Media
Last Updated on Monday, 19 July 2010 20:53
ABC TV Coverage of the start at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/05/2944851.htm?site=darwin
The Territory Quarterly 2010 Quarter 1 carries an articles on the 2010 Darwin Dili Rally titled "Darwin to Dili Revisited". See pages 38-39.
Sunday Territorian 4 July 2010
Suara Timor Lorosae 7 July 2010
Report from Ann Turner, Journalist, Dili - July 2010
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Information release for media please read on.
2010 Darwin Dili Yacht Rally
Back to the Beginning
Media
The 2010 Darwin Dili Yacht Rally will be started by the Hon. Gil Alves, Timor-Leste Minister for Industry Commerce and Tourism at 1100 hours on Saturday 3 July 2010 aboard the official start vessel Spirit of Darwin in the area to the west of the Darwin Sailing Club.
Media are welcome to cover the Rally and the Start. Media opportunities for coverage include:
• Aboard the Start Boat
• On ‘chase boats’ at the Start
• Interviews with 2010 Rally participants and organisers
• Interviews with participants from 1973 and 1974.
Media enquiries should be directed to
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Full details on the Rally and participants can also be obtained from www.sailtimorleste.org
Background
The Darwin Dili Yacht Rally is about to recommence in 2010 as an annual event on the north Australian/SE Asian yachting calendar after a break of over 35 years. At 1100 hours on Saturday 3 July 2010, eight yachts and 47 sailors will leave Darwin for the 425 NM course to Dili, Timor Leste. Rally participants will be able to enjoy the spectacular scenery that Timor-Leste has to offer, both above and below the water, as yachts are able to cruise through Timor-Leste waters for up to 3 months.
Auspiced by the Timor-Leste Government and supported by the NT Government with logistical support from the Cruising Yacht Association of the NT Inc., the 2010 Rally promises to be the start of a new annual cruising destination for Darwin, Australian and international yachts.
Maritime exchanges between the Northern Territory and its Asian neighbours are not a new phenomenon. For hundreds of years, Indonesian Makassan fishermen regularly visited the northern Australian coastline in search of trepang. In more recent times, the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race (commencing in 1976) and the Sail Indonesia Rally (commencing in 2003) have farewelled large fleets of yachts each year as they leave Darwin’s shores for various destinations in Indonesia and beyond.
But, it was the Darwin to Dili Yacht Race in 1973 that founded the modern era of yachting events from Darwin to SE Asia. It began when a small number of sailors from the Cruising Yacht Association of the NT in Darwin began a yacht race from Darwin to Dili in what was then Portuguese Timor. Six yachts participated in the 1973 Race, taking 4-5 days to reach Dili. The 1973 Race created a number of firsts:
• The first Australian yacht race to a foreign country
• The first overseas yacht race catering for multi and mono-hulls, and commencing in Australia and
• The first time that the people of Darwin and the people of Timor actively collaborated in a sporting event that was to result in friendly co-operation, good will and mutual respect.
The people of Timor have a longstanding affinity with Australians, beginning with the Australian soldiers trapped on the island during World War II and who, with the help of the Portuguese and the Timorese, became a thorn in the side of the Japanese occupation force. It was fitting therefore that the inaugural Darwin Dili Yacht Race in 1973 coincided with the survivors of “Sparrow Force” conducting their first reunion in Timor since the war. It was a time to renew many old friendships from harder times and to establish many new friendships from better times.
The words of the Organising Committee were prophetic “This is the beginning of the race. The future will be a very interesting one.”
The Darwin Dili Yacht Race ran again in 1974 with a total of 24 yachts participating. Unfortunately the Indonesian incorporation of East Timor in 1975 caused subsequent events to be cancelled. But it meant that CYANT had ‘got the taste’ for international yachting events and the search was on for an alternative venue, which was later to become Ambon in Indonesia.
In 2002 eight yachts participated in a goodwill rally from Darwin to Dili to coincide with the celebrations of Timor-Leste’s independence and creation as the world’s then youngest nation. However the timing and conditions were not right for the event to become an annual fixture.
Some eight years on, in 2010, increasing stability in Timor-Leste and a Government strategy to establish a marine tourism industry means that the timing is right to re-start the Darwin Dili Yacht Rally - the founder of all modern yachting events leaving Darwin.
The 2010 Darwin Dili Yacht Rally has number of similarities as well as a number of differences to the 1973 and 1974 events:
• The Rally is initiated and run by the Timor-Leste Government with support from businesses in Timor-Leste. This follows a deliberate Timor-Leste strategy of running a number of major events which support the country’s tourism development strategy. Other events include the Tour de Timor and the Timor Marathon.
• The event is a Rally, not a Race, but will include Competitive Cruising Divisions for monohull and multihull yachts as well as a general Cruising/Rally division. This is to encourage the broadest possible range of yachts to come and visit Timor-Leste.
Even though the 2010 Darwin Dili Yacht Rally is not a race, it is fairly safe to say that most, if not all, of the 2010 participating yachts should arrive in Dili well within the Race record set by the yacht Kingo in 1974 with a total elapsed time of 91:37 hours. Any yacht in the 2010 Rally crossing the finish line in Dili before about 0630 hours (CST) on Wednesday 7 July will break the event record! In the 35 year gap between events, yacht designs and construction materials have improved dramatically, as has the size of the yachts making the voyage. The 1973 fleet has an average length of 9 metres; the average length of 2010 fleet is 12.3 metres.
A Rally presentation ceremony will be held in Dili and, as a salute to the pioneers that commenced the event, the 1974 trophies will be presented along with a range of prizes and souvenirs donated by various sponsors in Dili and Darwin.
The Future
The support of the Timor-Leste Government and their wish to see this event succeed will go a long way to ensuring the Rally becomes an annual event. Meeting the interests and needs of sailors and yachts is a key success factor for the event and as Timor-Leste offers some of the most spectacular cruising and diving in the world, the future looks sound.
2010 is a small beginning for an event that is likely to prosper and grow in future years. As participants in the 2010 Rally tell of their experiences and trip, word will spread throughout the local, national and international yachting community. Plans are already underway to link the Darwin Dili Yacht Rally with the Sail Indonesia Rally in 2011, giving participants the opportunity to experience both exotic cruising destinations.