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2010
One Week until Entries Close as the Fleet for 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race Soars to 65

One Week until Entries Close as the Fleet for 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race Soars to 65

NEWS
09 Jul, 2010 12:12:00 PM

One Week until Entries Close as the Fleet for 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race Soars to 65

With one week until entries close for the 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, this year’s race is shaping up to be a record breaker in more ways than one.

With one week until entries close for the 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, this year’s race is shaping up to be a record breaker in more ways than one.

65 entries have been received to date for the 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, with the fleet anticipated to reach 80 plus boats.

Secret Mens Business #1, a Murray 42 owned by Rob Curtis, Ian Trembath, and Doug Snedden was the 60th entry received. SMB #1 has competed up and down the east and south coast of Australia with its best result being a 4th in IMS division A in the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart under original owner Geoff Boettcher.

The current owners bought the boat late in 2006 and race out of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club on Pittwater. Her best results, under the current owners, have included a 1st in the Commodore’s Cup at this year’s Sail Port Stephens, 2nd in Division 1 Coffs Harbour Series 2007 and 2nd in IRC and 1st PHS in the Bird Island Race in the 2007/08 Blue Water Series.

Boettcher will be racing his RP51 Secret Mens Business 3.5 and is a definite contender to be the overall winner of 25th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.

The race for the overall win is wide open with seven highly competitive Beneteaus including Balance (Paul Clitheroe), Two True (Andrew Saies), Mr Beaks Ribs (David Beak) and Victoire (Darryl Hodgkinson); with three other yachts in the 50 foot range including Colin Woods’ Pretty Fly III and Nicholas Bartels’ Terra Firma, both Cookson 50s and Rob Hanna’s TP52 Shogun.

Bob Oatley’s supermaxi Wild Oats XI is the largest boat in the fleet at 100 feet or 30.48m, and given the right conditions, could break the eleven year old race record of 27 hours 35 minutes 03 seconds, set by Brindabella in 1999.

Harvey Milne’s Archambault Aroona, the current Audi IRC Australian Championship leader, is currently the smallest boat in the fleet at 31 feet or 9.6m, with this race being the third event of the four-part national Audi IRC Australian Championship.

The combined clubs of Royal Motor Yacht Club Port Hacking and Cronulla Sailing Club will be represented by four boats; Craig Eeles’ Beneteau First 44.7 Big Kahoona, Warren Buchan and Kristy Edwards’ Sayer 44.9 Colortile, Corinne Feldmann’s Inglis 37 MOD Stampede and Bruce Mackay’s Sayer 12 Wasabi.

In 2009-10, her first major year of competing in offshore events Wasabi was never very far off the podium. She won last year’s PHS division of the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race, third in PHS division 1 of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and secured another PHS division 1 win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

All eyes will be on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Saturday 31 July, when the 384 nautical mile Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race commences at the start line off Nielsen Park, then proceeds out to the heads, turns left and head north to the Gold Coast, finishing just off Main Beach, Southport.

Entries close on Friday 16 July 2010 at 1700hrs with the entry documentation available at http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au/editorial.asp?key=4366

Highlights from the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race can be seen on ONE HD on Monday 23 August at 8.30pm, as part of the four episode wrap of the Audi IRC Australian Championship.

For more information log on to http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au or follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/asgcyr

By Jennifer Crooks