65th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Defender	Wild Oats XI Wild Oats XI Wild Oats XI is a maxi yacht, most famous for being a multiple line honors winner of the 'blue water classic' Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. She is owned by Robert Oatley, and skippered by New South Welsh yachtsman, Mark Richards....
Number of Yachts	100
Coordinates	33°51.35′S 151°12.40′E- 42°52.7′S 147°19.58′E
Winner	Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo (yacht) Alfa Romeo can refer to several yachts owned by Neville Crichton, the Alfa Romeo automobile distributor for Australia and New Zealand. In 2003, Crichton was named Yachting New Zealand's "Sailor of the Year" for his accomplishments with yacht Alfa Romeo I.Alfa Romeo I is a fixed keel "supermaxi"... (line honours)
Official Website	http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/default.asp

The 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Rolex

Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...

was the 65th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...

. Line honours in the 99-boat event were won by the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 maxi Alfa Romeo II

Alfa Romeo (yacht)

Alfa Romeo can refer to several yachts owned by Neville Crichton, the Alfa Romeo automobile distributor for Australia and New Zealand. In 2003, Crichton was named Yachting New Zealand's "Sailor of the Year" for his accomplishments with yacht Alfa Romeo I.Alfa Romeo I is a fixed keel "supermaxi"...

 raced by Neville Crichton, recording her 146th consecutive ocean classic victory. Defending line honours champion Wild Oats

Wild Oats XI

Wild Oats XI is a maxi yacht, most famous for being a multiple line honors winner of the 'blue water classic' Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. She is owned by Robert Oatley, and skippered by New South Welsh yachtsman, Mark Richards....

 was attempting to establish a new record of five successive wins, but was second to Alfa Romeo.

As in the past, the race was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, established in 1944 is known as one of Australia's premier yacht clubs, and is acknowledged as one of the leaders in ocean racing in the country...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. Unlike previous Sydney to Hobart Yacht races which traditionally began at noon

Noon

Noon is usually defined as 12 o'clock in the daytime. The word noon is also used informally to mean midday regarding the location of the sun not the middle of a persons day. Although this is a time around the middle of the day when people in many countries take a lunch break...

, the 2009 event began on Sydney Harbour, at 1:00pm (AEDT) on Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

, 26 December, before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

, past Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

, into Storm Bay

Storm Bay

Storm Bay is a large bay in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the entrance to the Derwent River estuary and the port of Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania.It is bordered by Bruny Island to the west and the Tasman Peninsula to the east....

 and up the Derwent River

Derwent River (Tasmania)

The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. It was named after the River Derwent, Cumbria by British Commodore John Hayes who explored it in 1793. The name is Brythonic Celtic for "valley thick with oaks"....

, to cross the finish line in Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. Coverage of the race start was on Channel Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 after a 90 minute launch program.

2009 Fleet

99 yachts registered to begin the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht race. They are:

Yacht	Nation	Owner	Skipper	Launch Year
41 SUD
Adventure of Hornet
AFR Midnight Rambler
Alfa Romeo
Another Fiasco
Archie
Auch
Audi Centre Melbourne
Aurora
Bacardi
Balance
Bear Necessity
Calm
Challenger of Hornet
Chancellor
Charisma
Charlie's Dream
Chutzpah
Colortile
Copernicus
Cougar II
Dekadence
Discoverer of Hornet
Eleni
Etihad Stadium
Evolution Racing
EZ Street
Flying Fish Arctos
Geomatic Joker
Goldfinger
Helsal III
Holy Cow!
ICAP Leopard
Ichi Ban
Imagination
Investec LOYAL
Kioni
Knee Deep
Krakatoa II
Lahana
Limit
Lion New Zealand
Livewire.org.au
Living Doll
Loki
Love & War
Mahligai
Matangi
Menace
Merit
Mondo
More Witchcraft
Namadgi
Next
Ninety Seven
Nips N Tux
One For The Road
Paca
Papillon
Patrice Six
Pelagic Magic
Pinta - M
Pippin
Polaris of Belmont
Pretty Fly III
Quest
Quetzalcoatl
Ragamuffin
Ran
Rapture
Ray White Castle Hill Tartan
Ray White Spirit of Koomooloo
Rush
Sailing Services
Sailors With Disabilities
Salona
Seahold Perie Banou II
Secret Mens Business 3.5
SES Inch by Winch
Shamrock
She
She's The Culprit
Shining Sea
Shogun
Shortwave
St Jude
Strewth
Suesea
Swish
The Subzero Goat
Tow Truck
Two True
Valheru
Wasabi
Wicked
Wild Oats XI
Yendys
YuuZoo
Zephyr Hamilton Elevators
Zora I

Line Honours Results (Top 10)

Position	Race Number	Sail Number	Yacht	State/Country	Yacht Type	LOA (Metres)	Skipper	Elapsed Time d:hh:mm:ss
1	F1	NZL80	Alfa Romeo	NZ	Reichel Pugh Maxi	30.48	Neville Crichton	2:09:02:10
2	X1	10001	Wild Oats XI	NSW	Reichel Pugh RP100	30.48	Mark Richards	2:11:05:34
3	100	GBR1R	ICAP Leopard	UK	Farr Maxi	30.48	Mike Slade	2:16:45:46
4	99	NZL99999	Investec LOYAL	TAS	Greg Elliot Maxi	30.48	Sean Langman	2:18:34:33
5	72	GBR7236R	Ran	UK	Judel Vrolijk JV 72	21.90	Niklas Zennstrom Tim Powell	2:20:27:55
6	03	AUS 03	Ichi Ban	NSW	Jones 70	21.50	Matt Allen	2:21:37:56
7	11	AUS11111	YuuZoo	NSW	Simonis Voogd Maxi	27.38	Ludde Ingvall	3:00:05:05
8	81	10081	Lahana	NSW	Bakewell-White 30m Maxi	30.00	Peter Millard	3:03:13:07
9	60	AUS60000	Loki	NSW	Reichel Pugh 63	19.20	Stephen Ainsworth	3:06:41:37
10	69	6952	Shogun	VIC	Judel Vrolijk JV 52	15.85	Rob Hanna	3:08:16:03

Handicap Results (Top 10)

Position	Sail Number	Yacht	State/Country	Yacht Type	LOA (Metres)	Skipper	Corrected Time d:hh:mm:ss
1	YC400	Two True	SA	First 40	12.24	Andrew Saies	4:07:57:43
2	SM4	Wicked	VIC	First 40	12.24	Mark Welsh	4:08:39:08
3	6081	Next	NSW	Sydney 38	11.78	Ian Mason	4:09:48:54
4	6073	Swish	NSW	Sydney 38	11.78	Steven Proud	4:10:17:42
5	360	Patrice Six	NSW	X41	12.35	Tony Kirby	4:10:24:32
6	GBR7236R	Ran	UK	JV 72	21.90	Niklas Zennstrom Tim Powell	4:10:48:21
7	8289	Zephyr Hamilton Elevators	NSW	Farr 1020	10.20	James Connell	4:10:52:27
8	ESP7100	Charisma	ESP	S&S 57	17.02	Alejandro Perez Calzada	4:10:55:59
9	35	Imagination	NSW	First 47.7	14.50	Robin Hawthorn	4:11:15:36
10	M6	Tow Truck	NSW	Ker 11.3	11.44	Anthony Paterson	4:11:16:18

See also

• Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
  Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
  The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...