The concept of a race combining sailing and climbing or running first arose in 1976 in a small seaside Welsh village of Barmouth, the home of the famous seaman and mountaineer, Major Harold William (Bill) Tilman.

From the start, the race flourished. The unique combination of the two disciplines giving a much wider appeal than a simple yacht race. The competitiveness on land by dedicated runners was augmented by boats of increased performance and so, fast multihull vessels started to come to the fore. Being so fast and spectacular, the multihulls also attracted the sponsors and so the race as a whole benefited even further from the increased publicity.

In 1987 Martin Pryor led the first Australian team to compete in the British event in a chartered formula 40 catamaran. Although very fast and leading at the time, the team was forced to retire due to damaged rudders.

During the planning of that campaign, Pryor came up with the idea of a sister event in Australia. It was obvious that the only place to satisfactorily replicate the British event was Tasmania.

The uncanny similarity of the Tasmanian course, in terms of terrain, distances and waters to be sailed made course selection relatively easy. In addition, the event could encompass the two largest cities in the State, Launceston and the capital, Hobart.

On returning to Australia, planning began in earnest, culminating in the highly successful inaugural race over Easter 1989, followed by exciting events being held at Easter each year since.

After the 1992 race, Pryor retired as Race Director and retired from the organising committee. The race is now run by a Tasmania-wide community based committee.

The Australian Three Peaks Race is a non-stop event, commencing at Beauty Point just north of Launceston on the Tamar River and finishing in Hobart on the Derwent River. En-route, teams have to scale Mt Strzelecki, Mt Freycinet and Mt Wellington.

The east-coast course around Tasmania affords the best combinations of suitable mountains, coastal centres, accessibility for followers, press crews and the public. It brings publicity and exposure to two of the more beautiful but remote areas of the State, Flinders Island and the Freycinet Peninsula, and takes competitors, supporting groups and the media the length of the beautiful east coast.

The race also provides local, national and international publicity and exposure through newspaper, radio, T.V. and film coverage, community participation and focus through the detailed organisation that is required and gives 4 to 5 days of prolonged publicity during a peak holiday period.

For competitors it offers an interesting alternative for the yachting fraternity and a challenging new activity for runners, climbers and bushwalkers. It is this unique combination of the two disparate disciplines which provides for such a challenging event.

The race is conducted under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and rules specifically published by the organising committee for this event and distributed to all persons who complete and lodge the "Application to Enter". The rules allow for any method of human power to propel the yacht which might include oars, pedal power, pulling the yacht through the Denison Canal by rowing dinghy or by dragging it with a rope so long as it is only the crew who are doing it. Not all crews choose to go to this extreme!

The safety category for the Three Peaks Race is generally considered to be the equivalent to three Yachting Australia category 3 races, however the safety standards have been largely based on the equivalent of Category 2 events where a "high degree of self-sufficiency is required of the yachts". It is also recommended that a three person dinghy is carried.

There is a requirement for runners to carry safety equipment in backpacks. Each runner's gear is checked prior to the start by Race Marshals to ensure all items are carried on each running leg.

The race is not conducted nor is it able to be conducted under the Racing Rules of Sailing published by the Yachting Australia and International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as it is not a conventional yachting event.  The Rules for Preventing Collision at Sea and special rules govern the race.

There is a special Cruising Division for yachts which do not have the sailing speed potential of other racing yachts. The Cruising Division also allows yachts to be fully crewed rather than being limited to five persons. Fully crewed yachts have a motoring allowance reduced by 50%.

After applications from prospective competitors for this division are assessed by the Race Committee for eligibility and accepted, they will be granted entry for this division. They will be allowed a limited motoring distance based on a performance calculation using displacement, sail area and water-line length so that they can expect to arrive in Hobart within a reasonable time of the first teams in the Main Division. The motoring allowance is been 20 and 80 nautical miles depending on the long range weather forecast for the race period. Longer motoring distances may be given to small cruising yachts.

Cruising Division Motoring Penalty Calculator [Excel Spreadsheet 17 kb]

9. Entries and Closing Dates

Applications to enter are made on the attached form and are to be lodged with the race entry fee at the Race Office, 10 Aotea Road, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 Australia by the last Friday in February. Late entries will be considered for acceptance but may miss the pre-race publicity.

On receipt of an application, an entry form for the team and for crew profiles will be sent for completion.

The Entry Fee is seventy dollars (AUD$75.00) per team member.
The previous year's winner is offered the Race Number 1, otherwise Race Number 1 is allocated to the first paid entry received.

Prizes and trophies will be awarded at a Presentation Dinner held in Hobart on Saturday, 29th March 2008. The trophies awarded include those for overall placings, multihull and monohull placings, performance divisions, fastest total sailing and running times, leg prizes for both sailing and running, Corporate Challenge for companies, business, the armed services including fire brigades and police, overseas teams, and for sailing performance. Other special prizes may also be awarded.

Entrants in the Cruising and Classics Divisions are eligible for their own prizes and trophies but are not eligible for prizes or trophies awarded to those in the Main Division. Cruising Division entrants are eligible for Tilman Trophy points but the  Classics Division entrants are NOT eligible.

Complete the Application for Race Entry and submit directly via Internet, post or fax to the Race Office.

Alternately, Race Entry Forms can be obtained from the Race Director.

Information about the race, aspects pertaining to sailing, running and rules can be obtained from the Race Director.
Telephone or Fax (03) 6225 4974 Home, International +61 3 6225 4974 or Mobile 0418 127 897.
Email address of the Race Director.