yacht racing sydney harbour today

It’s one of the world’s fast-growing sports. But you’ll need $35m to buy in — SailGP explained

There’s no sport quite like Sail GP. It’s been called F1 on water, which is a fair assessment – especially since four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel is a backer of the German team that debuted this season.

Germany is one of ten nations competing in Season Four of the competition, where identical, hi-tech F50 catamarans race at dizzying speeds up to 100km/h.

This weekend, the competition will take to Sydney Harbour for the Australian Sail Grand Prix, the eighth stop of the 13-round season which takes place in glamorous locations around the world.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sport – and why this weekend is a must-watch.

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WHAT IS SAIL GP?

Sailing has a long history of competition – from the Olympics to the America’s Cup, the oldest ongoing international sporting contest. But the America’s Cup only takes place every three or four years, and the main event happens between just two competing yachts.

Sail GP (which stands for Grand Prix) was founded as an annual competition for teams – representing nations – to compete with the same machinery on a regular schedule.

That’s a key difference that sets Sail GP apart. Instead of a technological arms race between rival teams, like motor racing or the America’s Cup, using the same yachts means Sail GP is a test of skill and tactics.

And the yachts themselves are special. The F50 catamarans are based on those used in the America’s Cup in 2017 – the AC50. In another connection with the F1 world, Great Britain’s challenger for the 2017 America’s Cup was built alongside Red Bull Advanced Technologies – headed by Adrian Newey, who led the development of Red Bull’s dominant F1 car.

But the F50 has been developed year on year to become almost unbelievably complex and advanced yachts.

The name F50 is straightforward. 50 stands for 50 feet, the length of the carbon fibre hull. The F stands for foiling, which is when a boat’s hull (or hulls, in the case of a catamaran) is lifted out of the water on hydrofoils, or small wings that poke out of the bottom of the hulls.

Like the wings on a plane, they create lift, and the boats appear to fly or hover in the air with only these small carbon fibre foils under the water.

By lifting the hull out of the water, foiling reduces drag – and allows the yachts to hit staggering speeds. The current SailGP record is 53.96 knots or 99.94 km/h.

Next year, the foils will be replaced by a new model made out of titanium – and they expect speeds up to 110km/h or 59 knots.

If you don’t understand foiling, don’t worry. All you need to know is that these boats (with five crew members each) are hi-tech, extremely complex machines. And really, really fast.

As SailGP CEO Russell Coutts told Time recently: “When you look into the cockpit of one of these boats, it is like looking into an aircraft. You’ve got all the control panels. It looks like a Formula 1 steering wheel.

“You’ve got various control switches on the steering wheel. If there was anything like medium wind and upwards, a club sailor would probably hurt himself.”

Sir Russell Coutts himself was a champion sailor, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and won the America’s Cup five times among many other successes.

HOW DOES THE COMPETITION WORK?

It started out with six teams (each representing a nation, including Australia), competing across five events. It’s rapidly expanded, with Season 4 – the current season – seeing ten teams compete at 13 events.

In each event, the entire field races six times (called a fleet race). They’re rapid, chaotic races, and they usually last around 12 minutes.

Each team gets points depending on where they finish each race (10 points for first, all the way down to one for last place).

After that, the top three teams based on event points face off in a final.

The winner gets 10 championship points, second gets nine, third gets eight, and the other seven teams get points depending on their ranking in the event.

There’s a $200,000 USD prize for the winner of each event.

At the end of the season, the three teams highest on the championship leaderboard race off in the Grand Final – a single race where the winning team picks up a $2m USD prize.

And here’s the crazy thing: the Australian team, led by skipper Tom Slingsby, have won all three Grand Finals so far. And this year, after seven of 13 rounds, they once again lead the championship in their pursuit of a fourth-straight title.

Slingsby was already a sailing legend before SailGP came around. He won three-straight world championships sailing Laser dinghies. Then he won the 2012 London Olympics gold medal in that category. He was the strategist for USA’s 2013 America’s Cup win, and skippered Perpetual LOYAL to line honours victory in the 2016 Sydney to Hobart race. He’s won multiple world sailor of the year awards too.

He’s just one of many sailing superstars competing in SailGP. It’s the best of the best: world champions, America’s Cup winners, Olympic medallists. Put them in extremely advanced yachts and the result is elite racing.

HOW POPULAR IS IT?

SailGP is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Think pickleball – another niche sport that has exploded into the mainstream.

SailGP started with six teams competing at five events. Now, it’s up to ten teams at 13 events. Next year, there’ll be another two teams added, and the eventual aim is around 20 races – just like F1.

What’s critical is that it’s not just popular among sailing fans. SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts told Time that only around 30 to 40 per cent of fans have any other connection in sailing.

Last November, an investment group led by Marc Lasry, former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, bought the U.S. team for a SailGP record price. The ownership group also includes a host of sporting superstars such as heavyweight boxing world champion Deontay Wilder and a number of NFL stars, as well as Hollywood actors and even a founding Uber engineer.

The cost was claimed to be nearly $80m USD by the Sports Business Journal .

Coutts said: “We started selling teams between $5 million and $10 million [USD]. Now you can’t buy a team without $35 million. We know we’ve got demand for teams. We can’t build boats fast enough.”

And fans are flocking to watch both in person and on broadcast, where global viewership in the first half of this season is up about 24 per cent on last season.

HOW DANGEROUS IS IT?

Well, foiling is inherently difficult. The tiniest mistake – or shift of the wind – and the boat can go crashing back into the water or capsize.

Controlling what is effectively a 2,500kg wind-powered rocket at speeds up to 100km/h – while racing nine opponents around a course with strict boundaries – means crashes are inevitable.

One of the most infamous crashes happened in Sydney in season two, when the British team slammed into the Japanese team at high speeds, causing severe damage – though luckily no-one was injured.

Even when the yachts are just cruising along and not racing, they’re still extremely complex and hard to control. Take Australia’s ‘Flying Roo’, which narrowly avoided capsizing in Italy last year when it was merely parading for a crowd after a day of training.

There’s been no shortage of crashes down the years – and plenty of damage to the yachts that are worth around $4m USD each. Luckily, there have been no deaths.

WHAT WILL SYDNEY BE LIKE?

For one thing, windy. After a series of events this season with light wind conditions – which means slower racing – the forecast is for some of the heaviest wind conditions of the entire season.

Last year, a freak weather event after Saturday’s racing damaged a host of boats and saw Sunday’s racing cancelled entirely.

“It’s a really tricky, challenging venue, which creates a lot of exciting racing, lead changes and opportunity,” said Taylor Canfield, driver of the United States team.

Canada driver Phil Robertson said that light winds – such as last time out in Abu Dhabi – create “Micky Mouse racing: it’s open to anyone, that’s the reality.”

He added: “I’m especially looking forward to Sydney because we have done a lot of light air sailing in the last four or five events and Sydney is going to be a reality check.”

A reality check of just how hard it is to control these boating behemoths in big wind.

But if things get really windy, we could easily see history made this weekend.

As Slingsby told the Financial Review : “Last year I think we got to 95-96 km/h in Sydney, so if we get a good solid sea-breeze or a big southerly front come down the coast, it will be a good shot for us to break that 100 km/h mark.”

That would be a stunning achievement – and the Bureau of Meteorology currently forecast a southerly of 20 to 30 km/h on Saturday.

Just as important for Team Australia is the opportunity to win their first race of the season. Slingsby’s team leads the championship thanks to a lot of podium finishes throughout the season – but they’re still awaiting their first race win of the campaign.

Australia has 56 points after seven rounds (from a maximum of 70, given 10 points goes to the winner each event). New Zealand has 50 and the United States and Denmark have 43 each.

It’s another close campaign, and Sydney is poised to deliver the best event of the season so far.

RACE DAY 1: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24

Race Times: 16:00-17:30 AEDT

RACE DAY 2: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25

Watch all the action live and free on Kayo Freebies, or on Foxtel where Fox Sports News (Channel 500) will also show both days in full.

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51 seconds apart after 628 nautical miles: LawConnect edges Comanche in Sydney to Hobart race

Comanche heads down Sydney Harbour during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. Credit: AP/Salty Dog

HOBART, Australia — LawConnect won line honors in the 78th edition of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday, holding off defending champion Andoo Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis.

The pair of 100-foot yachts had dueled for much of the race and were well ahead of the rest of the fleet of 103 yachts that started the race on Tuesday in Sydney harbor.

LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche's time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982.

Both yachts performed several late jibes as they attempted to secure the lead.

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“I can’t believe that result. Honestly, it is a dream come true,” LawConnect's skipper and owner Christian Beck said. “They took the lead pretty close to the line and we thought there was no way we could get it back.

“A wind gust came around. It was a complete surprise. There were guys who couldn’t watch. It was very nerve wracking.”

LawConnect, left, leads the fleet during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. Credit: AP/Salty Dog

Comanche holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won the race in 2017.

"It is pretty painful, we’ve got an amazing boat that should have won,” Comanche skipper and owner John Winning Jr. said of Thursday's result. “The other guys sailed their guts out and left nothing on the table. They beat us with an underdog boat, those guys deserve all the praise they get.”

“It was one of the most epic finishes in probably any sailing race I know. In the last three minutes I think the lead changed three times.”

Comanche and LawConnect were clear front-runners from just out of Sydney harbor. The pair began the trip down the New South Wales south coast at a fast clip but fell off the race record pace. The finish was at Constitution Dock in Hobart, the capital of the island state of Tasmania.

The highest-profile retirement of 11 race withdrawals was SHK Scallywag, one of four 100-foot super maxis which sustained a broken bow sprit and withdrew on the first evening of the race.

LawConnect was the first yacht out of the harbor.

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Aussies tied on top with Denmark after an action-packed opening day on Sydney Harbour

SYDNEY – February 24, 2024 – Tom Slingsby and his Australian crew have delivered for the home crowd at the opener of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix, securing a solid second place but on equal points with Nicolai Sehested’s ROCKWOOL Denmark, who takes the top spot in a thrilling showdown on Sydney Harbour.

After a light-wind season to date, fans finally got to see SailGP in its full glory – close racing, and plenty of drama. The highly anticipated Sydney event got off to an exciting start with gusty conditions that tested the athletes and provided an action-packed first day on the waters of Sydney Harbour including a near capsize by Erik Heil’s Germany.

In front of a fervent home crowd, Slingsby’s Australia team was back with a bang after the disappointment of a season-worst seventh-place finish in Abu Dhabi. Securing a 1-2-4 result in the eighth event of SailGP Season 4, Australia remains firmly in the hunt for its season-first win and ready to defend its title on home waters, although will have a tough challenge from Denmark who is also after its maiden SailGP win and finished the day with a 2-3-2 scoreline to take the overnight lead.

Thousands of Australian fans watched on from Genesis Island – right in the center of the race course – and hundreds of spectator boats as the ten strong fleet delivered dramatic racing that saw three different race winners. In the opening race, Australia took advantage of its favored gusty wind conditions on Sydney Harbour, flying across the start line in Race 1 in record time and maintaining an unchallenged lead for the race, and averaging speeds of 60k/ph. 

Slingsby said: “It was tough today with a southerly course but we’re really happy with how we sailed – probably one of the best days we’ve sailed this season. We had a strategy to stay close to Genesis Island in each race and that worked for us to get three good races.

“We need to start better than we did today. If we make the final, we need to be more aggressive in the final to get the win.”

The  Flying Roo s then made a strong comeback in the second race of the day after a slow start to finish in second behind an impressive performance from Diego Botin’s Spanish team who took the win. The race wasn’t without drama as the teams fought to get in front, resulting in a near capsize for the German team when it came head-to-head with Quentin Delapierre’s France at the fifth gate and needed to take evasive action, missing the turning mark – which it nearly hit – and just saving a capsize.

The final race of the day saw an impressive performance from Australian sailor, Nathan Outteridge – stepping in for Peter Burling – who steered the New Zealand SailGP Team to first place after some smart decisions saw the team make the best of the tricky conditions to lead the pack for the majority of the race. ROCKWOOL Denmark crossed the line second to cement the overnight lead, France finished third and the home team secured fourth position.

Sehested said: “It was a good first day back. Obviously there is still all to play for tomorrow but we are happy to get through day one in good shape. We managed to judge the breeze well and when we saw the breeze on the water we went for it and if we didn’t, we stayed away. But tomorrow is a different day and we will need to go and get back into light wind mode for tomorrow and hopefully can do a good job with the breeze again.” 

For one team it was a day to forget, as hydraulic pump issues for Phil Robertson’s Canada team saw them finish last in the opening race and then, despite the best efforts to get them sailing again, the technical issue meant they couldn’t compete in the rest of the day’s racing.

Robertson said: “We started to lose hydraulic functions at the start of the first race. Starting with the jib and then the foil function and then the wing functions until nothing was working so it’s really disappointing. We still don’t know what the problem is but hopefully they will have a good look at it and we will be able to sail tomorrow. I am actually pretty furious. You come here promised a boat to race with – we are not allowed to touch the boat – and when you don’t get a boat that’s race ready you have to ask questions. It’s really disappointing and there is no redress but we have to suck it up, take it on the chin and move on.” 

The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney continues at 4pm AEDT tomorrow, February 25 with the top three teams going into the Grand Final. Viewing is available on Fox Sports News, Kayo Freebies and the partnership with SBS (Special Broadcasting Service). For details on how to watch around the globe visit  SailGP.com/watch . For fans in Sydney, limited tickets are still available to have a seat in the middle of the action. Head to  SailGP.com/Sydney  for more information and to secure a ticket.

KPMG AUSTRALIA SAIL GRAND PRIX | SYDNEY // 

Day Two Racing: Sunday, February 25, 4.00 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. AEDT

KPMG AUSTRALIA SAIL GRAND PRIX RACE DAY 1 STANDINGS //

1 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 26 points

2 // Australia 26 points

3 // New Zealand 24 points 

4 // France 21 points

5 // Spain 20 points

6 // Switzerland 13 points

7 // Germany 12 points

8 // Emirates GBR 11 points

9 // USA 9 points 

10 // Canada 1 point

MEDIA HUB //  The SailGP Media Hub is a dedicated space for media to be able to cover SailGP events remotely and includes live streams and updates, press conferences participation and post-race athlete interviews. Access the SailGP Media Hub via  mediahub.sailgp.com .

ABOUT SAILGP //  SailGP is the world’s most exciting racing on water. The global championship features national teams battling in short, intense races at iconic stadium-style venues across the globe. The high-tech, high-speed action features sailing’s best athletes racing in identical hydrofoiling F50 catamarans, flying at speeds approaching 100 km/h. SailGP also races for a better future, championing a world powered by nature. Visit  SailGP.com  for more information.

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51 seconds apart after 628 nautical miles: LawConnect edges Comanche in Sydney to Hobart race

Comanche heads down Sydney Harbour during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

Skallywag, left, and Comanche sail close during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. The 630-nautical mile race has more than 100 yachts starting in the race to the island state of Tasmania. (Salty Dog/CYCA via AP)

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HOBART, Australia (AP) — LawConnect won line honors in the 78th edition of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Thursday, holding off defending champion Andoo Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis.

The pair of 100-foot yachts had dueled for much of the race and were well ahead of the rest of the fleet of 103 yachts that started the race on Tuesday in Sydney harbor.

LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche’s time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

It was the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982.

Both yachts performed several late jibes as they attempted to secure the lead.

“I can’t believe that result. Honestly, it is a dream come true,” LawConnect’s skipper and owner Christian Beck said. “They took the lead pretty close to the line and we thought there was no way we could get it back.

“A wind gust came around. It was a complete surprise. There were guys who couldn’t watch. It was very nerve wracking.”

Comanche holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won the race in 2017.

“It is pretty painful, we’ve got an amazing boat that should have won,” Comanche skipper and owner John Winning Jr. said of Thursday’s result. “The other guys sailed their guts out and left nothing on the table. They beat us with an underdog boat, those guys deserve all the praise they get.”

“It was one of the most epic finishes in probably any sailing race I know. In the last three minutes I think the lead changed three times.”

Comanche and LawConnect were clear front-runners from just out of Sydney harbor. The pair began the trip down the New South Wales south coast at a fast clip but fell off the race record pace. The finish was at Constitution Dock in Hobart, the capital of the island state of Tasmania.

The highest-profile retirement of 11 race withdrawals was SHK Scallywag, one of four 100-foot super maxis which sustained a broken bow sprit and withdrew on the first evening of the race.

LawConnect was the first yacht out of the harbor.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

SailGP to return to Sydney Harbour in three-season agreement

• KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix
• Genesis joins as Official Automotive Partner of the Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney in multi-year deal

Together with the New South Wales Government, Sydney has secured the rights to host the most exciting racing on-water, SailGP, for three consecutive seasons. The championship will return to the iconic Sydney Harbour on February 18 and 19 2023, in the ninth event of SailGP Season 3.

The ten teams competing in Season 3 – including new franchises Canada and Switzerland and returning nations Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States – will race on the spectacular Sydney Harbour in the league’s largest season roster to date.

The Australia Sail Grand Prix joins the ten events already announced for Season 3, with the championship having commenced in Bermuda in May this year. From there, the fleet – comprising the sport’s best athletes – will head to Chicago, Plymouth, Copenhagen, Saint-Tropez, Cádiz-Andalucía, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, New Zealand and San Francisco.

An estimated 20,000 people turned out to watch Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team Sydney Harbour in December 2021, witnessing the Australia team’s stunning performance to claim victory on home waters. Overall, the event reached 88.5 million people worldwide.

The NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, will join as the Official Host Venue Partner of the Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney, in a three season deal. Together, SailGP and the NSW Government will showcase Sydney as a world-class destination for leisure and business travel, with a focus on driving domestic visitor growth and expenditure.

Stuart Ayres, Minister for Tourism and Sport, said: “I am delighted we have secured the Australia Sail Grand Prix on Sydney Harbour for the next three seasons, which further demonstrates that Sydney is bouncing back to life and is well-and-truly open for business. As one of only eleven iconic locations in the global SailGP league, the Australia Sail Grand Prix will provide a significant boost to the state’s visitor economy by showcasing our spectacular Harbour City to the world. This is another incredible addition to the calendar of world-class international sporting events we are building exclusively for Sydney and the state to deliver on our goal of making NSW the events capital and premier visitor of the Asia Pacific.”

Tom Slingsby , Australia SailGP Team Driver and CEO, said: “We are stoked to be able to work with the NSW Government to secure this world class event in Australia for the next three years. Now having ten F50’s lined up and racing for the first time on Sydney Harbour is going to be a pretty incredible sight for fans and with the calibre of athletes we have on these boats in Season 3, we can expect action-packed and very close racing. We won in front of our home crowd at last year’s Sydney event and our team is laser focused on repeating that again for Australia.”

With SailGP going from strength to strength in Season 3, and returning to Sydney for the fourth time since the league’s inception, SailGP also announces an exciting partnership with Genesis, a global luxury automotive brand that delivers performance and innovation, with a focus towards a more sustainable future.

Genesis will join as Official Automotive Partner for the Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney, in a multi-year deal. Genesis supports SailGP’s purpose-led agenda for a better planet, with its commitment to becoming a 100% zero emission vehicle brand by 2030 and to pursuing carbon neutrality by 2035.

Connal Yan, Head of Genesis Motors Australia, said: “Genesis Motors is thrilled to be partnering with SailGP and the New South Wales Government to bring this world class event to the iconic Sydney Harbour. This partnership represents Genesis Motors’ first foray into sailing, providing us with a great opportunity to showcase our progressive and audacious brand to a global audience.”

The Genesis and NSW Government and Destination NSW partnerships were facilitated by IMG, SailGP’s global agency for media rights, sponsorship and host venue rights.

Chris Gilbert, Managing Director of IMG Australia & New Zealand, said: “We are delighted to bring Genesis on board and extend our valued partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW. Set against the backdrop of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, SailGP offers Sydneysiders and visitors alike an unforgettable live event experience and is the perfect tourism postcard for Sydney.”

SailGP will continue to Race for the Future in Season 3, as the first climate positive sports and entertainment property it ensures its host cities share a commitment to climate action and a cleaner future. Season 3 sees the return of the world-first Impact League, tracking the positive actions teams make in terms of sustainability and inclusivity.

A range of on-water and on-land fan experiences will be on offer for the event providing Australian fans with a front row seat to witness the most technologically advanced catamarans ripping through Sydney Harbour at breathtaking speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h).

Tickets for the Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney will go on sale in October, 2022. For further information on fan experiences visit SailGP.com/Sydney .

Following on from the Australia team being crowned the champions of the first event in SailGP Season 3 in Bermuda last month, the team will prepare to compete in a few days at the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier on 18-19 June. Racing will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and for free on the Kayo Freebies platform in Australia.

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Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta: It’s a wrap!

Today’s weather was a turnaround from yesterday’s wet blowy day at the 2024 Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta, a glorious north-north/easterly wind on a sunny hot day made a difference to many results of yesterday – but not all.

Competitors have had a fabulous weekend in the Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s (MHYC) annual regatta and at the time of writing were back at the Club recalling the last two days with mates over a couple of drinks. Many chose the beach in front of the Club to relax, as it is a beautiful late afternoon.

Firecracker first Fareast 28R One-Design Australian Champion

Scott Lawson fired up his Firecracker crew to win the opening and final races, adding a couple of second places in between on the six windward/leeward courses to win the Championship. Peter Higgin’s Sparrow, which scored a pair of wins and a second today, gazumped Conrad Johnston’s Wildling 3 for second place. Johnston settled for third.

Lawson said, “We had a lovely final race. We had a horror start, tacked to port ducking all others, tacked onto a massive right hand shift and took about a minute and a half out of the fleet within 5 to 10 minutes.

“I think God waved his magic wand over us in that race.”

“It’s fabulous to win the first Nationals in the class and be the Australian Champion. I want to thank Middle Harbour Yacht Club, its race management committee and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron crew who looked after our course, they did a great job.”

“It’s great to see our sport embraced by so many sailors from across NSW and beyond, racing on a wide range of boats. We look forward to meeting competitors at the Club during the event."

Other news from the water is that the Super 50s (TP52’s) will sail hybrid courses. Starting and finishing in the Harbour, the courses will also include an offshore windward/leeward component.

The regatta also marks the first round of the TP52’s 2024 Pallas Capital Gold Cup Series. First Light (Peter White) and two-time Sydney Hobart winner, Quest (Craig Neil), were in first with their entries. Gordon Ketelebey (Zen) is expected and Marcus Blackmore is keen if he is able to get the new Hooligan back from the Port Lincoln Regatta in time. Others are yet to confirm.

Entries are growing in the Open Divisions that are scored under both IRC and ORC. Divisions 1 and 2 will sail three inshore windward/leeward races each day, sharing the Foxtrot course with the Sydney 38 NSW Championship.

Recent entries in the division include Bushranger (Gerry Hatton) and Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson). There are Insufficient Farr 40’s entered to justify a NSW Championship, so Bluetack (Brent Lawson) and Exile (Rob Reynolds) will boost numbers in Division 1.

Entries are open until 2359hrs, Tuesday 27 February, meaning one week remains for owners to take advantage of the Early Entry Fee.

For entry and Notice of Race, please visit: https://www.shr.mhyc.com.au

The regatta would not be possible without the support of CYCA, Manly YC, RANSA, RPAYC, RPEYC, RSYS, SASC, Sydney Flying Squadron and a collective team of 85 race management volunteers.  We are fortunate to also have the support of Nautilus Marine Insurance as principal sponsor along with supporting sponsors Quality Marine Clothing, Flagstaff Marine, Pacific Rigging, Maui Jim and Manly Spirits.

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CYCA Principal Sponsor

Cyca official sponsors, helly hansen, club marine, income asset management, sydney brewery, lgt crestone, the luxury collection, winnings appliances, roads and maritime services, cyca youth sailing academy sponsors and supporters, helly hansen, forecasts.global, vibe hotels, network marine, sun foundation.

Yacht Mark Twain being refurbished in bid to compete in Sydney to Hobart race once more

For the better part of five decades, one yacht returned to the starting line of the Sydney to Hobart race more than any other.

The timber and fibreglass hulled Mark Twain was built in 1971 and has competed in the race a record-breaking 26 times.

But since its last effort in 2018, it has languished at port.

The yacht's new owner, Rob Payne, who refers to himself as the boat's custodian, has grand plans to refurbish the vessel, a Sparkman and Stephens 39, and return the Mark Twain to its former glory.

Although he hopes to return the boat to the starting line of the Sydney to Hobart, he also believes the yacht can be used for a greater good.

Along with Beaconsfield mine disaster survivor Brant Webb , Mr Payne has plans to establish a group called Old Saltys, which will aim to use sailing as a vessel to empower youth through sharing knowledge.

"Sailing is a metaphor for life. You've got to trim your sails and set your course and you're gonna get buffeted around," he said.

The Old Salty's motto will be 'well-weathered wisdom', and the men believe they have a lot of life experience they can share with young people anywhere Mark Twain can sail.

Mine collapse survivor finds solace on the sea

Brant Webb, who was one of two miners rescued after spending 14 days trapped almost a kilometre underground when a Tasmanian mine collapsed in 2006, says sailing helped him after the ordeal.

"After Beaconsfield, if I was having a bad day I'd call up the GP and he'd say 'get the boat ready, we're going sailing'.

"I've been sailing since I was eight years old. All my life. That's the great thing about it, you can turn your phone off out there and no-one can find you."

Mr Webb said the Old Saltys group was intended for "sailors who are too old to race and too young to cruise".

"It gives us old folk a new lease on life. The whole thing is to connect people, to put the unity in community, which we lost during COVID."

Mr Payne, a recent transplant from New Zealand, said he was heartbroken by the condition of the Mark Twain when he first found it in 2020.

"When I saw it, it broke my heart," he said, adding that he had the opportunity to "do something about" refurbishing the "old girl".

"We're only ever the custodians of these extraordinary vessels."

Once a fine racing yacht, the Mark Twain had fallen into disrepair in port at George Town in recent years.

From its first entry in the Sydney to Hobart in 1971, the boat long held the steadily increasing record for the greatest number of entries in the iconic race, even managing to clinch podium finishes for its class on several occasions.

Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, it competed in more than 20 Sydney to Hobart races, and in 2002 became the first-ever boat to have sailed in 25.

"Thousands of men and women have sailed on this beautiful vessel," Mr Payne said.

It was bought and refurbished for its 26th entry by veteran Sydney to Hobart skipper Michael Spies in 2018, but that was the last time it took part.

Mr Payne spent several months last year refurbishing the boat's hull himself and on Wednesday, March 27, the mast and boom were removed to be restored by a Beauty Point shipwright.

Along with Mr Webb, he hopes to take the Mark Twain around Tasmania, Australia and New Zealand and share their knowledge of the seas.

"My encouragement to youth is to get into sailing and you know, become part of the community within those sailing clubs," Mr Payne said.

"You don't necessarily have to own a huge boat … you can be in a little sabot [dinghy] and have that experience on the water. It's life changing and transformational."

He is keen to share the refurbishment project with anyone who wants to be involved and hopes the Mark Twain will sail again in the next two to three years.

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