Having been on cruise control earlier this month for the Commodores Cup Passage Series, Sail Port Stephens 2025 now goes up a gear for the Performance Series starting tomorrow (April 25) and running through to Sunday.
Four major trophies are up for grabs – the NSW Yachting Championships with nine entries, Pallas Capital Gold Cup Act 3 for TP52s involving eight yachts, Rob Hampshire ORC Trophy, and the Super Racer Cruiser Series that’s attracted nine yachts.
The latter is a brand new blue-ribbon event for large, powerful and prestigious sailing yachts, including Sandy Oatley’s RP66 Wild Oats X, David Hows’ IMOCA Open 60 Awen, Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes and more. The ‘baby’ of the fleet is local boat 51st Project, a Beneteau First 50 owned by Julian Bell.
The Super RC division will start off the Nelson Bay breakwall at 11.30am each day, heading offshore on a passage race before finishing off the breakwall. Accommodating the extra speed, six new longer-distance courses were created to take the yachts as far seawards as Broughton Island.
Another change for the event is that the TP52 and IRC fleets will sail their windward-leeward races inshore, using the length and breadth of Salamander Bay. On Saturday, the passage race will start offshore near Fingal Spit then head around the majestic islands.
While all eyes will be on reigning Australian Champion Matador, which claimed the first two Acts, the tidal-influenced inshore waters will add a new level of tactical intrigue.
Favourites in the IRC fleet are Southport’s Let’s Get It On and Newcastle entry KD1, a Farr 40. Sam Haynes brings his Cape 31 Celestial and will face sistership Kukukerchu owned by David Ross.
Gordon Ketelbey is using this event to build a crew combination for the Admirals Cup, competing in the Farr 40 Zen rather than the TP52 which is England bound. Onboard are two outstanding young talents from the 16ft Skiffs, Joel Beashel and Banjo Nicholson, along with fellow teen Oliver Guanaria.
Winds ranging from 10-15 knots are predicted for the three days, gradually swinging from the north-east to south-west, which will provide near perfect sailing conditions.
“It’s shaping up to be a fantastic long weekend of racing, given the size and quality of this fleet,” race director Paul O’Rourke says. “We had 110 yachts the first week, almost 30 this weekend, and at least 70 scheduled for the Bay Series on May 2-4, so the event keeps growing bigger and better.”
Sail Port Stephens is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism agency Destination NSW and Port Stephens Council, along with subsidiary sponsors.
