Competitors were invited to recreate the 1829 voyage of the merchant barque Parmelia bringing the first British settlers to the Swan River Colony.
Yachts expect fresh and mainly adverse winds on leaving the English Channel before skirting around the calms of the North Atlantic High.
Leg 2 was to present tricky conditions on departure from Cape Town prior to entering fresh and favorable Westerlies.
In an endeavour to shorten the arrival period in Fremantle, two new formats were introduced to the world of long-distance ocean racing.
IOR Fleet in Handicap Order: Whilst Independent Endeavour was a Western Australian entry, it's skipper, Skip Novak, was an American who had navigated the Swan 65 sloop King's Legend into second place in the second Whitbread Round the World Race.
Independent Endeavour was the first into Cape Town on 12 October followed by Gauloises 3, Spirit of Ramfish IV and Siska.
A little more than halfway across a crewman on Seltrust Endeavour sustained suspected broken ribs when the yacht broached before a rogue wave.
He was lifted off quite dramatically by a helicopter from the Australian naval supply ship HMAS Morseby, which was accompanying the fleet at the time.
Both Siska and Gauloises 3 were making a southerly approach to Fremantle anticipating the favourable, over-night south-easters and daytime south-westerlies which generally prevail in November along the Western Australian coast.
But an unseasonal north-east gale greeted them which, in turn, favoured Independent Endeavour, which was making a more northerly approach.
Independent Endeavour finished in the evening of 21 November, a little less than three hours in front of Siska, and Gauloises 3 crossed the line early the following morning.
In anticipation of a wide variety of craft arrangements were made to have the yachts handicapped under the British Sail Training Association's measurement system used in "Tall Ships' Races".
The race was run as a "Rally" and the "Prime Objective" was to arrive in Fremantle between 10:00 and 16:00 hours local time, on Sunday 25 November 1979.
Pre-dawn Anitra II ran aground on a reef off Mary Cove, on the south coast of Rottnest Island.
Rob Kwekkeboom had realised they were not in the running for an IOR trophy and slowed down to join in the Open Division's "big finish".
Pre-departure from Plymouth Jim Chute had made a vow to hit the line dead on 10:00 hours, and Challenger did just that.