The Van Diemen's Land Circumnavigation Cruise is an internationally well-regarded yachting adventure in which a maximum of forty-five yachts (potentially carrying up to 200 hundred people) from both Tasmania, mainland Australia and, this year, Europe, circumnavigate Tasmania in an anti-clockwise direction.
The yachts start in Hobart or Beauty Point in Northern Tasmania (depending on where they're from) and travel to various ports and anchorages until they cross their starting point. This is not a race, but a 'cruise in company' that has been conducted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in conjunction with the Royal Geelong Yacht Club every two years or so since the early 1990s.
The event is a great opportunity for less experienced sailors to cruise remote areas in the company of seasoned mariners. It enables participants to experience all Tasmania from the sea, especially the magnificent South West which is only accessible by air, sea or on foot. It's a very social event and along the way, many shore-based functions are organised, such as winery visits, cocktail parties, distillery tours and, of course, dinners.