The Launceston to Hobart Yacht race has attracted the biggest fleet since 2016, with 33 contenders including one Victorian and 32 Tasmanian teams including four from the North.
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Derwent Sailing Squadron race director Ron Bugg is expecting a fierce battle for line honours from four boats.
Robert Green's Victorian entry Dream, a Pacific 50, finished second across the line by less than 10 minutes to winner Fork in the Road (Gary Smith) in 2019. Green sees his strongest competition coming from Oskana (Mike Pritchard) while Tilt (Peter Cretan), is also a strong chance for line honours.
Bugg described the L2H as a tactical, close-shore race in which the winner will be the boat that best navigates the tides and peculiar weather patterns of Banks Strait, the holes around Friendly Beaches should a strong westerly blow, the big swells and currents of Tasman Island, and the unpredictable River Derwent.
"This is a home-grown Tassie race and the key to winning is being in the right place at the right time on the journey south," he said.
Several teams are using this year's race as a starting point for more offshore sailing campaigns.
John Dryden, sailing his modified Bakewell-White Z 39, Jazz Player, is looking to upskill a new crew before the Sydney to Hobart and 2025 Melbourne to Osaka.
Mark Bayles and Andrew Sinclair, co-skippers of Kraken 42S, are also building crew experience before campaigning the Cookson 12 in the S2H and Hamilton Island Race Week.
Launceston-based team, Advantedge, is sailing for the first time since 2012. Skipper Andrew Jones and his crew, including brother Michael and nephew Samuel, have been working around the clock to have the revamped Inglis 47 ready.
The team at Salter Marine are relieved to have beaten the clock with Royce Salter launching his Hick 35, Prima Donna, after a complete makeover.
Matthew Keal's Mumm 36, Heatwave, which finished second on IRC and third on AMS handicaps in 2019, will be a strong contender, while Richard Boult and Jean-Pierre Ravanat will be sailing their Jeanneau Sunfast 3300 Hip-Nautic two-handed.
The 285-nautical-mile race starts on Friday, December 27, when Tamar Yacht Club race officer Tom Bain can start the large fleet outside the Tamar River to ensure manoeuvrability for the 50-footers.
