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Lifelong dream on track for septuagenarian

Home 2026 Lifelong dream on track for septuagenarian

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Having taken up offshore racing in his 70s in 2025, Michael Trask is proof that it's never too late to chase your dreams. Although Trask has sailed his whole life, and been a boat owner along the way, he has mostly been confined to around the cans inshore racing and cruising from Sydney to Pittwater. But after moving from Sydney to Newcastle in 2020, Trask set the wheels in motion to fulfil his lifelong dream to compete in a Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.  In 2024, he bought 20-year-old Sydney 38 Challenge, once owned by revered sailor, the late Lou Abrahams. If all goes according to plan, Trask will race to Hobart in 2026 with a mostly Newcastle-based crew. Trask, now 71, is looking forward to a year of firsts – he will take the helm for his first Noakes Sydney Gold Coast in July to kick off the 2026 offshore season. In the spirit of the boat’s moniker, Trask is ready to rise to the challenges presented by the 384 nautical mile race. 

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Challenge in action at Sail Port Stephens - Sail Port Stephens pic.

What’s your sailing background and experience? 

I owned Myuna III for 29 years and regularly sailed her from Sydney Harbour to Pittwater, cruising with family, as well as the odd Parramatta River Sailing Club race to Long Reef. But I didn’t start regular offshore racing till the beginning of the 2025/26 season when we entered Challenge in the Newcastle Yacht Club (NCYC) Short Ocean Pointscore and Ocean Racing series. So, in essence we started regular ocean racing in September 2025. 

Recent achievements on board Challenge include Line Honours in the 2025 Heaven Can Wait 24-hour race on Lake Macquarie (130-155 nautical miles). And in April we placed fourth on scratch and fifth on PHS out of 28 boats in Sail Port Stephens 2026 Commodore’s Cup in Division 2. 

How did you come to own Challenge? 

Having been keen on a Sydney 38 for a while, when Challenge came on the market I bought her without hesitation. Growing up in Melbourne, the great Lou Abrahams was a revered name in sailing, in a different universe to me, and I would never have dreamed of one day owning one of his boats – in fact his last boat. I never met Lou but have learned a great deal about him and have spoken to people who sailed with him.  It’s a great privilege to be the current custodian of part of his legacy. Our plan is to invest in Challenge and keep her in top racing trim. We hope to do Lou’s legacy proud. 

What do you love most about Challenge? 

I love that the boat is a proven design, of robust construction, still a desirable and competitive boat which is affordable for the ‘average’ club sailor to step up into a performance class ocean racer. A strong Sydney 38 Class Association with huge support from other owners makes it attractive to move into and then to on sell when that time comes. A relatively simple rig and sail plan keeps the boat within affordable bounds, so that the boat, in my opinion, represents great value for money.

Challenge tracking along upwind at Sail Port Stephens - Sail Port Stephens pic.

Have you made any modifications? 

Being a one design class, we’ve made no modifications to the boat, other than keeping up with occasional one design rule tweaks, approved by the Association from time to time to keep up with contemporary trends. Although Challenge was purchased in top racing condition, to prepare for this year’s campaign we’ve replaced standing and running rigging, undertaken all servicing and updated elements of the sail wardrobe.  She did come with an updated B&G suite at purchase and we’ve added Starlink, Iridium GO! and PredictWind for offshore racing. 

Are you looking forward to the Sydney Gold Coast? 

Very much so. It will be our first long offshore race and an important step along our planned longer-term journey. 

Beyond finishing, what are you hoping to get out of the race? 

We are looking for every bit of experience we can get, with whatever weather conditions are thrown at us. We are keen to sail the best race we can through strategic navigation – to make the best of winds and current. 

Tell me a bit about the crew. 

We have a fabulous crew, built over 18 months, regularly sailing together on a weekly basis. With a diversity of gender, age and experience we have sailors drawn from Lake Macquarie and Newcastle, some with extensive ocean racing experience and some with less experience but the benefit of having come through the NCYC’s Sailing Academy. We’ll most likely have four women and five men on board for the Sydney Gold Coast.

A very focused Challenge crew - Sail Port Stephens pic.

Overall, everyone is enthusiastic and totally committed to the program. As a racing crew, we also feel like family. We have such a great crew. It's so much fun each week. We just love getting together.

My wife Vicki Gorman sails with us regularly, as does my 28-year-old stepson Alex Gorman. Vicki is Challenge's headsail trimmer and has sailed for the past 28 years, on various keelboats from 30 to 40 feet, mostly inshore. Alex, who is a headsail and mainsail trimmer, has also done his fair share of racing, the majority inshore. Both are down for the Sydney Gold Coast at this stage. We'll also be joined by Emily Sellens for the race north. Emily brings extensive offshore experience: she's sailed the last two Sydney Hobarts and the last three Sydney Gold Coasts on board the Sydney 40 Mako.

From left to right: Riley Parsons, Vicki and Michael - Challenge pic.

What are your race goals? 

We're going to go and do as best we can. If we end up middle of the fleet, I'll be more than happy. For me, it's all about the crew. As long as the crew enjoy it and have a great time and feel proud of their achievements and they're all happy, I'll be happy.  

What are you most looking forward to about the race? 

Seeing a smile on the faces of all our crew in Southport and sharing a great sense of achievement. 

What are you least looking forward to? 

 The risk of no wind. 

What's the plan after the finish? 

After the finish we will return home to concentrate on our program for the rest of the year. We will still have a lot of prep to do on the boat and experience to gain. Going south to Hobart will be a step up from heading north. 

Any other offshore campaigns on the calendar for the rest of the year? 

Assuming we are able to happily complete the Sydney Gold Coast, and in addition to NCYC club racing, we have hopes of competing in some or all of the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore races, and then perhaps the 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart. 

It’s a mountain to climb, no doubt about that, but we’re trying to do all the right things and if everyone’s happy to go to Hobart and we can get there, that’s what we’ll aim for.

The Challenge crew have their sights set on the 2026 Rolex Sydney Hobart - Sail Port Stephens pic.

What are you doing to physically prepare for offshore sailing? 

Being on the boat in the first place probably demands all crew are pretty active and agile. We have a work up program with the 2026 campaign crew sailing together for as many races as possible, and to drill key procedures including MOB, reefing and sail handling.  

 A comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures has been developed for the boat – providing for repeatable, consistent and expected responses through key manoeuvres.  On water sailing is being complemented by occasional classroom sessions to workshop seasickness management, injury prevention and sail handling. We have a little way to go to be ready for Southport and a good deal further to go to be ready for Hobart.   

It sounds like it’s already been an adventure for you and the crew. 

The journey we’ve been on, even over the past 18 months, has been absolutely awesome, from acquiring a great boat with an outstanding pedigree, to building a committed crew from zero. We’ve had fun, we’re learning a lot, we’re achieving creditable results, we have tremendous mentors amongst our more experienced crew, and everyone is having a ball. Each next step is a challenge, and we all grow as a result. 

Entries for the 2026 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race close on Friday 10 July and the race starts on Saturday 25 July. Enter here.