The Australian Three Peaks Race is a short-handed offshore sailing and endurance mountain running event that was held in Tasmania, the southernmost state of Australia, over the Easter long weekend. The first race was in 1989 and the race was conducted annually until Easter 2013.
It was a non-stop event, commencing at Beauty Point just north of Launceston on the Tamar River, during which runners were transported by yacht finishing in the Tasmanian capital city some three to four days later. Teams of three sailors and two runners often comprising members of armed forces, professions, youth[1] or other groups would compete against teams from the general sailing and running communities.
The course took teams from the northern Tasmanian port of Beauty Point to Hobart in the south. Three sailing legs and three endurance running legs took the yachts and their teams past some of Tasmania's spectacular coastal scenery including the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere soaring some 300 metres.
The race course was approximately:
The concept of the race is similar to the British Barmouth to Fort William Three Peaks Yacht Race. The Tasmanian race was inaugurated in 1989 after a team competed in the 1987 British event. The race has been an annual event for 25 years until the last race was conducted in 2013.[2] Changes in social patterns have affected many offshore sailing races in Australia in recent years and the Three Peaks Race was no exception failing to attract a viable number of entrants. The organising committee made the painful decision to defer running the event until economic and social pressures ease to make the race again viable.