The 34th Australian Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) has to-date attracted 27 entries from New Zealand, Northern Territory, South Australia, NSW and Victoria, with crews flying in from all ports. Di Pearson from AWKR media writes.
To be held on the King’s Birthday weekend from 5-8 June, 2026 and hosted by Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, the event has again caught the interest of a mix of rookies, club racers and experienced sailors, including ocean racers
Wendy Tuck will once more helm the Beneteau First 34.7, Spartan. Tuck, from NSW, is sailing royalty – in more ways than one. The first woman to win an around the world race (Clipper on Sanya Serenity Coast in 2017), she remains only one of two women to achieve this feat and has 18 Sydney Hobarts behind her.
More recently, she was at the helm of MWF Kayle (Making Waves Foundation) which took Invictus Australia athletes for a sail on Sydney Harbour. Special guests were Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
“I spoke more with Prince Harry. He was chatty and gracious. He got off the yacht with the Invictus people to say goodbye, but he came back aboard and said thank you to our crew. He shook each one’s hands – and I got a hug!”
This year, Tuck’s crew is made up of those returning and a couple of newbies. Kathy Veel (first all-female double-handed crew in the Sydney Hobart) and Sanne Rodenstein (she did the Rolex Sydney Hobart on MWF last year) among them.
Tuck is an AWKR enthusiast: “I think It’s one of the best organised and fun regattas around. It’s a great event. It’s a nice learning curve for the inexperienced and it’s a competitive regatta for the experienced as well,” she says.
“It’s great racing, there are loan boats and the Club (RMYS) makes it what it is. Dee (Mason) as MC is awesome – so are the boat buoys. There are lots of goodies and we have a crew house. I enjoy it. We are lucky to get Spartan again and we’ve got to know the owners.” Tuck finishes.
Janet Thornley, an Adelaide doctor, returns with a new outlook, having done the 80th Sydney Hobart last year. It was her first – and on her yacht – The XX Factor. Husband, Alan Dowler, was the only male aboard.
Two of Thornley’s South Australian crew were on her Sydney Hobart crew – Jodie-Anne Roberts and Brenda Cassidy, while another of her Hobart crew, Victorian Belinda Van Duivenvoorden, will sail on Salamander III, owned and skippered by AWKR co-chair, Monica Jones.
Thornley said, “It puts into perspective the weather that you get elsewhere is nothing compared to the Sydney Hobart. It makes you more resilient. It has given me a bit more confidence too – which has never been my strong point. I think it made me realise if I can do this, I can do anything.”
This is not Thornley’s first rodeo at the AWKR, she is becoming a regular. “It’s the atmosphere that brings me back. The good old barbecue after racing, sitting back and relaxing, talking to people and seeing people you haven’t seen in ages. And the racing is great,” she says.
Most of Thornley’s crew will arrive on the Thursday before. “We’re hoping to go out training on the Friday, as we’re sailing an S80 (Espresso) this time. I haven’t sailed one before, so I’m looking forward to sailing a different boat. And even though my own boat is wheel steering, I love tiller steering, which the S80 has.”
In the lead-up, she has been racing locally. “We’ve done windward/leewards, round the buoys and short offshores. Our last race was weekend before last.”
Another with a world of experience is retired Melbourne doctor, Rosie Colahan. The double-handed Melbourne Osaka race and the Sydney Hobart are a small snapshot of her repertoire.
“My first Hobart was the 1998 race on Jubilation (a Farr 11.6) and we were one of the finishers,” she says of their crossing 34th over the line from the 44 finishers in the fatal race.
“I did the AWKR for quite some years too. I think 2004 was my first and 2016 my last. I haven’t done much since, other things got in the way,” says Colahan who is happy to be returning.
“I was boatless for a few years, but now I have Encore (a Northshore 340 Mark 11), which I will sail at the AWKR. I have a couple of women coming with me who were on my boat for the Skills training for women in the KISS program in 2024,” says the Victorian, who spends a great deal of time with the KISS program, both on the water and on the committee.
“The best thing for me, is having girls who have been through KISS and now have the confidence to come and do regattas like the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta. I love giving women the confidence to come and do a regatta like this.”
Colahan is a boon to women looking to learn and it extends to her role as a doctor. A competitor in the 2007 Melbourne Osaka, she was also nominated as the doctor, available on call for fellow competitors in the 5500 nautical mile race and in the years since, also mentored others who did the double-handed race.
Born of her broad experience, Colahan concludes, “In sailing, you can be a tacker or a granny, there is a role for everyone.”
Mary Ann Harvey ticked off her fourth Sydney Hobart last year and returns with Clockwork, the Sydney 38 she owns with Andrew Lloyd. The South Australian pair has spent the last three years sailing at major events around Australia. They are great ambassadors for sailing.
Onshore, the fun side of the regatta kicks into gear. There is a frenzied crew spinnaker packing competition that brings out the competitiveness in all – including the cheer squads. Early breakfast is available and there is a dinner on the Saturday night, but you must book in advance at the official website.
