Good news for Audi Sydney Gold Coast organisers

by Lisa Ratcliff on 14 Jul 2007 There was nothing unlucky about yesterday’s Friday the thirteenth for organisers of the annual Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race with a quality fleet of 71 entering the winter coastal classic which will start from Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Saturday 28 July.

Entries for the opening race of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 2007/8 offshore calendar closed yesterday afternoon at 5pm.

A fleet of top IRC racers including Steven David’s Wild Joe, Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats X and two TP52s, Wot Yot and Quest, amongst others, will be jostling on the start line in a fortnight’s time with the 1979-built Rolex Sydney Hobart record holder, Phillip’s Foote Witchdoctor (26 races south) and many other cruiser/racers including the stately Swan 48 Leda from Queensland which comes complete with an on board washing machine and electric winches.

'The move from the 2006 format of a Gold Coast Race followed by a Mooloolaba Race to the 2007 format of a Southport Race to close the season and the Audi Sydney Gold Coast to open the new season has met with a significant numerical acceptance,' said newly elected CYCA Vice Commodore and sailing committee chairman Garry Linacre.

‘If you look at the combined 2006 entry number of 80 against the 2007 number of 117, the return to the late July traditional Gold Coast destination has proved very popular.

'The return to numbers above 70 for the 22nd Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race is a clear endorsement from competitors that the Gold Coast is the desired destination for the July ocean race,' Linacre added.

Five of the 71 Audi Sydney Gold Coast entries have elected to contest the 898 nautical mile Audi Sydney Mackay Yacht Race, passing through the finish line at Southport and continuing on to Mackay without stopping. With numbers down on last year’s inaugural race, through a consultative process the CYCA sailing committee intends to conduct a comprehensive review of the Mackay Race.

'The jury is still out regarding the Mackay Race option. Initially it seems the problem is race crew availability at this time of the year which is exacerbated by yacht owner and crew desire to compete at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and other Whitsunday regattas,' said Linacre.

The club’s sailing committee is also continuing to examine options for the pre-Easter offshore race, the closing event of its prestigious Blue Water Pointscore Series.

'We will continue to run the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in late July and we are considering our options for our pre-Easter category 2 ocean race while Mooloolaba remains an unsuitable destination due to the depth issues,' said Linacre.

Five Queensland boats have entered the Audi Sydney Gold Coast including Rod Jones’s Archambault 35 Alegria, the current Audi IRC National Championship leader following outstanding regatta wins at Skandia Geelong Race Week in late January and the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club in March.

The 384 nautical mile Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is the third event in the four part Audi IRC National Championship that will be decided at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week starting 18 August.

Five boats will make their way north to Sydney from Victorian waters for the start and for the first time in years, Geoff Boettcher’s Hardy’s Secret Mens Business won’t be the only South Australian on the start line with Nick George’s DK46 Exile, which was Rob Hanna’s previous Shogun, also flying the flag for that state. The ACT will be represented by the Canberra Ocean Racing Club’s Namadgi. While Alan Brierty’s Corby 49 Limit is classed a CYCA entry, the West Australian owner and some of his crew will fly from Perth to Sydney for the 28 July start.

Nine Sydney 38s will make up an exciting one design division.

Official race websites www.goldcoast.cyca.com.au / www.mackay.cyca.com.au List of entries under ‘Yachts’.

Audi Australia www.audi.com.au