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Friday 13th delivers good news to Audi Sydney Gold Coast organisers

Home 2007 Friday 13th delivers good news to Audi Sydney Gold Coast organisers

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There was nothing unlucky about Friday the thirteenth for organisers of the annual Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race with a quality fleet of 71 entering the winter coastal classic which will start from Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Saturday 28 July.

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There was nothing unlucky about Friday the thirteenth for organisers of the annual Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race with a quality fleet of 71 entering the winter coastal classic which will start from Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Saturday 28 July.

Entries for the opening race of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 2007/8 offshore calendar closed Friday 13 July at 5pm.

A fleet of top IRC racers including Steven David’s Wild Joe, Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats X and two TP52s, Wot Yot and Quest, amongst others, will be jostling on the start line in less than a fortnight’s time with the 1979-built Rolex Sydney Hobart record holder, Phillip’s Foote Witchdoctor (26 races south) and many other cruiser/racers including the stately Swan 48 Leda from Queensland which comes complete with an on board washing machine and electric winches.

“The move from the 2006 format of a Gold Coast Race followed by a Mooloolaba Race to the 2007 format of a Southport Race to close the season and the Audi Sydney Gold Coast to open the new season has met with a significant numerical acceptance,” said newly elected CYCA Vice Commodore and sailing committee chairman Garry Linacre.

‘If you look at the combined 2006 entry number of 80 against the 2007 number of 117, the return to the late July traditional Gold Coast destination has proved very popular.

“The return to numbers above 70 for the 22nd Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race is a clear endorsement from competitors that the Gold Coast is the desired destination for the July ocean race,” Linacre added.

Five of the 71 Audi Sydney Gold Coast entries have elected to contest the 898 nautical mile Audi Sydney Mackay Yacht Race, passing through the finish line at Southport and continuing on to Mackay without stopping. With numbers down on last year’s inaugural race, through a consultative process the CYCA sailing committee intends to conduct a comprehensive review of the Mackay Race.

“The jury is still out regarding the Mackay Race option. Initially it seems the problem is race crew availability at this time of the year which is exacerbated by yacht owner and crew desire to compete at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and other Whitsunday regattas,” said Linacre.

The club’s sailing committee is also continuing to examine options for the pre-Easter offshore race, the closing event of its prestigious Blue Water Pointscore Series.

“We will continue to run the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in late July and we are considering our options for our pre-Easter category 2 ocean race while Mooloolaba remains an unsuitable destination due to the depth issues,” said Linacre.

Five boats will make their way north to Sydney from Victorian waters for the start of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast and Mackay races. For the first time in years, Geoff Boettcher’s Hardy’s Secret Mens Business won’t be the only South Australian on the start line with Nick George’s DK46 Exile, which was Rob Hanna’s previous Shogun, also flying the flag for that state. The ACT will be represented by the Canberra Ocean Racing Club’s Namadgi. While Alan Brierty’s Corby 49 Limit is classed a CYCA entry, the owner and some of the crew will fly from Perth in Western Australia to Sydney for the 28 July start.  

Five Queensland boats have entered the Audi Sydney Gold Coast including Rod Jones’s Archambault 35 Alegria, the current Audi IRC Australian Championship leader following outstanding divisional wins at Skandia Geelong Race Week in late January and the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club in March.

“The Audi IRC Australian Championship was launched to encourage competition at the highest level,” said Joerg Hofmann, managing director of Audi Australia.

“The Championship series is an important step in linking our high-profile regattas together and giving them even more strategic importance in the sailing calendar.

“The line-up for the Audi Sydney Gold Coast is proof of this. It is an excellent fleet for the third from four point-scoring regattas which count towards the Championship. Big fleet, big names and hopefully a great race with a lot of action and a cliff-hanger ending! What more could a sponsor ask for. I’m looking forward to firing the cannon on 28 July to start the race.

“Our goal is to ensure that Audi’s sailing sport calendar continues to deliver the highest quality events to the Australian yachting community, encourage more competition and recognise success at the top level,” Mr Hofmann added.

To be eligible for the major prize and the Audi IRC Australian Championship Perpetual Trophy, designed by John Woulfe, IRC yachts must compete in at least three of the four IRC point-scoring events. The major prize, and Audi Q7 performance SUV is awarded to the highest point scorer. Following the conclusion of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, the Audi orange leader flags will be passed onto the new pointscore leader and the competition will really start to hot up before the final event, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week starting 18 August.  
 
The Audi Q7 is a luxury, performance SUV. Its dynamic, coupe-like design is combined with powerful engines and the latest technology.  With high levels of luxury, the Audi Q7 is sporty to drive on-the-road and also incredibly capable off road. Late last year, following its Australian launch, the Q7 was awarded ‘Best Luxury SUV’ by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.

Nine Sydney 38s will make up an exciting one design division for the 384 nautical mile Audi Sydney Gold Coast.- Lisa Ratcliff

Official race websites http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au / http://mackay.cyca.com.au

Audi Australia www.audi.com.au

Audi Australia is the biggest supporter of competitive yachting events in Australia.  The German luxury carmaker is the naming rights sponsor of the Audi Sydney Southport, Audi Sydney Gold Coast and Audi Sydney Mackay yacht races and the Audi Winter Series as well as the principal sponsor of the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy.