31-time Sydney-Hobart sailor, Peter Shipway & commentator, Gordon Bray, have been announced as the official commentators for the 2024 Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race & will commentate the race start for the 1st time since 1983, which was the last & only time they commentated the race start together.
They are both friends with a deep love for sailing.
Gordon Bray, while having completed a few offshore races over the years, is a self-proclaimed “social sailor” & has been a commentator for 55 years, first covering the Great Race South in 1971 for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), completing 6 Sydney-Hobarts’ until 1984 on board the radio relay vessel. In 1984, a freak wave almost washed him overboard & then his wife, put his journeys on the radio relay vessel to an end. When the race begins this year, he will also become the only person to commentate the race start on all 4 Australian rights-holding free-to-air television broadcasters. The only channel that hasn’t held the rights has been the Special Broadcasting Service.
Photograph: Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia (CYCA) Archive
This year, he commentated the sailing for The Games Of The XXXIIIrd Olympiad: Paris 2024 for 9 Radio.
Peter Shipway grew up sailing in Sydney Harbour’s Watson Bay before becoming a crew member in the 1980 America’s Cup Series Challenge, 8 Admiral’s Cups (which is considered as the unofficial offshore racing world championship) & until 2011, 31 Sydney-Hobarts’. In the Blue Water Classic, he has been on yachts that won a combined 5 Line Honours victories, the last being Wild Oats XI & 2 main handicap category victories.
He has since joined with Gordon Bray on YouTube to commentate other live sailing races held by the CYCA on Sydney Harbour.
On the 26th of December (Boxing Day), they will be broadcasting live from a vessel on Sydney Harbour along with other experts including Australian Olympic silver medallist, Lisa Darmanin, who will be the on-water commentator for the remainder of the race.
The broadcast of the race start on Boxing Day will begin at 12:30pm Sydney time with the race start 30 minutes later at 1pm. In Australia, it is broadcast on Channel 9 & 9Now for the 1st time ever.
Having started covering the race over 50 years ago, it’s almost a fatal attraction. You can’t ignore it. It is one of the great events on the Australian sporting calendar. It’s an adventure for the sailors & I think that’s what captures the imagination of the public because you just don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s so unpredictable. I’ve always loved the race because it’s about the people as well. Everyone is equal when you go out to sea & you have to perform as a team. The camaraderie you develop is like no other sport.
Peter Shipway – he’s certainly the voice of the Sydney-Hobart but for me he’s the voice of sailing here in Australia. He’s such an iconic figure. All the sailors love ‘Shippo’. Working alongside Peter is incredible because he’s a walking encyclopaedia. He eats and breathes the sport & knows every boat backwards. He steers the boat & I follow his instructions on sail trim. His ability to educate & inform the audience sets him apart. My job is to support him & keep the excitement going and make sure everyone gets a real feel for what’s happening. If we can make the viewers feel like they are there out on the water, then we will have achieved what we set out to do.
Gordon Bray, ‘Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race’ 2024 Commentator
Sydney Spectaculars 
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