Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2024

News
2022
All-star fleet building for 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

All-star fleet building for 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

NEWS
26 May, 2022 10:45:00 AM

Matt Allen's Ichi Ban at the start of the 2019 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast. Photo: Andrea Francolini

All-star fleet building for 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

Interstaters, Rolex Sydney Hobart winners and two-handed debutants are among an exciting fleet building for the 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.

Entries opened on 12 May for the return of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s annual 384 nautical mile race, with 40 boats already entered. This will be the first Noakes Sydney Gold Coast in three years after successive cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban, winner of a historic third Tattersall Cup in 2021, headlines the challengers vying for the Peter Rysdyk Memorial Trophy, awarded to the overall winner of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast.

Ichi Ban is one of a number of former winners looking to reclaim the overall crown, including Bruce Taylor’s Caprice 40 Chutzpah (winner in 2018), Shane Kearns’ S&S 34 White Bay 6 Azzurro (winner as Quikpoint Azzurro in 2015 and Komatsu Azzurro in 2017), Craig Neil’s TP52 Quest (winner in 2004) and Brett Eagle’s Farr 43 Wild Oats (winner in 1991 and 1994).

Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100 Black Jack (skippered by Mark Bradford), Line Honours winner in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, will look to reclaim the Line Honours trophy she won in the 2018 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast.

Black Jack is one of two 100-foot maxis currently entered, with John Winning Jr set to skipper the VPLP 100 Andoo Comanche.

Since winning Line Honours in the 2019 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the former Comanche has enjoyed success around the world, including wins in the Rolex Middle Sea Race and RORC Transatlantic Race.

Two-handed boats will feature in the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast fleet for the first time in 2022 and will compete for the Peter Rysdyk Memorial Trophy.

Jules Hall and Jan Scholten hope to continue Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth’s blue water success, after winning overall honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart’s inaugural Two-Handed Division last year.

Carlos Aydos’ S&S 34 Crux is also one of the six two-handed entries to date. Crux finished second on all two-handed handicaps in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart and Carlos will this time, be joined by co-skipper Tomas Kliman.

Joker on Tourer (Grant Chipperfield and Peter Dowdney), Nexba (Alice Tarnawski), Rumchaser (Andrew Butler and Jason Antill) and Transcendence Crento (Martin Cross and John Cross) are all set to race two-up.

Entries are open until Friday 15 July, with the race start scheduled for 1300hrs on Saturday 30 July.