2019 Newcastle Bass Island Race at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia underway
by DJ Munro 11 Oct 2019 07:10 PDT
11-12 October 2019
No Limit leads Zen and Chinese Whisper after the start of the Newcastle Bass Island Race. © CYCA
A smooth run down Sydney Harbour signalled the start of the 2019 Newcastle Bass Island Race, the third of the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series. Trimmers had their work cut out for them making the most of the tactical 8-12 knot sou' easter, and many teams unleashed code zeros as they raced neck-and-neck to the heads.
After a clean and fast start from the pin, it was David Gotze's RP63 No Limit who made Sydney Heads first of the 36 competing teams, closely followed by Gordon Ketelbey's TP52 Zen. Ketelbey and team once again showcased their strong starting performance that had them in the same position in Race 2 of the Series.
After the front runners, a slew of TP52s: Quest, Celestial, Ichi Ban, Stay Calm Hungary and Gweilo - some of which are previous Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race champions, all of which are highly competitive and experienced teams.
And it's not only the front-runners who are battling it out in the Newcastle Bass Island Race. An equally-competitive group of Beneteau yachts: Crystal Cutter III, Enigma, Chancellor, Reve and Franklin II, were all within seconds of each other on their journey down Sydney Harbour.
As the sun dipped behind building clouds over Sydney's CBD, the already grey sky continued to darken as rain squalls rolled through from the sou' east. Many teams were able to capitalise on the boost in the breeze whilst most settled in for the first leg of their 215-nautical-mile journey.
After rounding the Newcastle mark off Stockton Beach, teams will turn south making for Bass Island some 100 nautical miles south off Port Kembla before the final 50-nautical-mile dash for the finish in Sydney Harbour.
Newcastle Bass Island Race teams can be followed live via the yacht tracker on the dedicated Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series website. Photo and video will also be shared across the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's socials including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and you can keep up with the conversation by using and following #AudiCentreSydneyBWPS.