173rd AUSTRALIA DAY REGATTA - 2009

The Australia Day Regatta is the oldest continuously-held annual sailing regatta in the world, conducted on 26 January each year on Sydney Harbour to commemorate the anniversary of the first European settlement in Australia.  

First held in 1837, only 49 years after the First Fleet sailed into Port Jackson and raised the Union Jack on the shores of Farm Cove, the regatta today is still the focal point of Australia Day celebrations in Sydney.

 There is no better way to mark the birth of a nation surrounded by the sea, founded across the sea and developed through our great maritime heritage, than by taking part in the Australia Day Regatta. 

 The Australia Day Regatta Inc extends an invitation to owners of all yachts, including one-design keelboats, gaff-rigged and classic boats, and modern and traditional skiffs to enter the 173rd Australia Day Regatta on Australia Day, Monday, 26 January 2009 on the waters of Sydney Harbour.

Ocean-going yachts are invited to participate in the City of Sydney Sesquicentenary Ocean Race to Botany Bay and return on the same day.

 On behalf of the many clubs that conduct Australia Day Regattas under the auspices of the 173rd Australia Day Regatta, an invitation is also extended to owners of dinghies, skiffs, catamarans and yachts to enter these and Lake Illawarra.

 The President of the Australia Day Regatta, Sir James Hardy Kt OBE, invites sailors from everywhere to compete in the 173rd Australia Day Regatta on 26 January 2009.events on the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, Rose Bay, Manly Cove, Botany Bay, Port Hacking, Pittwater, Brisbane Waters, Lake Macquarie