Big first-time contingent sailing north to the Gold Coast

by Lisa Ratcliff, CYCA on 12 Jul 2003 Of the 67 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race entries received by the CYCA by the 5.00pm deadline this afternoon, at least 15 are first time competitors in this event, the opening race of the 2003-2004 offshore racing season.

At the big end of town, two Volvo 60s, Andrew Short Marine djuice (Andrew Short) and Magnavox 2UE (Sorensen, Hodder, Gray, Zemanek) will make their Gold Coast Race debut as will Ludde Ingvall’s 80-foot former Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honours winner Luna Park Sydney (formerly Nicorette).

The biggest threat to a line honours win for one of these three newcomers is Sean Langman’s 65-foot skiff Grundig, first over the line in the 2001 race, sailing with a reduced crew for maximum weight advantage.

Other new boats this year include two of the three Queensland boats entered, Richard Wyatt’s Beneteau 47.7 Shere Khan and Stewart Lewis’s Mumm 30 Enigma, as well as the Sydney 38 Eye Candy chartered by South Australian yachtsman Geoff Boettcher, one of 14 of these One Designs racing north.

The Farr 40OD Panther, bought by well-known Etchell and 16-foot skiff sailor Stephen O’Rourke has just arrived in Sydney off a boat from Malaysia where it has been sailing as Paloma for the past 18 months. O’Rourke’s first sail on his new boat is planned for this Sunday in the BMW Sydney Winter Series, less than a fortnight out from the Gold Coast start date.

Fresh from its record-breaking circumnavigation of Australia is David Pescud’s Lyons 52 KAZ, a regular in this mid-winter event. Four of the crew involved in the 6,500 nautical mile circumnavigation are backing up for this race, a 384 nautical miler that begins in Sydney Harbour on Saturday July 26 and finishes off Southport’s Main Beach.

Many other regulars make up the entry list including Syd Fischer’s champion Farr 50 Ragamuffin, David Taylor’s Farr 37 Pippin, Randal Wilson’s Peterson 51 Bright Morning Star and Martin James’ modified Farr 65 Infinity III, with its new keel and rudder, reconfigured sail plan and full hull re-paint.

A number of former Sydney Hobart Race overall winners are amongst the fleet including the 1995 winner Terra Firma, now being sailed by Victorian yachtsman Nicholas Bartels, brother of the former co-owner Peter Bartels, and another Victorian boat Stratcorp Ninety-Seven (Chris Dare), the 1993 handicap winner.

Last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall winner and 2002-2003 IMS Blue Water Champion, Bob Steel’s Nelson Marek 46 Quest, has also entered.

There is a strong interstate flavour to the fleet with one South Australian, three Queensland and five Victorian yachts joining the starting line-up, including David Gotze’s Volvo 60 Indec, formerly the Sydney yacht Merit owned until recently by Ian and Andrea Treleaven.

The race record for the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is 27 hours 35 minutes 03 seconds, set by Brindabella in 1999. Owner George Snow hasn’t entered his multiple line honours winner in this year’s race, preferring to concentrate on the construction of his new boat.

This year’s Gold Coast Race, the 18th since the inaugural race in 1986, is also expected to be the last for Sean Langman’s current Grundig prior to commencing construction of a bigger and faster skiff-like maxi.

CYCA sailing manager Justine Kirkjian is delighted with the fleet size and in particular the interstate and one design representation within the fleet.

‘The expanding Sydney 38 fleet as well as an increasing number of interstate skippers have recognised that as well as being a challenging coastal race in its own right, the Gold Coast Race is the perfect feeder to the popular Queensland regattas.’

Entries closed at 5.00pm today however the Sailing Office may accept postal entries and late entries until July 18.

Provisional List of Entries as at 1700 hrs 11th July 2003

Sail Number Name Owner Designer

1 7700 About Time Julian Farren-Price Cookson 12

2 6197 Amante Dennis Cooper Sydney 36

3 6900 AMI Jade Peter McNamara Sydney 38

4 NOR2 Andrew Short Marine-Djuice Andrew Short Volvo 60

5 MH 2000 Anteater Phil & Robyn Hearse Beneteau 45

6 5802 Austmark Gunther Schmidt-Lindner Lyons 46

7 A142 Azzuro Trevor Gosh Bruce Clark 46

8 5985 Balmain Experience Tony Williams NSX 38

9 7777 Bashful George Bonus Sydney 38

10 6363 Big Kahuna Dean Harrigan Beneteau 52

11 1987 Bright Morning Star Randal Wilson Petersen 51

12 8848 Broomstick Ray Wallace/Michael Cranitch Open 60

13 SM1200 Bullistic Andy Allsep Bull 1200

14 8301 Cadenza Gunnar Tuisk Farr 50

15 5984 Champagne on Ice Phil & Nada Dickinson Beneteau 50

16 HKG1088 Corum Bill Wild Mumm 36

17 MY2 Cuckoos Nest Nigel Holman Sydney 38

18 6198 De Light Nick DeLaine X442

19 6305 Easy Tiger Chris Way/Rob McWilliam Sydney 38

20 6156 Electra Paul Gill Sydney 41

21 AUS56571 Engima Stewart Lewis Mumm 30

22 8181 Espresso Forte Laurence Freedman Farr 54

23 6255 Eye Candy Geoffrey Boettcher Sydney38

24 4190 Farr Horizons Ivan Resnekov Farr 39

25 SM407 First Priority Chris Lancaster Beneteau 40.7

26 8833 Fitness First Sting Terry Mullens Farr 50

27 2999 Getaway Sailing Andrew Lygo Sydney 38

28 A99 Grundig Sean Langman MBD 66

29 9797 Hidden Agenda Graham Gibson Sydney 38

30 8880 Ichi Ban Matt Allen Farr 52

31 8679 Indec David Gotze Volvo 60

32 5474 Infinity III Martin James Farr 65

33 5367 J Force J Force J35

34 SYD8 Joe Steven David Swan 45

35 7878 KAZ David Pescud Lyons 50

36 AUS 8448 Loki Stephen Ainsworth Swan 48

37 6175 Love Byte Anthony & Alison Pickering Sydney 38

38 SWE11111 Luna Park Sydney Ludde Ingvall Simons/Voogd 79

39 MH888 Magnavox 2UE Gray/Zemanek/Sorensen/Hodder Volvo 60

40 8402 More Witchcraft John Cameron Dibbley 46

41 MH9 MRZ Phillip Rowe Jarkan 38

42 5995 Nips-N-Tux Howard De Torres IMX 40

43 6095 No Options Tony Levett Sydney 38

44 8008 Occasional Coarse Language Warwick Sherman Cookson 12

45 AUS 8001 Panther Steve O'Rourke Farr 40

46 5164 Pendragon Andrew Cochrane Stewart 34

47 7744 Peugeot Racing Malcolm Roe Beneteau 47.7

48 533 Pippin David Taylor Farr 37

49 AUS 6606 Quest Bob Steel Nelson/Marek 49

50 AUS70 Ragamuffin Syd Fischer Farr 50

51 8333 Redrock Communications
Christopher Bowling Hick 30

52 6071 Rush Cameron Miles / Stephen Robson Sydney 38

53 M236 Santana Mike Kelaher Swan 43

54 5879 Sea-Change Michael Belakhov Sydney 36

55 9477 Shere Kahn Richard Wyatt Beneteau 47.7

56 SM 9797 Stratcorp Ninety Seven Chris Dare Farr 47

57 6188 Strewth Geoffrey Hill Lyons 49

58 M 6073 Swish Steven Proud/William Hutchinson Sydney 38

59 4100 Terra Firma Nicholas Bartels Murray 41

60 6051 The Bigger Picture John Woods Sydney 38

61 8838 The Business Grant Halliday Sydney 38

62 6 Tow Truck Anthony Paterson Mumm 30

63 5974 True North Howard Piggott Beneteau 40.7

64 1014 UBS Wild Thing Geoff Lavis Inglis 50

65 3838 Wadadli Gordon Ketelbey Sydney 38

66 5900 Wahoo Brian Emerson Frers 40

67 2557 Witchdoctor Maurie Cameron Davidson 42