Sydney to Hobart yacht race cancelled for first time in 76 years
- Last updated: December 19, 2020 | 16:10
Gulf Today Report
Australia's gruelling Sydney to Hobart yacht race was called off on Saturday for the first time in its history because of an escalating coronavirus outbreak.
Organizers said border restrictions forced by Sydney’s new coronavirus outbreak made it impossible to stage the race.
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"We are bitterly disappointed to cancel the race this year, especially considering the plans and preparations we had put in place to have a COVID-safe race,” Cruising yacht Club commodore Noel Cornish said in announcing the cancellation.
This photo shows yachts sailing out of Sydney harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. File/AFP
The decision to pull the plug came the same day authorities in Hobart announced plans to impose a 14-day quarantine requirement on all travellers from Sydney.
Cornish said that with the advice unlikely to lift in the immediate future and the immense logistics involved in trying to reorganise a race with around 100 entrants, it was decided to cancel rather than postpone.
The race, first held in 1945, was scheduled to begin Dec. 26 as part of a Boxing Day tradition in Australia. The yachts leave Sydney Harbor amid a huge spectator fleet of boats and travel down the east coast of New South Wales state en route to the island state of Tasmania and its capital Hobart.