The start of August saw the first Darwin to Banda Yacht Race & Rally depart from Darwin Harbour. The event had 14 yachts and 71 crew participating in the inaugural event hosted by Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Club.

The Banda islands are located approximately 510NM north of Darwin, famous for their spices, specifically nutmeg. With a strong history with the spice trade, world class diving, forts and a volcano, the islands have long been on cruising sailors’ bucket list and somewhere for yachts to stop on their way home from Ambon in the past.

The race had 13 starters departing Darwin with a spinnaker run out of the harbour. Unlike usual, the breeze held in with boats reaching Cape Fourcroy on Bathurst Island in record time. One boat met the fleet part way along the racetrack after starting their adventure in Gove.

Sunday saw big seas and strong winds hitting the fleet, forcing one boat to return to Darwin whilst another sailed onto Ambon for repairs. Sea sickness was rife amongst crews but that didn’t dampen their spirits once the fleet finished. Endorfin skippered by Mike Giles from FSC took out line honours finishing on Monday night with the tail enders crossing the line less than 24hrs later.

Whilst in Banda sailors received a warm welcome from locals with plenty of music and dancing on offer. Most crews opted to stay ashore and take advantage of the many activities and exploration and support the local economy.

Now that the dust has settled, some crews have made their journey back to Australia whilst all the yachts and most of the crews are still enjoying the wonderful cruising that the Indonesian Archipelago has to offer.

DBCYA worked with a local community organisation (Ambon Sailing Community) to bring the race to life. After the success of 2026, there is already talk about the next one in August 2028. If you are interested in participating in 2028 complete the EOI to be added to the mailing list.

As always there was a good news story from the event. After snorkelling and diving on the Lava Flow the sailors realised how much damage has been done to the plate coral from the Dive Boats. As a result they managed to raise enough money to install moorings on both the Lava Flow & Kepiting Island to ensure the protection of the coral for years to come.  

IRC Racing

1st - Endorfin (FSC)

2nd - Joust (DSC)

Cruising Monohull

1st - Tramontana (DBCYA)

2nd - Wandjina (BSC)

3rd - Wallop (DSC)

Cruising Multihull

1st - Cheetah (DBCYA)

2nd - Ozzie Mozzie (TCBYC)