Tasmania’s legendary Three Peaks Race will return at Easter 2027 after a 13-year break, with more than 50 boats and 100 competitors already expressing interest in the gruelling endurance event.
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania confirmed it will run the race for the first time since 2013.
First held in 1989, the race combines 334 nautical miles of offshore sailing with 133 kilometres of mountain running across some of the state’s most spectacular wilderness.
Teams of five – three sailors and two runners – sail from the Tamar River to Flinders Island, down the east coast and into Hobart.
Along the way, runners tackle Mount Strzelecki, Mount Freycinet and kunanyi/Mount Wellington.
The concept was inspired by the Three Peaks Yacht Race in the United Kingdom, with a Tasmanian team competing in the British event in 1987 before launching the local version two years later.
The race ran annually for 25 years before falling victim to declining entries and changing social patterns in offshore sailing.
Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania vice commodore Rob Greenwell said the event was unlike anything else in Australia.
“There’s nowhere else in the country where you can combine offshore sailing with running up three spectacular mountains in such an incredible wilderness setting,” Greenwell said.
He said modern technology including live tracking and onboard cameras would allow spectators to follow the race more closely than ever before.
The race will be capped at 30 boats due to berthing limits at Lady Barron on Flinders Island.
Former race winner John Saul, who competed 10 times, said the unique combination of sailing, endurance and teamwork kept drawing him back.
“It was just a fantastic race. There was so much variety and so much challenge and no two races were ever the same,” Saul said.
During one race, Saul had to tackle the final run up kunanyi/Mount Wellington in borrowed oversized sandshoes after both runners and a reserve were injured.
“We broke the steering, we broke sails, we broke people,” he said.
“When I look back, that was still one of the most enjoyable races because we got through all those challenges together.”
Hobart sailor Grace Bottomley, 22, said she took up running after learning the race was returning.
“It’s the combination of two ultimate endurance sports. You’re sailing offshore, then jumping off the boat and running up mountains,” Bottomley said.
The club plans to run the Three Peaks Race as a two-yearly event going forward.
