Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race fleet away in a light nor’easter
Friday April 11, 2025
A light north-easterly breeze on a warm sunny day set the scene for the 2025 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race start off Barrenjoey Headland at 1pm today, with mono and multihull boats of all sizes and weights, inclusive of two handed-entries, vying for line, overall and division wins in the 39th edition of the 226 nautical mile east coast classic.
“We had a spectacular start in a 10 knot north-easterly breeze on quite a big outrunning tide out of the Hawkesbury,” RPAYC Race Director, Nick Elliott said. “Everyone was well behaved and on it. It was pretty even off the start.”
Pretty Woman, Koa and Anarchy were fastest off the line. The majority stayed on starboard tack aiming at Box Head. “If you tacked to port, it didn’t look good with the amount of tide,” Elliott explained.
The three multihulls lined up next and Dara Johnston had Slingshot wound up nicely as they shot off towards Box Head.
At 3.30pm, the race tracker showed Antipodes, Koa, First Light, Sticky, J’Ouvert, Wings, Awen and Wind Cheetah had made an early commitment to the offshore route while others are dancing around the rhumbline route.
Most were looking forward to more breeze after midnight when it is due to go around to the east and build to 12-15 knots offshore. Which move pays of remains to be seen.
Weather guru, Roger ‘Clouds’ Badham, offered this advice: “You’d have to go 20 or so miles out to make the best of the increased wind. It’ll be a game of pick your way up the coast for maximum breeze and minimum current. There will be some rain tomorrow and little breeze in those places, so don’t get caught!”
This morning, as the 32 boat crews made final preparations at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, each pondered their fate, as the wind gods have concocted an interesting forecast that could fool the best of them.
Anarchy has gone offshore and is among the race favourites. Photo: Alex Dare
Although numbers are down, given Coffs Harbour Yacht Club marina is undergoing refurbishment and the region is still grappling with the after effects of Cyclone Alfred, it is an eclectic fleet and those two factors make it difficult to choose race favourites.
Seb Hultin owns Georgia Express, one of the smaller boats in the fleet. “A step below glamping,” he suggested of his Mumm 36.
On a serious note, he stated, “It will be a very tactical race that will be won or lost in the first 12 hours or so.
“We are a very light boat, so with rain and the light parts of the race, it will be hard for us. Our strategy is to keep boat moving and negotiate the light patches. We’ll try to capitalise on the fact we’re light, so that when the drag race starts and we can’t keep pace with the bigger heavier boats, we’ll already be well positioned. We hope!
Even so, Hultin says, “We’re looking forward to it because we haven’t done much sailing since the Hobart. We’re going to make it fun race and not worry too much about the results.”
Mark Griffith is normally at the helm of LCE Old School Racing, but has joined forces with Andy Kearnan on the latter’s TP52, Koa, which is in the running for line and overall wins. “Andy and I good mates, we sail on each other’s boats as do some of our crews,” he said.
“The forecast is for a light start. It will probably be east, then north-east, then south-east. A couple of the bigger boats might have the legs on us, but I think we have a chance.”
Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72, Antipodes and David Hows’ Open 60, Awen, skippered by Kiwi Olympian Sharon Ferris-Choat, are the big boats two in question.
“At this stage it looks like we will go wide on the course. The strong winds offshore will negate the current we’ll be pushing,” Griffith continued.
“A number of boats that could be in it (to win overall) as there’s some tricky transitions thrown it. I think boats like Anarchy (Grant Pocklington’s Bakewell-White 40) should be good once it gets into breeze. The small boats will get blown home, so if us bigger boats don’t get away early, some of the smaller ones will come home in pressure,” Griffith said.
All eyes on what's ahead on Antipodes. Photo: Alex Dare
Craig Douglas was among last year’s mass exodus when just three yachts finished the race: “We were first to the bar and everyone ridiculed me - and then they all fell like dominoes!”
Douglas skippered Popeye to third overall the previous year, beaten to the punch by a pair of two-handed entries. Eying the forecast and his Beneteau First 47.7, Douglas said, “Thirteen tons heavy – full of French furniture – can’t wait!
“To midnight it’s light, but tomorrow it will kick in. We’ll be OK we’ve got Julie Hodder navigating again – and we’ve got lots of food – so what can go wrong? We go very well when it blows, there’s no doubts about it, so we hope to get our chance.”
Darren Drew owns one of three multihulls in the race, Wind Cheetah, a regularly raced Arber 38 Cat Southeaster.
“The forecast is too light for my boat, but we do go well upwind when she points well, better than the other multis and a lot of the monos. It has to be 6-7 knots though. The race should be quite enjoyable. We’ve got good food and movies to watch. Better than my full-on racing days. I have a good crew, so I should be able to leave them to it and have a good sleep!
Now retired, Drew has plenty on the bucket list and has kept busy bringing Wind Cheetah up to a new level. “I’ve done a lot of preparation, because after the race, I’m doing four months of cruising, then the Alfreds’ Sydney to Auckland race in October.
Drew has added more solar panels, a watermaker, handholds, stanchions and upgraded the electrics, “It’s safer. We have a proper staysail too. It’s the best condition the boat’s ever been in and it’s all for the Sydney to Auckland race. We’ll stay on and do the Coastal Classic race there too.”
Of his multi rivals, “Slingshot (a Gunboat 68 skippered by Dara Johnston with Adrienne Cahalan navigating) is powerful. If it gets breeze, it will be off, but will be sticky in light air,” Drew surmised.
Back on the smaller scale is John Lattimore and Michael McDonald’s Inglis 39, Stampede. Tactics, Lattimore said, “Is really up to the navigator, but we’ll probably run up the shore and see how far we can get. Our aim is to finish.”
Inner Circle is their main competition. “I live a couple of houses away from the skipper and we always have good competition with each other. Half the Stampede and Inner Circle crews came down from the Lake together on a bus this morning and we’re both well supported by Lake Macquarie Yacht Club.”
Stampede and her owners did their first Pittwater Coffs race in 2016. Lattimore remembers, “When we got up there, we stayed together in a house, drank too much and discussed chartering a boat for Cork Week (in Ireland) and stay in a castle. And we did. Who knows what will happen after this race…”
The appeal of the race, Lattimore said, “Is we love the race management here (RPAYC), it’s an easy race to get ready for and it’s not too far from home. I don’t how we’ll go in the race, but we’ll all enjoy it.”
On the line are the race records. The multihull record stands at 17 hours 3 minutes, set by Dale Mitchell and crew on Rex in 2023. The monohull record, set in 2022, is held by Peter Harburg’s Black Jack in the time of 17hrs 10mins 31secs.
Follow competing yachts on the race tracker at: https://cf.yb.tl/pittwater2025
For all information, including entry list please go to: www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au
by Di Pearson
Rex in flight. Photo: Rex - Orma 60 Sailing
Line honours to Koa in Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race
Saturday April 12, 2025
Koa, the TP52 owned by Andy Kearnan and co-skippered by he and Mark Griffith, has taken line honours in the 2025 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race that started off Barrenjoey Headland on Friday at 1pm.
Koa finished the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s annual east coast classic at 11.10.21.46pm this evening, in the time of 1 day, 10hrs 21mins 46secs. It was well outside the record time set by Peter Harburg’s super maxi, Black Jack, of 17hrs 10mins 31secs in 2022, but Koa’s crew sailed an exemplary race.
Line honours to Koa. Photo: Alex Dare/ Pittwater Coffs.
Koa also currently holds top spot for overall honours and will be hard to beat. Behind her, six yachts are battling for a podium finish, the order changing throughout the race so far. Shortly after midnight, Richard Hudson’s modified Farr 45, Pretty Woman, had assumed second place overall, overtaking Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72, Antipodes, from Hong Kong.
Anarchy (Grant Pocklington), Sticky (Richard Harris), last year’s line honours victor, XS Moment (Ray Hudson) and Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson) are also in the picture with the first two-handed entry, Verite, sitting eighth overall.
The J/99, Verite (Paul Beath/Teresa Michell), has led the Two-Handed division since early on, but Edward Curry-Hyde/Lincoln Dews on Toucan, a Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300, have kept them honest throughout and there is little between them in the 39th running of the 226 nautical mile race. Lake Macquarie yacht, Q (Mike Shelley/Ian Gilkes) is holding third place.
There are three multihulls racing. The Dara Johnston skippered Slingshot has led the trio on the water since the start. The Gunboat 68 had approximately 25 nautical miles to reach the finish at midnight. She will finish well outside the multihull record of the ORMA 60, Rex (Dale Mitchell), of 17h 3m, set in 2023.
However, it is Darren Drew’s Wind Cheetah that holds top spot in OMR from Stephen Barton’s J’Ouvert.
The fleet is sailing close to the coast, different to yesterday and earlier today when many opted to take digs offshore.
At 8.00am this morning, the fleet was spread between those hugging the coast and boats either side of the rhumbline course.
Koa was leading the 32-boat fleet, clipping along at 9.5 knots having covered 112 nautical miles since yesterday’s 1pm start. She was sailing offshore, east of the rhumbline. Hot on her transom was Sticky (Richard Harris).
Giving chase was Slingshot, 7nm in arrears and Antipodes, a further 2 miles behind. Then came three overall contenders: Anarchy, sailing east of the rhumbline, while Khaleesi and Pretty Woman were hugging the coast.
Behind them, the battle was on in the IRC Two-Handed division. Verite had the bit between teeth, leading overall. She was being chased by Toucan (Edward Curry-Hyde/Lincoln Dews) which led Verite by 2 miles on the water. There are seven two-handed entries, six of them vying for IRC honours.
Last on line is Western Morning. Mark Ayto and Anto Sweetapple. The S&S 34 is some 18 miles behind their nearest competitors.
It is a very different race to last year when just three boats finished in extremely light and patchy air.
Six yachts have retired due to time pressures. Popeye, Avalanche and Wots Next are headed home to Sydney, while Inner Circle and Stampede are heading home to Lake Macquarie. Trouble & Strife from Queensland is motoring on to Coffs Harbour.
Follow competing yachts on the race tracker at: cf.yb.tl/pittwater2025
For all information, including entry list please go to: www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au
by Di Pearson
Koa takes line and overall double in tough Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race
Sunday April 13, 2025
After taking line honours in the 2025 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race late last night, Koa, owned by Andy Kearnan and co-skippered by he and Mark Griffith, was today declared overall winner of the 226 nautical mile east coast classic.
Koa, a TP52, finished the tactically challenging 226 nautical mile race in the time of 1 day, 10hrs 21mins 46secs. She was followed over the line just over two hours later by Geoff Hill’s Santa Cruz 72, Antipodes from Hong Kong. Slingshot, the multihull skippered by Dara Johnston was next, then came Richard Harris’ Cookson 50, Sticky.
Kearnan attested: “It was a crazy race.”
“First, heading out from Pittwater ultimately at 130 True Wind Direction, whilst the course was 30ish, in order that we could get into the best wind to set us up for the rest of the race. That was a huge commitment. It was 30 nautical miles or so before we tacked north!
“Second, in 40 or so years of offshore sailing, I have never seen so many horrible storm cells. Thankfully, we managed to navigate most of them, sailing away from the course to avoid the worst of it.
“But there were moments there where we were running hard downwind with only a mainsail up trying to keep the boat upright and our sails together in order to be able to finish the race. It was honestly pretty crazy. I’m glad we’re safely in Coffs - and in good shape with line honours and a handicap win in the bag,” the Sydney yachtsman said.
Two yachts from the host club filled out the other podium places – two Hudson owners who are not related. Just after midnight, Richard Hudson’s modified Farr 45, Pretty Woman, moved into second place overall and stayed there. She also won ORC overall, from XS Moment and Anarchy.
Early this morning, Ray Hudson’s XS Moment moved up to take third place. The XP44 took line honours in last year’s fickle race when she also finished third overall. This year, she also won PHS, from Pretty Woman and Anarchy.
Choosing the coastal route when the forecast advised otherwise, Richard Hudson explained: “Experience made me sail close to the coast. I’m a great believer in sailing the shortest distance (he covered 250 nautical miles. Only two-handers, Toucan and Verite did better, respectively sailing 245 and 348nms).
“I look around me and see what’s happening,” the veteran offshore racer said. “We got in a similar place to XS Moment and I told the guys we had to sail well enough to keep time on them. We did that and got all the transitions right.”
Hudson said while they had a few slowdowns, “We didn’t stop. I reckon we did more sail changes than I can count. It was hard and the team worked really hard.”
Included in his crew were inaugural Two-Handed division Sydney Hobart winners, Jules Hall and Jan ‘Clogs Scholten, along with his daughter, Anneliese Scholten. Carl Crafoord and his son Ben were also aboard.
“All the other crew bar two have won the Sydney Hobart or won the Corinthian division of the Hobart. We had a good team,” Hudson said. “The oldest is 75, the youngest 18 and the boat is 29 years.”
Pretty Woman had a dream run in the last 12 hours of the race. “It was all downwind. We saw 18 knots and had a great ride in to the finish. We’re very happy with the outcome.”
Early in the race, Koa was challenged by Richard Harris’ Cookson 50, Sticky, which led the overall standings. The two were neck and neck, with Koa sailing wide on the course. Sticky took a dig in and Koa led from that point on in the 39th edition of the race.
Antipodes then tried to stay in touch with Koa on the water, but couldn’t hang on, so ultimately placed ninth overall. Anarchy (Grant Pocklington), Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson) and Mercury (Mark Tinworth/Mark Waterhouse), which had long been in the picture, turned up the heat on Antipodes as did the lead pair of two-handers, which came home with breeze.
The J/99, Verite (Paul Beath/Teresa Michell), led the Two-Handed division from early on. Edward Curry-Hyde/Lincoln Dews on Toucan, a Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300, were just in front of them on the water, but trailed them overall.
That was until this morning when Toucan overtook to claim the overall prize and win IRC Division 2 (from Verite), made up of fully crewed and two-handed boats.
Edward Curry-Hyde: “We’re very tired. It was a tough race. Verite kept coming back at us, we’d get away and they would catch us again. It was a hard fought battle the whole way.
“It was gruelling because it was so variable and the rain squalls kept coming through the night. It took a lot of determination to keep going. Trying to decide where to go was hard too. Models said to go offshore, but they went beyond where the current was. There was 3 knots against you and for a small boat, that’s hard.”
Curry-Hyde said they intended to head offshore, “but then we got good conditions and thought coming up the coast would be good. We knew it would drop us into a hole, which it did, but then we were picking up strong winds. It was fantastic.
“It was Lincoln’s and my first major race together. I really enjoyed it. We are both very involved in everything. And it’s nice to have someone fit and young to encourage you to get up and do so many sail changes when you don’t want to,” Curry-Hyde finished with a laugh.
In the multihulls Darren Drew’s Arber 38 Cat Southeaster, Wind Cheetah, took top place overall under OMR from Stephen Barton’s Whitehaven design, J’Ouvert.
On docking in Coffs Harbour, Drew stated: “It was the most beautiful, frustrating, painful, challenging and amazing all rolled into one ocean race I have ever done! Lots of rain. And the current…
“Thankfully, I had great crew with good cheer who kept pulling on sheets. We fell into a hole for an hour and 10 minutes, flopping around, crashing and bashing. It was frustrating watching the competition that we’d made gains on sail away from us. We finally started picking our way through the fleet and it was fun chasing down some of the keelboats.
“We had a few wins along the way too. Good race, well organised and good camaraderie among the crews,” concluded Drew who can put it all behind him as he is heading off for a four month cruise.
Wind Cheetah won the Multihull division. Photo: RPAYC
Crews were welcomed into Coffs Harbour and Coffs Harbour Yacht Club where two presentations were held this afternoon to accommodate those boats yet to finish.
At the time of writing five boats were still racing. Last on line is Western Morning, the lovely classic S&S 34 sailed by owner Mark Ayto and Anto Sweetapple.
Six yachts retired, all citing time pressures: Avalanche, Inner Circle, Popeye, Stampede, Summer Salt, Trouble & Strife and Wots Next.
Follow competing yachts on the race tracker at: cf.yb.tl/pittwater2025
For all information, including entry list please go to: www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au
by Di Pearson