2016 Gold Coast Yacht Race hots up

Entries in the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race have topped 50 and officials from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) remind prospective competitors that entries close in 17 days’ time on Friday July 8.

This year’s fleet comprises eight TP52s including Ichi Ban (Matt Allen), Geoff Boettcher’s Secret Men’s Business from South Australia, the 2015 Sydney Hobart winner, Balance (Paul Clitheroe), Celestial owned by Sam Haynes, and Brenton Fischer's Ragamuffin. The newer TP52 players keen to make their mark include Rob Dulieu with Sean Langman as skipper on RKO.

Outside of the TPs, other boats such as Concubine (Jason Ward’s new Mills 45 from South Australia), the two canting Cookson 50s (Victoire and Pretty Fly III) and the V70s (Black Jack and Giacomo) will also be hunting for the lead.

But really it's shaping up to be a TP52 extravaganza, with a lot of boat-on-boat action amid the great running and reaching conditions feeding the fleet north for the annual tropical sailing soirees culminating with Hamilton Island Race Week.

Sponsored by Land Rover, the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race starts at 1300 hours on July 30 off Nielsen Park, Vaucluse. It is the first race of the CYCA’s Blue Water Pointscore and heralds the start of the northern circuit of races and regattas.

Spectators wishing to view the start can do so from their own boat or aboard the official spectator vessel MV Coast.

Online entry and Notice of Race are available at the official race website
gold coast.cyca.com.au.

Credits: Opening pic of Secret Men's Business by Andrea Francolini; second pic of Balance by Studio Borlenghi-Stefano Gattini; words with CYCA Media.