2014 Club Marine and Lexus 64th Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race
- February 10, 2014
The Club Marine and Lexus Adelaide to Port Lincoln race is South Australia’s premier ocean racing event. Seventy to Eighty boats leave Outer Harbour on Friday 21st February 2014 (cruisers at 10.00am, and the racing fleets at about 3.00 pm) to compete in a 156 nautical mile race that takes participants south west to Marion Reef at the foot of York Peninsula along the foot to the spectacular Cape Spencer then North West past Wedge and Thistle Islands and Dangerous Reef to the welcome of Port Lincoln nestled on Boston Bay.
Sailing has always been part of Port Lincoln's way of life. Regattas have been recorded back in the middle 1800's. Early fishing boats were the main competitors but the First World War and then the Depression closed the Port Lincoln Sailing Club and the Port Lincoln Regatta Club and there fore the regattas.
In 1930 a public meeting was held in the Port Lincoln Civic Hall supper room. The meeting was called to consider forming a Yacht Club once again. The new Port Lincoln Yacht Club as we now it was opened in 1931. From the earliest days of the club a race from Adelaide had been considered. There was no Clubhouse in those days, and speedboats and heavyweight sharpies were the strength of the sailing community. The fishing boat racing era had passed. The race began through the efforts of Brian Verco and Alan Payze and others.
Brian Verco lived in Port Lincoln and was Commodore of the Club. Allan Payze, a foundation member and secretary of the Club was a great friend of Brian's. They were wondering how to create more activity in the Lincoln area for the ocean going yachts from Adelaide. They saw the need to create a reason for Adelaide boats to come around the "corner" (as the bottom of Yorke Peninsula was known in those days) and to stay on visiting Port Lincoln.
Allan and Brian came up with the idea of an Outer Harbour to Port Lincoln race, and it was on! In 1950, 19 years after the new Club was born, the first Outer Harbour to Port Lincoln Yacht Race was sailed. The fastest time for the inaugural race was the Squadron's "Seevogel" owned by W. Harris with the time of 19 hours 39 minutes and 36 seconds. The next year it was Lincoln's "Pavana" owned by George Mayne.
Brian Verco presented the original, significant trophy, a silver tray with a chart on it which was allowed with special Government permission. It was originally silver, but as it began to "wear" over the years, Brian's family had it gold plated. Over the past sixty years many names have been added to the trophy and the Race has created some outstanding memories. Today it is one of the greatest ocean races in Australia. It leads into the "Lincoln Week Regatta" which is now an established popular event attracting some of Australia's top competitors as well as providing an unforgettable social occasion for all. It also generates income for the community thus helping the local economy.
The race truly fits the Port Lincoln Yacht Club's number one objective which is to "Foster a love of the sea.....".
The participating boats will all be equipped with a YB Tracker, meaning that friends, family and supporters left at home can, with the click of a button on their pc, follow every twist and turn this race has to offer. The online map has a leaderboard incorporated into it which is updated along with the GPS positions of all the contestants vessels. These will be updated every twenty minutes through out the race so you can keep up to date with an individual boat or the whole fleet.
You can find more information about the race by visiting the Lincoln Week website.
