Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2024

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2023
Never, say never - Koa returns for Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

Never, say never - Koa returns for Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

NEWS
14 Jun, 2023 12:18:00 PM

Never, say never - Koa returns for Noakes Sydney Gold Coast

KOA co-owner Andy Kearnan grew up in Western Australia with every kind of watersport at his disposal. “In Perth, most people have saltwater running through their veins,” says Kearnan while preparing for the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast race. “For me it started with surfing and windsurfing and then dinghies, inshore keel boats and then offshore racing. Now I've been at it for more than 45 years.”

Kearnan’s experience is reaching a natural peak in the form of KOA, a beautiful TP52 that’s had a decorated racing career. He and co-owner Peter Wrigley bought the boat in 2015 right after she’d won the 2010 Rolex Middle Sea Race and placed second in the 2014 Rolex China Sea Race.

“KOA is a Farr designed and Goetz built TP52. She was built alongside the CYCA based TP52 Quest and originally called Sjambok. Koa then had a very successful racing career on the global circuit as Lucky,” Kearnan explains.

No stranger to the Gold Coast race, Kearnan says he’s pumped for 2023’s contest and owes a debt of gratitude to his amazing crew.

“This will be my 11th Sydney Gold Coast Race and it remains my favourite race on the offshore calendar. We're lucky to have some really, great regulars sailing on KOA, who’ve done a lot of ocean miles and while there are too many to name individually, we couldn't do it without them.”

Proof of this lies in KOA’s recent results.

In 2019 she scored 10th in the Noakes Sydney-Gold Coast race, the same race she has previously had a second place in. In 2021 Koa finished 26th overall in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht and 14^th in 2017. That same year Koa took the line honours (and handicap treble) in the Flinders Islet Race, notably breaking Loki’s seven-year-old conventional yacht race record.

This means that when the gun goes on 29 July, Andy will be busy concentrating on making the most of the weather and the course on this way up to Main Beach.

“It's a relatively short, but very tactical race, with tides, current, land breezes, wind shadows and other factors to consider. There are usually plenty of opportunities to gain, or lose, miles,” Kearnan says

Yet despite his 11-years of experience Andy says he would never grow complacent or say no to victory. Were always in it to win it, though we would need to have some luck for that to happen,” Kearnan says he and the crew would “Never, say never.”

Everyone at CYCA is wishing Andy, Peter and the whole crew an amazing race up to Main Beach we will love watching Koa battle it out with the other TP52s.