Kordia played a supporting role at the 2008 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race by monitoring the HF race frequencies used by the entire fleet.

Kordia provided complimentary High Frequency (HF) communications support to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) by monitoring competitor position reports delivered to the race committee by all 104 participating yachts.
In addition, Kordia was the primary HF communications port of call for all vessels during their delivery passage back to their home port.

“We were excited to have played a supportive role in monitoring the HF race frequencies for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and leveraging our communications expertise for the benefit of the wider community,” said Peter Robson, Kordia’s Managing Director in Australia.

CYCA Commodore, Matt Allen, made this comment:

“The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is delighted to know that, in addition to having primary radio monitoring services provided by the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Radio Relay Vessel JBW, Kordia has agreed to monitor the race frequencies during the course of the race. On behalf of the CYCA and all competitors, we were very grateful for Kordia’s support.”

Kordia owns Australia’s premier HF network and operates the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) from its two communications sites in Wiluna, Western Australia and Charleville, Queensland.

Using satellite and web-based technologies, Kordia linked daily radio position schedules (skeds) from its Charleville communications site via its Canberra operations centre to the CYCA, which in turn streamed the sked audio through the official 2008 Rolex Sydney Hobart website.

Riding on the success of the service, Kordia hopes to expand its maritime communication services to other yacht races throughout Australia and provide additional communications support to the maritime community.