Organisers have confirmed the Skandia - 2011 Around Australia Ocean Race and the Rally for Cruisers will sail around Cape Leeuwin with plans to use Albany as a base.

Western Australian Bob Williams launched the 2011 Around Australia Race and Rally with an online newsletter to Sail-World’s Australian sailing audience on June 26.

He said the 7,500 nautical mile race would not be just a walk in the park, but a major time commitment with competitors choosing from nine start/finish ports.

“We are very pleased with the speed in which event slot reservations are coming in from our online launch, for both the race and rally,” he said.

Boat owners who reserve an Event Participation Slot will participate in a consultative process to allow all entrants to contribute to the final event format.

Mr Williams organised the Antarctica Cup which he planned to be based in Albany, but had to delay it because there was no work done on the marina.

Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov set a time for the inaugural Antarctica Cup racetrack last year.