Please select your home edition
Edition
Noble Marine 2022 YY - LEADERBOARD

Newcastle steeling itself for SailFest TP52 showdown

by Mark Rothfield 13 Apr 12:44 BST 15-16 April 2023
NCYC SailFest © Salty Dingo

Newcastle's working harbour will doff its hard hat to the sight of vibrant spinnakers and eager crews as the fourth SailFest Newcastle Regatta is staged this weekend, bringing a flotilla of grand prix yachts and fleet-footed performance craft to the region.

The headline attraction is the City of Newcastle TP52 Gold Cup, with 10 starters for Act 2 of the season's four-part overall championship. It's the largest gathering of these high-performance racers in Australia this year, before the fleet transitions to Sail Port Stephens in early May.

Among the pre-race favourites is Geoff Boettcher's Secret Mens Business, fresh from taking out the recent Lincoln Week Regatta and Australian Yachting Championship crown. Returning are Gweilo (Matt Donald), Matador (David Doherty), Smuggler (Sebastian Bohm), Quest (Craig Neil) and Zen (Gordon Ketelby), while Peter White's First Light, Mark Spring's Highly Sprung and Damien Parkes's Denali will make their first visit.

Local entry Frantic (Michael Martin) is also lining up.

In a recent media release regarding SailFest, the class stated: "We all know how good this regatta is. Great racing, plenty of nice accommodation and restaurants within walking distance of club. Fantastic berthing all together outside the club, with dock drinks and nibbles Saturday after racing."

Last year's Gold Cup went down to the wire, with a start-line collision resulting in Ichi Ban being disqualified from the fourth and deciding race. It tipped the three-time Rolex Sydney Hobart winner out of first place overall, Gweilo claiming victory and Smuggler moving up to second.

The 2023 Transport for NSW Offshore Series has 16 entries, including Darryl Hodgkinson's Carkeek 40 Victoire. Lake Macquarie Farr 31 Sofarr is the early IRC favourite for Division 1.

Next year's SailFest will coincide with the Australian Yachting Championships, 10 years after Newcastle last hosted the national series. As such, 2023 will be viewed by visiting crews as a chance to gain local knowledge of Stockton Bight and the renowned waters off Newcastle's beaches.

Newcastle Councillor Peta Winney-Baartz said that City of Newcastle was pleased to be a long-standing supporter of this world-class event.

"As the precursor for the prestigious Australian Championships, SailFest Newcastle Regatta attracts the cream of Australia's sailing community including the reigning national champions and their yacht Secret Men's Business, which has been trucked in all the way from Adelaide to take part in a hotly-contested weekend of competition," Cr Winney-Baartz said.

"Showing off our world-class sailing waters and spectacular working harbour, SailFest enhances our reputation as an events city while also providing an invaluable opportunity to showcase Newcastle's broader attractions to participants and visitors. It will deliver a welcome economic boost for local businesses who benefit from the additional sailors and support crew who travel to Newcastle for the weekend."

The 2023 SailFest Newcastle Regatta is supported by the City of Newcastle and Transport for NSW.

More information at event website: sailfest.com.au

Related Articles

Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup Act 3
Matador makes it three from three Matador has done it again, winning three from three Acts in the Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup, a shortened Act 3, sailed these past three days, was held in conjunction with Sail Port Stephens and hosted by Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club. Posted on 7 May
Sail Port Stephens Windward-Leeward Series day 3
Crews tired but happy after an exciting final day The third and final day of the NSW Yachting Championships and Act 3 of the TP52 Gold Cup at Sail Port Stephens was an exciting one for competitors, and for the race team. Posted on 7 May
Sail Port Stephens Windward-Leeward Series day 2
Three divisions of yachts enjoy a passage race around the islands Saturday sunshine and up to 22 degrees made for a perfect morning at Sail Port Stephens as crews prepared for the second day of the NSW Yachting Championships and Act 3 of the TP52 Gold Cup. Posted on 6 May
Sail Port Stephens Windward-Leeward Series day 1
NSW Yachting Championships and Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup into action The sun is out, bring on the wind... NSW Yachting Championships and Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup into action at Sail Port Stephens. Posted on 5 May
Sail Port Stephens Windward-Leeward Series preview
23 yachts to contest the 3-day event With the Sail Port Stephens Passage Series now successfully run and won, the regatta gets its game face on from tomorrow as 23 yachts contest the 3-day Windward-Leeward Series Posted on 4 May
SailFest Newcastle Regatta day 2
Matador takes win as SMB crew takes swim "We shall fight off the beaches... and we shall never surrender" may well have been the catchcry of David Doherty's TP52 Matador today as it charged like a bull towards its second consecutive Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup victory. Posted on 16 Apr
Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup Act 2 overall
Matador too good at SailFest Newcastle Regatta David Doherty and his reigning TP52 Gold Cup champion, Matador, is proving a hard act to follow - Doherty won Act 1 of the Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup in March and romped home to victory in Act 2 at the SailFest Newcastle Regatta. Posted on 16 Apr
Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup Act 2 - Day 1
Quest wins at SailFest Newcastle Regatta Craig Neil's Quest has scored victory on the opening day of Act 2 of the 2023 Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup series, held in conjunction with Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club's (NCYC) fourth running of SailFest Newcastle Regatta. Posted on 15 Apr
SailFest Newcastle Regatta day 1
Newcastle Harbour showed more of its wile side than wild side As much a rite of passage as just a passage race, the opening salvo of SailFest Newcastle Regatta's offshore series and TP52 Gold Cup Act 2 again lived up to its billing as being tactically challenging and scenically spectacular. Posted on 15 Apr
Spectators to be cock-a-hoop about Harbour action
2023 Newcastle SailFest regatta will rekindle the city's proud maritime tradition This weekend's 2023 Newcastle SailFest regatta will rekindle the city's proud maritime tradition and salty sailing history, with action aplenty on the harbour and off the beaches. Posted on 14 Apr