Rolex Sydney Hobart

Sydney Harbour to the Derwent — 628 nm through the Bass Strait

Sydney, Australia Hobart, Tasmania
76 boats 2 editions 628 nm 8 archetypes International event fleet · as of 2026-07-10
Kinship

Australia’s waters hold their own story.

Sydney Heads, the Tasman southerly, Storm Bay, the Derwent finish — the country page holds the broader picture.

 Hidden Shape

AEROBLADE leads at 25.0% — a balanced fleet with no single dominant hull.

How the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet clusters before the results arrive: light refined rigs, deep-hull stiffness, and power-efficiency hybrids share the 628-mile fleet almost evenly.
Character

Boxing Day. Six hundred and twenty-eight miles. Bass Strait between you and Hobart.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart is 628 nautical miles from Sydney Harbour to the Derwent River, through one of sailing’s most unpredictable bodies of water. The Bass Strait southerly buster can arrive at any hour, turning a summer race into a survival test where hull efficiency under storm loading and crew execution in degrading conditions separate the finishers from the retirements. The 1998 race defined a generation of offshore safety standards — five boats sank, six sailors died, only 44 of 115 starters finished in conditions that produced 80-knot gusts and 10-meter breaking waves — and the race carries that history forward in every edition. The 2025 edition (the most recent in the archive) carries 56 of the 76 fleet boats — the largest single-edition contingent inside the FleetEdge fleet, the edition MIN RIVER won on IRC overall corrected time, and the lens this hub anchors below.

FleetEdge tracks 76 boats in the Sydney Hobart fleet, and the AEROBLADE archetype leads at 25.0% (19 of 76) — the largest single share in a notably balanced fleet rather than a dominant one. The archive spans the 2019 edition and every running from 2021 through 2025; the current publication carries observations from the 2024 and 2025 races. AEROBLADE is the refined-rig, light-and-agile family — platforms that reward quick acceleration and clean trim when the shifts come through. DEEPFRAME follows close behind at 23.7% (18 boats) — the deep-hull, stiff-platform group whose drag-optimized flow holds a powered line when the southerly buster fills in — with AEROMAX at 17.1% (13) and STEELFORM at 14.5% (11) rounding out the leading group. The top three carry 65.8% of the fleet; no single recipe defines the start line. One boat sits unclassified at the platform-boundary. Farr Design is the fleet’s most-common drawing board at 17.1% (13 boats) in a fleet spread across many design offices.

The fleet lives in the two recent editions. The 2025 running carries 56 of the 76 fleet boats (73.7%); the 2024 running carries 33 (43.4%); 17 boats raced both, so the two recent editions carry 72 of the 76 fleet boats — the remaining four are admitted from earlier runnings in the archive. This is a race that draws the same campaigns back year after year — multi-year programs, family-owned hulls, and the long-running Bass Strait veterans that treat the race as a summer benchmark rather than a one-off entry. The Australian fleet anchors the entry list; international entries from the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong thread through the entry list from the small divisions to the maxi end. In December 2026 the 81st edition starts Boxing Day under the same Bass Strait weather clock the fleet has been reading for eighty years.

Event cohort view · 56 boats · as of 2026-07-10

Selected Race Result

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2025 — Boxing Day 2025, 628 nm.

56 of 76 fleet boats competed in the 2025 edition (73.7% of the fleet, the largest single-edition contingent). One overall race, 628 nautical miles, offshore point-to-point scoring on the IRC overall handicap; at the current published view, 49 of the fleet’s 2025 entries carry the full set of ORC comparison data. MIN RIVER took the overall corrected-time win. The 2025 entry-list archetype view (published nearest this race) is DEEPFRAME-led: of the 49 event-classified boats at that vintage, DEEPFRAME holds 22.4% (11), with AEROBLADE and STEELFORM level at 20.4% (10 each). The Bass Strait conditions of the day are the variable above the structural baseline below.

Headlines

Dimension leaders — the 56-boat Sydney Hobart 2025 fleet.

Fleet-relative leaders from the 2025 race. Finish order comes from the published IRC overall standings. Comparative Time is the corrected sec/nm delta against the boat’s ORC median allowance — lower (more negative) means the boat sailed faster than its rating expects. Crew Residual is the sec/nm gap between the boat’s actual pace and its archetype-expected pace — negative means the crew beat the boat’s archetype-expected pace (stronger execution); positive means it sailed below that baseline. 56 boats competed; at the current published view, 49 carry the full comparison set.

IRC Overall Finish

1. MIN RIVER · 1st
2. LEON · 2nd
3. LOVE & WAR · 3rd
Cohort 56 boats

Comparative Time — sec/nm vs ORC

1. ELLA · −93.88
2. GIZMO · −66.78
3. FLYING PIG · −40.89
Cohort 49 scored

Crew Residual — sec/nm

1. ELLA · −90.0
2. GIZMO · −72.7
3. FLYING PIG · −44.1
Cohort 49 scored

RM / Displacement

1. YEAH BABY · 121.5
2. LUCKY · 111.2
3. SHK SCALLYWAG · 105.1
Basis Race-fleet relative

Sail Drive Index

1. ARAGON · 36
2. CALLISTO · 31
3. STICKY · 31
Basis Race-fleet relative

Archetype Lead

1. DEEPFRAME · 11 boats
2. AEROBLADE · 10 boats
3. STEELFORM · 10 boats
Cohort 49 classified
Stories

What the 2025 race told us.

Championship Citation

MIN RIVER — Rolex Sydney Hobart 2025 Winner, IRC Overall

MIN RIVER (AUS888, JPK 10.30) finished first of the 56-boat fleet in the published IRC overall corrected-time standings of the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart. The Jacques Valer-drawn JPK 10.30 came out of IRC Division 6 — the smallest division on the start line, where MIN RIVER was first of the fleet’s 10 Division 6 entries — and beat every larger boat in the race on handicap. The comparative-time lens agrees with the standings: MIN RIVER converted at −55.5 sec/nm against the ORC median allowance over the 628-mile track. A compact, efficient 34-footer winning the Tattersall Cup edition carried by this fleet is the clearest physics-to-result conversion on the page.

  • IRC Overall: 1st of 56 cohort boats · finish FIN
  • Division 6: 1st of 10 cohort entries
  • Comparative time: −55.5 sec/nm vs ORC median
Complete data · published standings Rolex Sydney Hobart 2025
Class Cluster

Division 6 took three of the top four corrected-time slots.

The smallest division owned the front of the 2025 IRC overall standings: MIN RIVER (1st), LOVE & WAR (3rd), and TOUCAN (4th) all sailed out of IRC Division 6. Only LEON — the J/109 from Division 5 that won the Rolex Fastnet Race 2025 overall earlier the same season — broke the cluster at 2nd. Ten of the fleet’s 56 boats raced in Division 6, and they concentrated at the top of the corrected-time table: small, efficient hulls converting their handicaps over 628 miles while the grand-prix end of the fleet chased line honors.

  • Division 6 in the top 4: 3 of 4 slots (ranks 1, 3, 4)
  • Division 6 cohort entries: 10 of 56
  • The outsider: LEON (Division 5, J/109) · 2nd
Complete data · published standings Rolex Sydney Hobart 2025
Magnitude Gap

ELLA: 94 sec/nm under the ORC median from 18th overall.

ELLA (Etchells, IRONWIND) posted the fleet’s best comparative-time conversion at −93.9 sec/nm against the ORC median allowance — 27.1 sec/nm clear of GIZMO (−66.8) in second. That is the widest margin on any dimension table for this event. The standings tell a different story: ELLA finished 18th in the IRC overall corrected-time table. The two lenses measure different things — IRC overall is the scored race result under the IRC handicap; the comparative-time delta measures how far the elapsed pace beat the boat’s own ORC median allowance over the 628-mile track. ELLA sailed dramatically faster than its ORC paper number says it should, and the IRC scoring absorbed most of that edge. The gap between the two tables is the rating story of this running.

  • ELLA comparative time: −93.9 sec/nm · 1st of 49 scored
  • Margin over 2nd: 27.1 sec/nm (GIZMO −66.8)
  • IRC overall finish: 18th — different lens, different table
Single race observed · partial coverage FleetEdge Comparative Time
Composition Shift

The start line ran heavier than today’s fleet.

In the FleetEdge view published nearest the race, the 2025 field was DEEPFRAME-led — 22.4% of the 49 event-classified boats (11), with AEROBLADE and STEELFORM level at 20.4% (10 each). The current fleet view sits differently: across the full 76-boat fleet today, AEROBLADE holds the largest share at 25.0%, with DEEPFRAME close behind at 23.7%. That is the shift — the deep-hull, stiff-platform tier concentrated on the 2025 start line relative to the fleet’s current baseline, while the light refined-rig group that leads the fleet today sat level with the heavy-displacement STEELFORM tier in the race field. This card compares what raced against what the fleet is now — composition, not conditions.

  • 2025 race field (vintage view): DEEPFRAME 22.4% · AEROBLADE 20.4% · STEELFORM 20.4%
  • Current fleet view: AEROBLADE 25.0% · DEEPFRAME 23.7%
  • Scope: 49 event-classified at the 2025 vintage · 76-boat fleet today
Complete data Race group vs fleet
Race Archetypes

49 boats classified in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2025.

Archetypes as published 2026-07-10 — the FleetEdge view nearest this event.

49 of the boats that raced the 2025 edition carry a FleetEdge archetype assignment at this vintage — 56 competed. DEEPFRAME leads a deep-hull, stiff-platform tier, with AEROBLADE and STEELFORM level just behind it. The distribution below is the FleetEdge view published nearest the 2025 race.

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

Boats 11
Share 22.4%

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

Boats 10
Share 20.4%

STEELFORM

Compact-rig, rigid platform delivering consistent, low-variance results.

Boats 10
Share 20.4%

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

Boats 6
Share 12.2%

GLIDEFORM

Low-drag hull delivering smooth, efficient downwind acceleration.

Boats 5
Share 10.2%

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

Boats 4
Share 8.2%

HEADFORCE

Upwind-biased pressure boat driving compact rigs through higher-drag hull forms.

Boats 2
Share 4.1%

IRONWIND

Stiff, stable-drive platform with predictable load behavior.

Boats 1
Share 2.0%

International event fleet · 76 boats · as of 2026-07-10

Fleet DNA

How the Sydney Hobart fleet is built.

76 boats in the fleet — 61 ORC-rated and 15 IRC entries carried via the IRC-to-ORC mapping process. 75 classified across 8 archetypes, 1 unclassified at the platform-boundary.

The Sydney Hobart Fleet Signature

The Sydney Hobart fleet is a balanced offshore collective with a light-rig leader rather than a single dominant recipe. AEROBLADE holds the largest share at 25.0% (19 boats) — the refined-rig, light-and-agile platforms tuned for quick acceleration and clean trim response. DEEPFRAME sits a step behind at 23.7% (18 boats) — deep-hull, stiff platforms that hold a powered, drag-optimized line when the southerly buster fills in — with AEROMAX at 17.1% (13 boats), the power-efficiency hybrids with strong upwind drive, and STEELFORM at 14.5% (11 boats), the heavy-displacement hulls with strong directional stability that suit the long Bass Strait passage. Together the top three archetypes carry 65.8% of the 76-boat fleet — a structurally diverse signature where the top two each hold more than a fifth of the fleet and no single recipe dominates.

  • AEROBLADE 25.0% · 19 boats
  • DEEPFRAME 23.7% · 18 boats
  • AEROMAX 17.1% · 13 boats

Dimension emphasis: Comparative Time · RM / Displacement · Sail Drive · Crew Residual

Farr Design is the fleet’s most-common drawing board at 17.1% (13 boats) in a fleet spread across many design offices. Top classes: First 40 (3) and Sydney 38 (3) — the only classes with three or more hulls in the fleet. The 81st edition starts Boxing Day 2026 under the same Bass Strait weather clock the fleet has been reading for eighty years.

Complete data Latest published view

The full 8-archetype distribution.

AEROBLADE

High-efficiency rig with sharp heel sensitivity and rapid trim response.

moderate upwind · moderate reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 19
Share 25.0%
  • TP-52
  • Farr 40
  • XP-44

DEEPFRAME

Deep-hull efficiency paired with a stiff platform for drag-optimized flow.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 18
Share 23.7%
  • J-109
  • First 36
  • J-120

AEROMAX

Upwind-power specialist with the fleet's strongest rig-driven VMG.

strong upwind · neutral reaching · neutral downwind

Boats 13
Share 17.1%
  • First 40.7
  • First 40
  • Grand Soleil 40

STEELFORM

Compact-rig, rigid platform delivering consistent, low-variance results.

neutral upwind · neutral reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 11
Share 14.5%
  • Bavaria CR 46
  • Dufour 41 Performance
  • Hanse 400 E

GRAVITYRUN

Heavy-mode momentum boat with strong downwind power in sustained breeze.

neutral upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 6
Share 7.9%
  • First 36.7
  • First 34.7
  • X-332

GLIDEFORM

Low-drag hull delivering smooth, efficient downwind acceleration.

weak upwind · moderate reaching · strong downwind

Boats 5
Share 6.6%
  • J-105
  • J-99
  • Farr 30

HEADFORCE

Upwind-biased pressure boat driving compact rigs through higher-drag hull forms.

strong upwind · weak reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 2
Share 2.6%
  • Fortuna 9
  • Miura
  • Elan 333

IRONWIND

Stiff, stable-drive platform with predictable load behavior.

moderate upwind · moderate reaching · VMG downwind

Boats 1
Share 1.3%
  • J-80 OD
  • J-24
  • Melges 24 OD

AEROBLADE’s 25.0% share leads a balanced fleet, not a dominated one — the top three families (AEROBLADE, DEEPFRAME 23.7%, AEROMAX 17.1%) lead a balanced spread, with STEELFORM at 14.5% behind them. The Sydney Hobart fleet says something specific about what the Bass Strait demands: refined-rig agility for the shifts, deep-hull stiffness for the powered upwind line when the southerly buster fills in, power-efficiency upwind drive, and heavy-displacement directional stability for the long Tasman passage. Eight archetype families are populated; three of the eleven canonical archetypes (STEELCORE, KEELFLEX, and STORMLINE) do not appear in this fleet at all.

At a glance

Sydney Hobart — structural profile.

Scope
76 boats
61 ORC-rated · 15 mapped-IRC
Top 3 archetypes
  1. AEROBLADE — 19 boats (25.0%)
  2. DEEPFRAME — 18 boats (23.7%)
  3. AEROMAX — 13 boats (17.1%)
Eleven canonical performance archetypes cluster the fleet by dimensional signature. See the full map →
Top designer cluster
Farr Design
13 boats (17.1%) — the most-represented design voice in this fleet.

Counts and archetype assignments above are measured from the current corpus. Commentary below is interpretive.

International event fleet · as of 2026-07-10

Classified fleet view · 75 of 76 classified · as of 2026-07-10

Fleet Stories

Sydney Hobart signature.

Designer Density

Farr Design anchors the Sydney Hobart drawing board.

Farr Design carries the largest single designer share in the Sydney Hobart fleet at 17.1% (13 boats). The Farr board is the clearest design-office signal on this start line, with the remaining 63 boats spread across many other design offices. Even so, no one office dominates outright — the Sydney Hobart entry list spans grand-prix custom builds, production racer-cruisers, and one-off offshore programs, and the Farr lead sits above a long tail rather than a one-design monoculture.

  • Farr Design: 13 boats · 17.1% of the fleet
  • Remaining fleet: 63 boats across many design offices
  • Top classes: First 40, Sydney 38 · 3 boats each
Complete data Designer mix
Archetype Density

AEROBLADE leads a balanced fleet at 25.0%.

AEROBLADE carries the largest single share of the Sydney Hobart fleet at 25.0% (19 of 76 boats) — the leader of a notably balanced fleet rather than a dominant archetype. AEROBLADE is the refined-rig, light-and-agile family — platforms that reward quick acceleration and clean trim when the shifts come through. DEEPFRAME follows close behind at 23.7% (18 boats), with AEROMAX at 17.1% (13) and STEELFORM at 14.5% (11): the top three lead a balanced fleet with no single dominant recipe. The Sydney Hobart fleet is structurally diverse — a long-running mix of refined-rig agility, deep-hull stiffness, power-efficiency upwind drive, and heavy-displacement stability suited to a 628-mile offshore passage.

  • AEROBLADE: 19 boats · 25.0%
  • DEEPFRAME: 18 boats · 23.7%
  • AEROMAX: 13 boats · 17.1% · STEELFORM 11 · 14.5%
Complete data Archetype mix
Popular Classes

The boats that define the Sydney Hobart fleet.

First 40 (3)

The Bénéteau First 40 — a fast production racer-cruiser that carries offshore campaigns well, one of only two classes with three or more hulls on this start line.

Sydney 38 (3)

The Murray Burns Dovel one-design Australian offshore class — the local-build cornerstone of the fleet, tuned for east-coast Australian conditions, and the other class with three or more hulls on this start line. The rest of the 76-boat fleet spreads across one-offs, custom builds, and single-entry production classes.

Continue

Go deeper.

Fastnet

The peer RORC offshore classic — 695 nm from Cowes to Cherbourg, the structural counterpart to the Sydney Hobart on the European side.

Australia

The Australian country page — the broader national fleet that the Sydney Hobart draws from, with fleet context across the country’s racing programs.

Fleet Archetypes

The FleetEdge archetype framework — 11 performance archetypes, the lens this hub uses to read the fleet signature.

ORC World Fleet

The 369-boat world-traveling fleet — the cross-fleet comparative lens above the IRC and ORC event hubs.

Ocean Intelligence

The HYCOM ocean-current reanalysis layer — the inshore-or-offshore EAC decision that separates hours, not minutes, on the Sydney Hobart track.

IRC Racing

All six IRC offshore classics in one analytical framework — the parent hub for the Sydney Hobart, Fastnet, Middle Sea Race, Caribbean 600, Cowes Offshore, and Transatlantic.

Analyze the Sydney Hobart.

628 nm through the Bass Strait. Every dimension measured.

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