the chance to deploy a range of different types of flares under the supervision of CASA, Victoria Police, and the Port of Melbourne. It was a unique and valuable exercise in offshore safety training, reinforcing the ORCV’s commitment to both racing and safety preparedness.

Following the flare drill, race management set a dynamic course with a beat to the north of the bay, a long spinnaker run to Sandringham mark 5, and spinnaker finish to the finish line. With conditions varying across the course, smart navigation and tight teamwork were the keys to success.

The Botin Carkeek Gp 42 ‘Ambition’, skippered by Chris Dare, put on a commanding display from the outset and succeeded with an impressive line honours victory.

AMS Div 1 and overall AMS DYSC race 1 winner, Ginan crossing paths with Salt / Photo by Michael Currie

While competing in the Newport to Bermuda race this time last year, the J111 ‘Ginan’ Skippers Nigel Jones and Cam McKenzie missed out on taking part in the annual flare drill. This year, they achieved remarkable success, winning overall top honours (based on AMS). "Nigel gave us a nice start to the day, starting us off down the pin end, sitting behind Ambition and Salt we felt good about our position," McKenzie explained. "Later in the race we made a tactical call to stay out, and it paid off."

Meanwhile, Joel Matthews skippered Godzilla to 1st Place in Division 2 AMS, returning to the racecourse after a full hull respray and refit – and straight into the winner's circle. "None of the crew had sailed together before, or sailed on this boat," Matthews said. "While Godzilla prefers sub-8 knot conditions, the boat handled the brisk breeze...We were overpowered early, but made up serious ground on the downwind and final upwind legs," Matthews added.

Crew on board Ginan / Photo by David 'Doc' Sturge

Also putting in a strong performance was the Beneteau First 44.7 ‘Another Chapter’ skippered by Greg Clinnick, who missed AMS victory by a mere 14 seconds (based on corrected time) behind Ginan. The crew showed consistency, speed, and smart handling throughout, cementing their place as another boat to follow throughout the development of the DYSC winter series.

In the double handed category, veteran sailor Jock MacAdie skippered Alex-Team MacAdie to victory in the PHS division, making the most of the light start and building breeze. "It was one of those days where everything aligned," said MacAdie. "Flat water, a good working breeze, and a solid teammate who did most of the heavy lifting!" Jock's pedigree in short-handed sailing is well known – having won the 2007 Melbourne–Osaka race with his son Hamish. "We've been sailing this way for a long time. The boat's set up for it, but it takes time to get it right. Not just technically – you've got to race well, too."

Attention now turns to the popular Winter Series destination races to Geelong which is up next on July 5th where opportunities are given to Novice crews on July 6. Entries are open here.

Full race results can be found here.

Red hot sailing for Scarlet Runner in Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race

Scarlet Runner, skipper David Sturge holding trophy

When you’re hot you’re hot, and no boat was hotter in this year’s Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race than Scarlet Runner with the Carkeek 44 from Sandringham Yacht Club winning on line honours and taking out the prestigious Rudder Cup.

Scarlet Runner was one of a handful of boats that not only got off the line well at Draper’s Reef near Queenscliff but kept the wind in their sails across what was one of the calmest Bass Strait crossings in recent history.

David Sturge, skipper of Scarlet Runner, was thrilled with the win, crossing the line in an elapsed time of 1 day, 7 hours, 14 minutes and 49 seconds, with Tasmanian boat AdvantEdge, skippered by Andrew Jones from the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club, finishing 1 hour and 40 minutes later, followed by Bruce Taylor’s Chutzpah just 10 minutes behind them.

Scarlet Runner won the prestigious Rudder Cup Perpetual Trophy awarded on AMS handicap, on a corrected time of 1 day, 9 hours, 33 seconds and 33 minutes, and was awarded the Margaret Holmes Kerr Perpetual Trophy for her line honours win.

Scarlet Runner’s owner Rob Date had been advised not to sail due to recent knee surgery giving David Sturge the honour of skippering his first offshore race.

“We have a great boat, and the crew is utterly amazing; we’ve had a good run in the recent series in Melbourne and did well last Christmas, but even so, as a first-time skipper, it’s been really incredible,” said Sturge.

So, what did Sturge think was the key to the success of Scarlet Runner in the light conditions?

“It’s a light boat, but I think that our fractional zero, that we flew high, ended up being a great sail to use in this particular race.

“Scarlet Runner works very well with the breeze just behind the beam and we had quite a lot of that in this race, and we even got to have our favourite triple-headed configuration in which the boat absolutely sends,” said Sturge.

Scarlet Runner had a tight tussle with AdvantEdge, which was full of Tassie locals, for line honours and AMS spoils, in the 195 nautical mile race to Devonport.

“Yeah, the local guys, we were looking at where they were going and thinking, they will know.

“There was a bit of yo-yoing going on, sometimes they were gaining on us at a fair clip, but sometimes we were pulling away, it was just nice to have a boat out there that we could see, it certainly spurs the trimmers on,” said Sturge.

Quixotic, skipper Andrew Middleton holding trophy

Quixotic, the X-41 skippered by Andrew Middleton was second on AMS overall and The Jackal, skippered by Matt Setton and sailing their first long-distance ocean race, finished in third.

Middleton, from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, and his crew were quietly proud of their spoils in the race winning the FH Stephens Perpetual Trophy for first on PHS and the Doc Bennell Perpetual Trophy for first on ORC after finishing fourth across the line.

“We are very pleased with our results, keeping the boat moving and staying out of the holes was important,” said Middleton.

Crew member Hester Freeman, no stranger to ocean racing having sailed a few Melbourne to King Island and Apollo Bay races over the last five years, and with a previous Rudder Cup under her belt, was kept busy during the race.

“We kept the boat moving, we did a few sail changes that worked well including a spinnaker peel,” said Freeman.

James Patterson was full of praise for his crewmates.

“It’s a very good crew, we all worked really well together and my role, well I just got up every ten or fifteen minutes and told them to go faster,” Patterson said laughing.

“We were all working together as a team, as a conglomerate, bouncing off each other, working as one unit with lots of thoughts going in - it’s really good on the boat as everyone can have a say,” said Patterson.

Highlights for skipper Middleton included being quick out of the [Port Phillip] Heads “and keeping Chutzpah and Scarlet Runner in our sight for a long, long time which was great, and also, I guess, realising sometimes that we missed a hole in the breeze that we could see the boats behind us fall into - it’s a bit cruel, but what it meant was that we had made the right choice.

“For us, we did more sail changes than we would normally do offshore and every time that we did one, it was the right choice, we were really pleased with that,” said Middleton.

The light forecast made it tough going for the fleet with one late withdrawal and nine retirements reducing the race to 17 yachts as boats fell into holes in the breeze, creating a virtual ‘parking lot’ on Bass Strait and making conditions more conducive to photography and whale watching than flat-out sailing.

Of the double-handed entries, Maverick, skippered by Rod Smallman with David Blake, was the last boat standing winning that Division and also achieving second place in Division 2 on AMS, PHS and ORC.

Race directors Jeremy Walton and Catherine North in the ORCV race van

Race Directors Jeremy Walton and Catherine North had a long night waiting for the boats to arrive.

“The start of the race was really good, they all got out well, but from then it just depended upon whether you fell into the hole in the middle of Bass Strait or not.

“The boats that were up the front got out and kept going hard - at one stage Scarlet Runner was doing over 10 knots, but there were boats that sat in the hole for six hours and they had 90 nautical miles to go, and it was closer to go home at that stage for them,” said Walton.

Walton reserved special praise for a few newcomers in the race.

“I think there are a couple of boats that have done really well in the race, The Jackal, in their first serious race out, I’m really impressed with, they’ve got a really good crew and have spent a lot of time on the boat, and Quixotic, an X-yacht, has done spectacularly well and won some silverware,” said Walton.

Faster Forward, skipper Matt Fahey in front on knee

Faster Forward crew members Sam Wines, John Bearsley, Drew Morgan and Kevin Dolan were all smiles after completing their first ocean race, all acknowledging the generosity of skipper Matt Fahey and mentor Simon Dryden, and the importance and practicality of the ORCV Beyond the Bay sailing program.

“Matt’s been really good at fostering new crew, it’s been something he has wanted to do the whole time, and he’s done it again this race,” said Walton.

Last year’s Rudder Cup winner Dasher+Fisher How Bizarre, skippered by Steve Robinson, took out Division 2 convincingly with a clean sweep of AMS, ORC and PHS handicaps.

A few of Mersey Yacht Club and ORCV volunteers; Far left Sam McGrath MYC Commodore and in the back grey shirt ORCV Vice Commodore Paul Roberts

The race was supported by a team of dedicated volunteers from the Mersey Yacht Club of Tasmania under the leadership of Commodore, Sam McGrath.

Full race results at https://www.orcv.org.au/results/2025-26/

Words and Photos by Jane Austin / ORCV media