Darwin to Bali Yacht Race

Darwin plays a significant role in the history of international yachting in Australia. In 1973, the first race to a foreign port, the Darwin to Dili Yacht Race, was held. This event started a tradition of yacht races departing at Darwin Harbour for foreign ports.

The Darwin to Bali Yacht Race was created in 2001 after the Darwin Ambon Yacht race was cancelled in 1999 because of the unstable socio-political climate in Indonesia. As part of the Indonesian government's effort to promote marine tourism, a series of yacht sailing and other related events, called Sail Indonesia, was organized by the Indonesian Marine Foundation, Yayasan Cinta Bahari Indonesia (YCBI).

The Darwin-to-Bali race, one of the first Sail Indonesia events, was organized through the internet, mostly via email. In its launch on July 20, 2001, only two yachts, Helsal II and Australian Maid, were officially accepted into the race. The implementation of the Australian Yachting Federation Safety Regulations on July 1, 2001, imposed prerequisites that the other yachts were unable to meet. Only the two yachts met the requirements, but the other yachts still went on with their cruise to Bali. Australian Maid was the first to arrive in Benoa on July 26.

The 2002-km Darwin-to-Bali race gained attention, and the following year 17 yachts joined. The July 27, 2002 race had two divisions: racing and rally. A warm send-off was given in Darwin, and the race was capped off with a formal welcome dinner in Bali.

After the success of the 2002 race, the possibility of incorporating other destinations, to promote the other regions particularly east of Bali, were brought up. In July 2003, a yacht rally from Darwin to Kupang sailed jointly with the Darwin-to-Bali race. Twenty three yachts raced to Bali and 24 yachts sailed to Kupang. The two events journeyed simultaneously again in 2004. However, the focus of interest of yachtsmen were now on the waters and islands in the East. So in 2005, the race to Bali was halted and the Darwin-to-Kupang event became the participants' main entry point to Indonesia.

For 2007, the Darwin-to-Kupang journey is the first part of the Sail Indonesia rally route that travels through the other regions in Indonesia, sails on to Singapore and eventually ends at the island of Langkawi in Malaysia in the last weeks of November.

Northern Territory Photos