About the Race

The ORCV Melbourne to Vanuatu Race is a Category 1 event covering 1885nm from the start at Portsea to the finish at Port Vila. Sailed in the waters of Bass Strait and the South Pacific Ocean this race to Paradise is a wonderful way to escape the chills of winter!
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands with a unique blend of intact tribal communities, resorts, beaches and geography ranging from accessible volcanoes to pristine underwater environments. It is located some 1,750 km east of Australia, 500 km north-east of New
Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands.

The inaugural event was held in 2006 after George Shaw, past Commodore of ORCV, visited the islands and proposed to introduce other sailors to this paradise on earth.

To help prepare entrants for the event, the ORCV conducts a series of seminars covering all aspects of long distance sailing. Topics include Communications, Health, Provisioning, Repairs, SAR, Customs and Quarantine.

Friday, 10 April 2015 09:31

Super Motor Yacht DragonFly was one of the first boats to provide emergency disaster relief to some remote villages in Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam hit. You can help too by donating to the ORCV Oxfam Australia Vanuatu Cyclone Pam Emergency Appeal www.Yachties4Vanuatu.com. Like many ORCV yachts who've cruised the beautiful Vanuatu archipelago, during their cruising, DragonFly also made many friends and developed relationships with the local communities and felt compelled to assist in whatever way they could. Their highly skilled crew, included 5 Emergency Medical Technicians and a Doctor. The...

Wednesday, 08 April 2015 11:07

Yachties 4 Vanuatu Day - Saturday 11 April, 2015 ORCV Vanuatu Cyclone Pam Emergency Appeal www.Yachties4Vanuatu.com Why? Category Five tropical cyclone Pam ravaged the tiny Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Friday 13 March, 2015. The ORCV has forged a strong connection with Vanuatu over the last 10 years through the Melbourne to Vanuatu yacht race.  We have contributed significant humanitarian aid during that time, which is needed now more than ever. How? The ORCV have partnered with Oxfam, other yacht clubs and Yachting Victoria to assist Vanuatu. Come...

Monday, 16 March 2015 14:44

Our thoughts are with our friends in Vanuatu recovering from the devastation left by severe tropical cyclone Pam.  The ORCV has partnered with OxFam and is exploring other fund raising efforts such as a charity race and will keep you posted.  See subseuqnet website artclie Yachties4Vanuatu Day - Saturday 11 April, 2015. The ORCV has conducted three 1,885 nautical mile international yachts races from Melbourne to Vanuatu in 2006, 2010 and 2014.  During those events, entrants have filled a shipping container with humanitarian aid that they have distributed to various...

Friday, 05 September 2014 15:29

2014 Vanuatu Presentation Night Well, it has taken some time but finally we have some photos to share of the fantastic Presentation evening in Port Vila. Many thanks to George Shaw for organising a wonderful and memorable evening with help from Robyn Brooke, Kim Girdler and Ashley Stevens and to Nick Williams for the photos. Within 24 hours George had found a venue, organised the catering, shopped for trophies and his outfit! There was lots of fun and laughter and everyone was lei'd on arrival! More to follow, so stay tuned! Robyn greeting Guests Our...

Friday, 18 July 2014 16:33

A VERY PERSONAL STORY FROM LEETON HULLEY - CREW ON CARTOUCHE   I would like to tell you my story. My name is Leeton Hulley and I completed the ORCV Melbourne to Vanuatu Yacht race on a Beneteau First 50 called Cartouche. My experience I feel is unique and I would like to share it with you. The first two days of racing were much the same as the rest of the fleet. Tough conditions but all of us had experienced much worse. The morale on board was high and we were all sailing hard and aggressively. Some 20 nautical miles south of Gabo Island, in 45knots of wind from the west we had been...

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