The race is conducted in a number of divisions with separate start times; generally the slowest start first. On the first day the event is staged from the Tin Can Bay Yacht Club with the first start at 1100hrs north of the Snapper Creek Boat Harbour from which the boats will sail down the Tin Can Bay inlet, cross behind the Wide Bay Bar onto the inside of Fraser Island and then head along the Great Sandy Strait to the finish near Fig Tree Creek (before 1600hrs) just south of the overnight stopover at Garry's Anchorage a destination they need to reach before dark. During the night, yachts are either beached or anchored up individually or rafted together in the Anchorage. The second days race starts usually at 0730hrs north west of Dream Island with competitors heading north up the Great Sandy Strait, past Boonlye Point around the red lateral buoy S24 across towards the South White Cliffs on Fraser Island, past the entrance to the Mary River, past the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island, past the Duck and Picnic Islands, up the east side of the sand banks off Big Woody Island between Big and Little Woody Islands, around the north cardinal BWN Pile Beacon and to the finish line near the red lateral beacon EU2 before 1530hrs. Finishing line set up by Whalesong Cruises. Yachts are recovered at the Urangan public boat ramps and trophies are presented at the Hervey Bay Boat Club in the Urangan Boat Harbour at 2000hrs. Approximate Anticipated Division Groupings are;  Within the fleet if a minimum number of any particular boat class are entered, then an additional class trophy is also raced for. Handicapping, the race committee applies two different types of handicaps the CBH, SMS or OMR and the PBH. The CBH, SMS or OMR is a measure of the boats Class, Individually Modified Class or One of A Kind design rules and measurement specifications and is used to provide even and fair best of class / individual boat corrected time racing. Where a boat does not have an established CBH, SMS or OMR in the current ATYSBR Appendix A CBH list, ASBA SMS list or MYCQ OMR list the race committee will not allocate a CBH, SMS or OMR handicap for that boat and those boats will only race on PBH corrected time. The PBH is measure of the capability of a particular boat and crew combination, these in theory give all boats and competitors regardless of age or skill an even and fair chance of winning on PBH corrected time.