It’s all in the timing as Clockwork readies for first Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race
Clockwork under sail in 2024 / Photo by Salty Dingo
It would be hard to find two more enthusiastic and committed offshore sailors than South Australians, Mary Ann Harvey and Andrew Lloyd, co-owners and “equal skippers” of the Sydney 38, Clockwork, from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia.
Harvey and Lloyd, relaxed and in the groove after a hectic eight-month sailing program last year which took in the major Australian regattas, will have Clockwork on the start line on Friday the 31st of October for their first Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’ Yacht Race.
Harvey retrospectively described the Rudder Cup, run by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, as a bucket list race now that they know the history of the event as the oldest yacht race in Australia, and are definitely “in it to win it.”
“We are going to race as hard as we can to make the boat go.
“Andrew is a weapon on the start line, we make sure we don’t hit anybody, but if there’s a spot on the start line that he wants to be, even if it’s a TP52, he will just push through until he gets there.
Andrew and Mary Ann embracing after completing their Hobart race in 2024 / Photo by Salty Dingo
In 2024, Clockwork won the Sydney 38 Division of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, a feat which they hope to repeat this year, and with the right weather, Harvey believes Clockwork might take home the win in the 2025 the Rudder Cup.
“A Sydney 38 is a bullet proof boat, a great all-rounder.
“We’ve never heard of a Sydney 38 ever losing its rig anywhere in the world, and while we know the boat is 25 years old, she’s fantastic upwind and downwind,” said Harvey.
Clockwork will be up against two other Sydney 38s from Victoria, Faster Forward, skippered by Matt Fahey, and Loch Sloidh 3, skippered by Peter McFarlane, which will make racing interesting.
Lloyd is hoping for a decent breeze for the sprint across Bass Strait to the finish line off the mouth of the Mersey River, the waterway of the Tasmanian coastal city of Devonport, and to the guaranteed warm welcome from the team at the Mersey Yacht Club.
“I haven’t done any weather modelling yet, but our preferred conditions would be reaching in 20 knots of breeze, or even right on the nose would suit us, while it’s not that comfortable, we know the boat will perform really well,” said Lloyd.
Talking with Harvey and Lloyd, it is easy to see why these great mates get on so well and are enjoying living what many would describe as their very best sailing life, competing successfully in some of Australia’s premier sailing regattas, while generously offering crewing opportunities to people from all walks of life through the ORCV’s Next Gen program and supporting community programs such as Orange Sky.
“We both think it’s great to be supporting young sailors through the Next Gen program, giving them their first taste of ocean racing through a delivery, it’s a great time for training, they get time on the wheel,” said Harvey.
They each have enormous respect for the other’s strengths and personalities, and trip over themselves to heap praise on each other, while gently competing for bragging rights on boat speed.
“Andrew is amazing, he is so experienced in all areas of sailing.
“He does much more helming than I do, and he’s a terrific coach who runs the boat in fantastic condition,” said Harvey.
“Mary Ann is a legend, she’s an amazing person, a great sailor whose competence far exceeds her confidence.
“She’s able to find crew, which was tough in 2024 when we had 60 people on the boat in our eight-month campaign.
“But more than that, Mary Ann’s an inspiration to blokes and ladies alike, and she wants to sail with me!
“We completely trust her, we are just great mates,” said Lloyd.
Lloyd has been sailing all his life and has a special interest in sharing his knowledge with newcomers, and although Harvey came to yacht racing later in life, she has an innate understanding of the wind through 20 years as a windsurfer and prefers crewing ahead of steering.
“I was obsessive about the sailboarding, as a busy, working single mother, it was just a great way to get out and blow off the cobwebs.
“Andrew becomes my tactician when I’m steering which I think he finds a little bit frustrating at times, especially when I remind him that I have the Clockwork boat speed record of 20.7 knots,” said Harvey teasingly.
2025 has been a good year for Harvey, who recently won the 2025 Female Sailor of the Year category in the Australian Sailing South Australia Awards, recognising her achievements in ocean racing, her commitment to gender inclusivity, equality and opportunity, and her leadership in sailing as Chair of the South Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta Committee.
Female Clockwork crew during the 2025 Australian Women's Keelboat Regatta. Mary Ann 3rd from right / Photo provided by Clockwork team
Earlier in the year, Harvey also took her boat to Melbourne in June to compete in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, racing with her all-female crew. A regular interstate competitor, Harvey continues to show her strong dedication to building connections and supporting the broader women’s keelboat community across Australia — strengthening ties between the South Australian and Melbourne chapters through shared experience, teamwork, and passion for the sport.
As they focus on the 2025 Rudder Cup, Lloyd and Harvey admit that neither of them has raced out of Port Phillip through The Rip, a narrow entrance at Port Phillip Heads where underwater reefs limit the navigable entrance to 0.6 of a nautical mile, and which can offer some difficult and precarious conditions to sailors.
“We will be very mindful of the conditions we are in, but we will also try to remind ourselves that it’s just another passage of water,” said Harvey.
There will certainly be plenty of guidance available from other fleet members and the ORCV.
Harvey and Lloyd note that the previous owner of the boat named her Clockwork as a nod to his work as a jeweller / watchmaker, and for those watching the race, Clockwork has a bright orange spinnaker and wheel, which features heavily in their marketing material and crew shirts.
Harvey and Lloyd will be sailing alongside Brendon Savage, Harvey’s nephew Rowan Edwards, Sam Wilksch, Michael Burvill, Laoise O’Beirn, Matt Stephens and Paul Hicks.
The 195 nautical mile 2025 Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’ starts at 2:30pm (AEDT) on Friday the 31st of October off Queenscliff, in Port Phillip.
The longstanding race record is 19 hours, 32 minutes and 56 seconds which was set in 1998 by Prowler, skippered by Joe Westerlo.
The Rudder Cup is part of the ORCV Offshore Championship and is open to yachts fully crewed, 4+autohelm, and double-handed.
Final entries closing on Monday the 20th of October 2025.
For further details about the 2025 Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race and to enter, go to: https://www.orcv.org.au/devonport
By Jane Austin/ORCV Media
