‘Catch Me If You Can’ – Smuggler Puts Down the Hammer and Goes Unchallenged
The reigning Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Champion, Smuggler, set a clear goal to open her offshore season with strength and continue her streak of top performances. She delivered on that promise, outpacing the competition and never looking back.
From the race start, a classic strategic dilemma presented itself: stay close to shore in flatter water and slightly softer breeze, or gamble on the offshore route, chasing stronger pressure but contending with larger waves. By the end of day one, 28 of the 61 yachts had committed to the offshore option, drawn by the extra pressure offered in the wide lane.
The offshore pack included the fleet’s largest contenders, the TP52s and both Class40s, but also several smaller yachts like the JPK 11.80 Bacchanal and the Double Handed J/99s Balancing Act and Jupiter.
Wild Thing 100 Wins Line Honours |
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The IRC Podium
Smuggler is joined on the podium by two international entrants, in second is Bacchanal from the United States and Antipodes from Hong Kong is in Third.
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
Italian sailors Massimiliano “Max” Fonzo and Matteo Brignoli delivered an impressive debut to their Double Handed racing calendar, securing Line Honours in the Double Handed Division and IRC Honours in IRC Division 1, aboard their Akilaria RC2 Voltstar Yeah Baby. Last year’s overall winners (crewed) of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
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.
Reflecting on their performance, Brignoli said, “Our crew strategy and planning really paid off. The goal from here is clear: to race hard in every offshore event leading up to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.”
Toucan is 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 is 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.
In a strong Double Handed fleet, Toucan beat Balancing Act and Jupiter, both of whom committed to the offshore strategy.
“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.”
While many expected lighter conditions inshore, Toucan benefited from a bit of luck: “We were lucky that the breeze inshore on Monday was stronger than forecast,” he admitted.
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.
Toucan is also in the midst of optimising her IRC rating. The team chose to sail with symmetrical spinnakers and without utilising their water ballast “It was the perfect race to try it,” Curry-Hyde said. “With a lot of tight reaching, it came down to the balance of the boat. By reefing the main and carrying the full J0 and gennaker staysail, we found a set-up that really worked.”
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