Who's who in the 2026 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast fleet
by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 23 Jul 23:13 PDT
25 July 2026
The 2025 NSGCYR started in picture-perfect winter weather - Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race © CYCA | Andrea Francolini
The 2026/27 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (ACSBWPS) is about to kick off with the 38th Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race (NSGCYR) tomorrow.
Also known as the great winter escape, at 384-nautical miles, the NSGCYR is the second longest of the six races in the series, only surpassed by the 628nm Rolex Sydney Hobart.
This Saturday at 1300 hours, a fleet of 49 will sail out of Sydney Heads and race north to Main Beach on Queensland's Gold Coast. The 2026 fleet is a cracker with a mix of veteran and first-time competitors, local, national and international sailors and a strong contingent of double handers.
Better faster hungrier
Several days before the 1300 hours starting horn is blown, the forecast is still subject to change, so Line Honours could be anybody's.
The Overall winner of the 2025 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast, Seb Bohm and his JV52 Smuggler crew will be eyeing off top spot on Overall and Line Honours, on board one of the largest and faster boats in the fleet.
In an interview earlier this year, Bohm left no doubt about his goals for this year's ACSBWPS, stating that he and his crew were "better, faster and hungrier" going into the 2026/27 pointscore.
The 2024/25 ACSBWPS champions will have their work cut out for them to cross the finish line ahead of Geoff Hill's Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes, which at 72 feet is 20 feet longer than 52-feet Smuggler. But boat size isn't everything. Smuggler beat Antipodes across the line in both the 2025 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast and the 2025 Sydney Hobart.
The biggest boat in the fleet, competing in its first-ever Noakes Sydney Gold Coast, is the Vidor Family's CNB76 Charlotte, skippered by James Whelan. The yacht's last big offshore race was the 75th edition of the Sydney Hobart in 2019.
"We are looking forward to letting Charlotte stretch her legs again offshore fully crewed and giving the Vidor family a taste of what [the late] Ervin Vidor AM [former owner of Charlotte] loved about the boat and sport," Whelan said.
Vidor family members Allan Vidor (Ervin's son), Sam Vidor (Allan's son and Ervin's grandson) and twin brothers Ben and Josh Fischl (Ervin's other grandsons) will be on board. The four have trained with the crew in preparation for the race.
Whelan has 10 Sydney Hobarts to his name, in addition to an array of other offshore races, fully crewed and double handed, as well as thousands of sea miles.
Also on board Charlotte is offshore legend Stacey Jackson, a member of the Famous Project CIC trimaran team that became the first all-women crew to complete a non-stop world circumnavigation in January. That was Jackson's third time around the globe, after having competed in two Volvo Ocean Races (rebranded as The Ocean Race). She achieved these amazing feats in 2014/15 with Team SCA and in 2017/18 with Vestas 11th Hour Racing.
Crew member and twice winner of the ISAF World Sailor of the Year, Carolijn Brouwer, adds to the large number of sea miles shared by the Charlotte crew, having competed in three Volvo Ocean Races, that include a win in the 2018 edition with Dongfeng Race Team.
"I'm very grateful to have built a crew that has a range of strengths and skills," Whelan said. "We have a very strong core crew who all get along well and just so happen to be some of the most accomplished sailors in the country and world."
While Line Honours would be highly desirable, Whelan is aware that Charlotte's weight of 54 tonnes (add to that a washing machine and dishwasher) will count against her if conditions turn light.
"I think we need a very, very big stroke of luck for that [to win] to occur," Whelan said. "I think the first 24 hours will look good for us, but everyone's a bit nervous for when the wind drops. And for those moments, we have a few little luxuries on board."
Sporty 40s
The 40 footers are also in contention for the Overall win. Chris Dare's GP42 Ambition is back after retiring from the 2025 Sydney Hobart. But the Ambition crew will have to get past GP42 Back 2 Black, which is no easy task.
Sean Langman, Managing Director of race sponsor Noakes, is racing Back 2 Black in her first ever Noakes Sydney Gold Coast after she was shipped across from the UK mid-last year. She debuted on the Australian circuit towards the end of the 2025/26 ACSBWPS season at the Cabbage Tree Island Race in early December, before backing that up with an impressive second place in IRC Division 2 at the Sydney Hobart. Langman believes he has competed in at least 20 Sydney Gold Coast races over the years.
The boat has recently undergone some modifications to prime her ahead of the race.
"It includes new appendages, a cockpit change, a new winch package, and a few things that are secret," Langman said.
Will these "optimisations" be the key to securing Back 2 Black the win?
"Our principal goal is simply to win IRC Overall," Langman said.
Another 40-footer of note is the Verdier 40 Vixen Racing. Skipper and one of Vixen Racing's four boat owners, Sharon Ferris-Choat, is keen to return to offshore racing after competing in the 2026 Solo Trans-Tasman in May/June. Hers was the first monohull yacht to cross the line of the 1170 nautical mile race from Opua, New Zealand, to the Gold Coast, after a week at sea. This Saturday, Ferris-Choat will race on board with seven other crew members of mixed abilities.
Fly in sail out
Among the eight Double Handed yachts setting sail for Main Beach is Rupert Henry's Lombard 34 Mistral, which he will co-skipper with Greg O'Shea. Henry recently returned from Europe after qualifying for the Route du Rhum, a solo 3542-nautical-mile yacht race in November. He qualified through his completion of the 1000nm Dhream Cup in France on board his Class40 Eora. The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast marks Henry's first Double Handed offshore race in local waters after he was forced to retire from the 2025 Sydney Hobart due to injury.
Henry won't let jet lag get in the way of hunting down the Overall win. He's come close before. He placed second Overall (first Double Handed yacht) to Marc and Louis Ryckmans' Akilaria RC2 Voltstar Yeah Baby in the 2024 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast.
Newbie double handed sailor ready for the challenge
On board the Ryckmans' Yeah Baby Boatec Australia (formerly Voltstar Yeah Baby) is new Double Handed duo Francesca Leverkus and Lindsay Stead. The Ryckmans' have kindly lent them the boat for the race.
Stead floated the idea to Leverkus of competing together early this year, but it became a reality at the CYCA's Commodore's Party less than three months ago, in May.
"That's when we were like, "Yeah, I'm definitely up for doing it"," Leverkus said.
While Stead, a professional boat builder and sailor, is no stranger to double handed sailing, it is a new adventure for Leverkus, who works for the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Leverkus started sailing after she moved to Australia from England 10 years ago and has competed in four Sydney Hobarts and one Noakes Sydney Gold Coast, all fully crewed.
"I'm new to the boat, I've never raced with Lindsay before and I'm new to double handed sailing," Leverkus said. "So, it has been a challenge. But we've done what we can, given our busy schedules."
Last weekend the duo undertook an overnight training session, tracking around 125 nautical miles. They practiced manoeuvres, reefing, safety procedures, hoisting and lowering sails and race start manoeuvres. The passage gave Leverkus a confidence boost heading into Saturday.
Leverkus will navigate, another skill she's had to learn. She's grateful for fellow double handed sailors who have helped her get her head around using navigating software Expedition.
"We've got a plan A [Expedition] and a plan B... Navionics," Leverkus said with a laugh.
Despite the challenges, Leverkus is ready to give the race a red-hot go.
"It's an amazing opportunity," Leverkus said. "When I first told a few people, they all thought I was absolutely mental and were like, 'Are you sure you want to do it? Maybe in a year or two?' But I felt I couldn't turn down the opportunity. It's incredible."
Find out more at goldcoast.cycaracing.com