December 26, 1945 – The 1945 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was the inaugural running of the annual “blue water classic”, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales. The race was initially planned to be a cruise planned by Peter Luke and some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to racing. The plan was changed, however, when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John Illingworth, famously suggested, “Why don’t we make a race of it?”
The inaugural race, like all those that have followed, began on Sydney Harbour, at noon on Boxing Day (26 December), before heading south for 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) through the Tasman Sea, past Bass Strait, into Storm Bay and up the Derwent River, to cross the finish line in Hobart, Tasmania.
The 1945 fleet comprised 9 starters. Of the 9 starters, 8 yachts completed the race. Illingworth’s own vessel, Rani, won the inaugural race in a time of 6 days, 14 hours and 22 minutes.
Peter Luke’s record for longest-ever time to finish the course stands to this day: 11 days, 6 hours, and 20 minutes.
*Noteworthy
1799 – Four thousand people attend George Washington’s funeral where Henry Lee III declares him as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
1907 – In the yacht race between Professor Scott’s Yvonne and all comers, for a silver cup given by the Otago Yacht Club, the Tucana, Shclma, and Matua took part besides the Yvonne. The Tucana won on her time allowance.
1919 – Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee, allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.
1934 – The first word of the Auckland sloop Ngataki, one of the two competitors in the trans-Tasman yacht race, which started from. Auckland on December 8, was received today, in a message sent to tho “New Zealand Herald” by Captain J. Benton, master of the intercolonial steamer Kalingo.
The message stated that the Ngataki was sighted and signaled by the Kalingo at 4 o’clock this morning In latitude 38 degrees 44 minutes sou^h, and longitude 148 degrees 43 minutes east. This position is in the entrance to Bass Strait, about 240 miles from the finishing line, which is off Williamstown, Port Melbourne. The Ngataki reported “All well.” She had been 17 1/2 days at sea when she was reported.
1935 – Viola won the ocean yacht race from Wellington, to, Tory- Channel. Nanette was second
1941 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States
1963 – The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.
1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union.