The 1988 Bicentennial Around Australia Yacht Race remains one of the most demanding offshore events ever sailed, and few accounts capture its intensity like Mark Pescott’s recollection from aboard the 60 foot trimaran Power Brewing.
Starting at 8.08am on 8 August 1988, a small fleet of multihulls and monohulls set out from Sydney on a two handed circumnavigation of Australia, modelled on the Round Britain and Ireland race. What followed was a relentless test of seamanship, endurance, and self sufficiency, with fixed stopovers offering brief relief from often brutal conditions.
From the opening day, the race was marked by drama. A 50 knot southerly gale on the first afternoon saw Escapade capsize, a rescue boat sink, and later that night a tragic loss of life from the monohull Boundary Rider. As the race progressed north, then west and south, crews encountered everything from oppressive heat and calms to sustained gales exceeding 70 knots.
Pescott’s most vivid memory came off Adelaide, surfing down huge Southern Ocean seas under staysail alone, in 40 knots of wind beneath a full moon. Yet the punishment mounted. Severe storms damaged boats, dismasted others, and forced difficult decisions. After a violent broach that nearly tore the liferaft from Power Brewing, skipper Phillip Smith chose to withdraw, turning for safety rather than glory.
Only a handful of yachts finished. Steinlager I, sailed by Peter Blake and Mike Quilter, won convincingly. Others followed battered but resolute, completing what remains a benchmark for two handed ocean racing.
To read the full first hand account, visit
https://www.racearoundaustralia.au/power-brewing/
