The 2025 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race was also the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Season Opener — launching the offshore sailing season on a perfect winter’s day – and giving spectators and competitors plenty to look forward to. The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race looms large on the calendar, promising another world-class contest in December, and many boats have got eyes on the inaugural Trans-Tasman Yacht Race to Auckland, set to start 27th February 2026.
The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race set off from Sydney Harbour on 26th July at 1300hrs, the 384-nautical mile course finished off at Main Beach on the Gold Coast, just north of Coolangatta, with the largest yacht in the fleet Wild Thing 100 taking Line Honours and crossing the finish line at 2204hrs on Saturday 27 July, after 1 day, 9 hours, 4 minutes and 12 seconds of racing.
The rest of the fleet came in over the next couple of days, having passed by some of Australia’s most iconic coastal landmarks along the way. Here’s an irresistible breakdown of what happened.
Wild Thing 100 Wins Line Honours
Moneypenny returned to the Gold Coast race with a new owner and skipper, Robert Appleyard. The boat won the race in 2022, and gave Wild Thing 100 a good run for their money off the starting line, but once past Sydney Heads Wild Thing 100 led the pack all the way. Owner and skipper Grant Wharington reflected on the race after receiving Line Honours and how they handled the conditions, “We experienced wind speeds up to 37 knots, but we handled it okay, but definitely bumpy and plenty of slamming, he said. “We ended up a little further offshore than we normally would. Usually, you race up the coast trying to stay inside the rhumbline, but we found ourselves about 45 nautical miles offshore around Coffs Harbour. There was a bit of a wind shadow there which we wanted to avoid, it may not have been as much as models predicted, but it was noticeable.”
Smuggler Races Far Offshore and Proves Unbeatable
The first non-mini maxi to exit Sydney Harbour was Sebastian Bohm’s Smuggler, skippered by Tim Davis, quickly followed by Highly Sprung, Koa, Antipodes, Frantic and Sticky. Smuggler, stormed across the finish line at 0714hrs on 28 July.
Davis and Tactician Stephen McConaghy took charge of race tactics early on, throwing down the gauntlet with a clear offshore strategy. After exiting Sydney Heads, Smuggler headed 30–50 nautical miles offshore, maintaining an impressive average speed of 9.1 knots over the 384-nautical-mile course.
McConaghy joked, “We didn’t plan on tacking or gybing the whole race. There was a running joke on board that we didn’t even know how to sail on the other tack anymore. Eventually, we had to tack several times to reach the finish. Before doing so, the crew double-checked the rigging on the starboard side to make sure nothing had been damaged without us noticing.”
On the sea state and conditions, the duo explained the importance of protecting the yacht: “We focused on peeling off the back of each wave rather than slamming straight over the top. We did a great job with that, which was especially important on the first night.”
International Competitors
There were three international entries competing: Bacchanal from the United States, Antipodes from Hong Kong and V5 from New Zealand.
Joining the Bacchanal crew is Alex Nolan, fresh from his victory in the Rolex Sydney Hobart onboard Celestial V70. He has traded the 70-foot reaching giant for a smaller but capable and fast alternative and will continue in his role as navigator.
Bacchanal and Antipodes made it onto the IRC podium and second and third places respectively. After nearly 24 hours of racing, Bacchanal made a bold tactical shift off Seal Rocks, heading further east to jump across the southbound current and rejoin the offshore group in a bid to reshape the leaderboard.
Navigator Alex Nolan explained their thinking: “It was always the plan to be offshore around this area. We just needed to pick the moment and this seemed like a good one. We had a good shift and pressure and went for it.”
At the time Bacchanal crossed from the inshore track to the offshore lane, she was placed ninth overall on IRC but the move paid dividends, lifting her into second place by the finish.
Antipodes was also part of the offshore contingent. As a heavier Santa Cruz 72, the crew opted for the offshore route to chase stronger pressure, something the boat needs to perform at her best. The decision was only finalised on Friday night, when updated weather models showed that choosing the inshore option would add six hours to their race time, this would definitely put her back places on the overall list.
The next challenge was deciding how far offshore to go. They aimed to thread a gap between two opposing southbound currents. While Smuggler found a favourable northerly eddy, described by Antipodes’ Bradshaw Kellett as the “perfect gap”, Antipodes just missed it as they were not as far north as they would have liked to have been. Their commitment to the offshore strategy paid off nonetheless.
Double Handed Line Honours
There was plenty of action in the ‘race within a race,’ with 14 Double Handed yachts entered in the competition and the J/99 yacht design dominating the field and accounting for 6 of the 14; Balancing Act (Tony Craner and Rick Plain), Blue Planet (Chris O’Neill and Jason Keg), Jupiter (Ian Smith and John Cross), Rum Rebellion (Shane Connelly and Tony Sutton), The Gaffer (Rob Frayne and Richard Dumas) and Verite (Paul Beath and Stephen Prince).
However the Akilaria RC2 Voltstar Yeah Baby secured Line Honours in the Double Handed Division and IRC Honours in IRC Division 1, with Italian sailors Massimiliano “Max” Fonzo and Matteo Brignoli delivering an impressive debut to their Double Handed racing calendar.
Opting for a bold offshore strategy early on, the team headed 30–50 nautical miles east, crossing the Eastern Australian Current (EAC) promptly to tap into the westward wind flow predicted later in the race.
The pair endured rough conditions and a cold, sleepless night offshore, but their tactical commitment paid dividends. When the anticipated westerly wind shift arrived, Voltstar Yeah Baby was perfectly positioned to push hard using a jib top and genoa staysail combination, maintaining strong pace despite equipment setbacks such as a snapped tackline mid-race.
In the final stretch, the duo battled a challenging wind hole near Point Danger that allowed rival Daguet 2 to overtake the duo. Nevertheless, they crossed the finish line at Gold Coast Main Beach just as daylight faded, marking an impressive first ocean race together.
Women Skippers
Among the 61 competitors, seven were women Owners/Skippers. They were on Currawong (Katherine Veel and Beth Higgs), First Light (Elizabeth Tucker), Min River (Jiang Lin), Mako (Emily Sellens), Mondo (Lisa Callaghan) and Supernova (Felicity Nelson).
First Light has an all-women team put together to compete in the 80th anniversary of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in December, and the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race was their first official outing together.
Before the race Elizabeth Tucker said, “This is where my true passion lies. I’m so excited to be training women alongside me on First Light and building a strong, capable team for the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart.
The squad has been selected, and we’re now into training. Their enthusiasm and energy has been incredible. There’s such a strong mix of courage, curiosity, and drive. We’re learning fast, pushing limits, and forming something special together. Watching these women grow in confidence and skill and fall in love with ocean sailing the way I have is the most rewarding part. It’s early days, but I already know this will be one of the highlights of my entire campaign.”
Toucan was the Top Performer of the Inshore Competitors
In a race where the offshore side of the track delivered most of the top IRC results, Toucan stood out. Co-skippered by Edward Curry-Hyde and Billy Sykes, Toucan was the only yacht in the IRC Overall top ten to take the inshore route. Finishing an impressive fourth overall and claiming victory in the Double Handed IRC Division.
“We pushed very hard,” Curry-Hyde said. “Sunday in particular, the conditions were perfect for us going past Ballina and Cape Byron. Equipped with J0, (a Code Zero with a smaller draft) and gennaker staysail, a reefed main and sitting around 60 degrees TWA. The highest speed we hit was 14 knots, not huge, but we were averaging really consistent speeds.”
Their decision to go inshore was made spontaneously, “We were watching Min River closely at the start and said we’d follow her, but stay inside further west. The idea was that the rest of the Double Handed fleet would be further out than us.” Curry-Hyde explained.
In a light-hearted moment during the interview, Min River’s crew, Jiang Lin and Jan Scholten, joked that they had followed Toucan inshore, while Edward believed it was the other way around.
