Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2024

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2023
Richard Hudson to contest his 34th Noakes Sydney Gold Coast on Pretty Woman

Richard Hudson to contest his 34th Noakes Sydney Gold Coast on Pretty Woman

NEWS
06 Jun, 2023 11:54:00 AM

Richard Hudson to contest his 34th Noakes Sydney Gold Coast on Pretty Woman

Richard Hudson was one of the first to sign up for this year’s Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. An ocean racing veteran, Hudson started his offshore career sailing ‘half tonners’ like Beach Inspector in the Sydney Hobart. Now a life member of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Newport, he is looking forward to the next race, with just an much enthusiasm as his very first.

Richard Hudson has now campaigned his current boat, the Farr 45 Pretty Woman, for 20 years. In the 2022/2023 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Pretty Woman featured in five of the six races, notably winning Corinthian PHS and finishing second on Corinthian IRC in the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Hudson has also been an outstanding supporter of youth sailors in offshore racing over the years. Pretty Woman’s 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart crew consisted of eight crew members under the age of 30, including four female sailors who were all aged under 25. For the 2023 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Hudson will assemble a similar crew with 10 of the 12 who did last year’s Hobart.

“I’m really enjoying sailing with the young crew; they sail the boat like they stole it and I love it,” Hudson said. “We need more balance in the sport and it makes a difference to the culture on board when you’ve got a mixed crew. It’s a fun boat to sail.”

No stranger to sailing north from his home in New South Wales each winter to escape the cold, Hudson is excited about the next race. After Noakes he will be going on Antipodes with Geoff Hill to Hamilton Island Race Week.

“I think this will be my 34th Sydney Gold Coast. Weather wise it is a challenging race sometimes, it’s cold and windy. You have to deal with the current, but it’s going North in winter and I love it,” Hudson said.

Still he says this course can provide some surprises.

“The Southport race can have some pretty torrid weather. These days with the more modern boats it can be a very fast race. In 1988 I was sailing a Pemberton 31 footer and it was epic. There was a solid sou-wester blowing the whole way and we sailed that race, we finished at 1 o’clock on the Monday in this crumby little 31 footer, which was 1 hour outside the previous race record. Now that was crazy, we didn’t go to bed the whole race. It was full on,” Hudson says.

On this next race, Hudson will once again blend great experience with younger sailors from the RPAYC, allowing them to experience offshore racing at its wildest.

“Nowadays I need twelve to crew Pretty Woman and we are very happy with the crew we have assembled. 8 of them are under 30,” Hudson said.

We wish Richard Hudson a great trip up to Main Beach. To follow the boat click here.