Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki only needs to finish the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race to be crowned the 2010-2011 Bluewater Champion. Image copyright AUDI/Andrea Francolini.
by Jennifer Crooks
At the close of entries, 19 yachts have entered this year’s Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race, which commences at 12 noon on Friday 8 April.
The 213 nautical mile Category 2 race, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starts off Steele Point at Vaucluse, with the fleet then making its way north to a laid mark around 20 nautical miles south east of Crowdy Head before heading for Newcastle and the finish on the Hunter River.
“The Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race is the last race in the CYCA’s summer sailing calendar and has again proven popular with yacht owners,” CYCA Commodore Garry Linacre said.
“We thank Audi Australia for their continued support of the event and look forward to crowning a new Bluewater champion,” he said.
The race record of 15hrs, 57mins and 53sec was set by Stephen Ainsworth’s Reichel/Pugh 63 Loki in 2009. Ainsworth only needs to finish the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race to seal victory in the CYCA’s Bluewater Pointscore 2010/2011.
Dr Dennis Cooper’s Sydney 36CR Amante is the smallest yacht in the fleet at 10.97 metres. Cooper is looking to improve on last year’s results as he aims for a divisional win. Last year’s PHS divisional winner, Rick Christian’s The Stick, is the largest boat in the fleet at 20.1 metres.
Eight yachts have entered with valid ORCi rating certificates and the CYCA will run an ORCi division in conjunction with IRC and PHS divisions. The overall winner of the race will be declared using IRC.
Syd Fischer (Ragamuffin), a big supporter of the ORCi rating system, currently leads the Cape Byron Series which was launched in the 2010-2011 season for those yachts holding a valid ORCi certificate that were participating in the CYCA’s Blue Water Pointscore Series.
Colin and Gladys Woods’ Cookson 50 Pretty Fly III is currently sitting in second place, six points behind Ragamuffin, with Greg Zyner’s Radford 12 Copernicus in third, a further two points behind.
The CYCA plans to introduce a new satellite transponder for this event allowing family, friends, club members and yachting enthusiasts to follow the race via the yacht tracking page of the race website. Each yacht will be fitted with a Yellowbrick yacht tracker that will obtain a position using the Iridium satellite network.
For a list of yachts entered in the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race and to follow the fleet’s progress via Yacht Tracker from the noon start, go to the official race site http://sydneynewcastle.cyca.com.au
