Yachting News
Southport Yacht Club’s entry in the 2025 Noakes Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race, the yacht Esprit crossed the finish line off Main Beach at 04:42:48 on Tuesday 19 July 2025, just behind Wild Rose with another SYC Member Kevin Lloyd-Thomas aboard.
The race started in a fresh NE wind which quickly increased to 25-30kn as the fleet passed North Head. The wind continued on the nose until Esprit was abeam Port Stephens, north of Newcastle. As the wind started to swing the crew were excited in anticipation of the Westerly wind which had been forecast at the CYCA weather briefing pre-race. Unfortunately, the Westerly never materialised, until that is we were trying to head WNW as we headed to the finish line off Main Beach from Coolangatta. – great! It was an exciting race from start to finish.
The race started on a rather short start line just off Rose Bay in Sydney with 61 yachts of various sizes and boat speeds from a small Currawong 30 through to the 100 foot Wild Thing whose rule for the start appeared to be ‘might is right’. We had him on starboard but do you think I was going to call him? Not a chance, we tacked away. From Port Stephens, we raised our Jib Top and did not pull it down until we had cleared Tweed Heads and needed to point towards the finish line when we replaced it with light No1. Esprit’s finish time was 2 days, 15 hours and 07 minutes. We were 46th over the line, 6th in Division and 11th out of 33 in Corinthian PHS, a Division reserved only for amateur sailors, no paid crew. All in all, Esprit’s result in this iconic race was pretty impressive especially considering that the crew had not been able to sail the yacht for over 7 months and the new mast only went in a week ahead of the race. We on Esprit would like to thank the Southport Yacht Club for all of your support and for being the ‘finishing Yacht club’. The arrival in Southport was brilliant and it was a thrill for the crew to see the General Manager, Mr Brett James at out berth to welcome us in at 05:30 in the morning! The Noakes Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race is a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable race up the coast of northern NSW and back into Queensland. During the race, the course passes some of the most spectacular coastline in Australia including Port Stephens. Forster, Pt Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Yamba, Balina, Byron Bay and my personal favourite; ‘Hat Head!’ I would personally recommend it to our SYC Offshore Fleet. It is a perfect ‘primer’ for racing further north in the Gold Coast to Mackay Yacht Race.
Also racing was Vice Commodore Wayne Kirby on Denali and David Howes, skipper of Awen. On official duties representing the club was Commodore Glenn Burrell and PR & Partnerships Adrian Bold.

Several of our Oxenford Academy sailors competed at Gill Youth Week, hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. This prestigious regatta attracts young sailors from across Queensland and interstate, offering an exciting week of racing and development across multiple classes. Our sailors did a fantastic job representing Southport Yacht Club, with standout results including a 3rd place in the ILCA 6 fleet for Joe Thompson, a 2nd place in the Optimist Intermediate fleet for Jack Sturm, and a 3rd overall in the Optimist Open fleet for Lyla Greenwood. Flynn Hammel also tied for 3rd in the Optimist Green fleet.
Congratulations to all of our SYC competitors:
- Tanner Arendsen (Bazinga)
- Mariella Brady (Sea Biscuit)
- Henry Campbell (Stingray)
- Lewis Falconer (Remaining Nameless)
- Jozee Fowler (Barracuda)
- Finntin Griffin (Jet Boat)
- Lyla Greenwood (Wizz Fizz)
- Flynn Hammel (Ocean Spirit)
- Alistair Kelly (Dominator)
- Stirling Kelly (Tornado)
- Teegan Mitchell (Frostier)
- Bentley O’Sullivan (Knot Stoppin)
- Matthew Sinnamon (Slippery Too)
- Jack Sturm (Super Mario)
- Joe Thompson (It’s a Breeze)
We’re proud of each of you—your hard work, determination, and sportsmanship were on full display. Well done!

BRISBANE WOMEN’S KEELBOAT CUP (RQYS)
Congratulations to our local SYC team the ‘GCCM Pink Diamonds’, who won Line Honours and finished 8th on PHS corrected time onboard the Commodore’s Reichel Pugh 42, competing against 10 other teams this past weekend, 5th-6th July. Representing SYC was Skipper Phoebe Reedman and crew Emma Ballie, Annie Eastgate, Jess Greenwood, Ben Kelly, Tomoko Nakanishi, Jackie O’Connell, Lee Randall and Jasmine Ruck.

UPCOMING AWAY EVENTS
- AIRLIE BEACH RACE WEEK
- HAMILTON ISLAND RACE WEEK
UPCOMING SYC SPECIAL EVENTS
MANDATORY BRIEFING: 11AM RACE DAY, SYC HOLLYWELL
MANDATORY BRIEFING: 11AM RACE DAY, SYC HOLLYWELL
CORAL SEA BLUE WATER POINTSCORE SERIES
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Southport Yacht Club has launched a blue water pointscore, combining four of our special events into an overall annual series! Earning a fantastic perpetual trophy, the Coral Sea Pointscore Series Winner will be determined by the lowest IRC points score result over the series, with scores accumulated over the four races with one race drop. The four races included in the 2025/2026 season are:
SYC ACADEMY
Sailing at Oxenford – by Ashlea Kernahan
We’ve wrapped up another fantastic School Holiday Sailing Program, with over 120 kids across the two weeks enjoying time on the water, learning new skills, and making friends. The second week brought warm sunny days with light to moderate breezes – perfect conditions to build confidence and keep the fun going. Thank you to our incredible team of instructors for creating such a welcoming and supportive environment, and to all the parents for getting their sailors involved these holidays. We loved seeing so many smiling faces each day.
This Sunday, our July Adult Learn to Sail course continued, with participants progressing well and starting to master the basics of sailing with confidence.
Sailor of the Week – Jerome Bae (Teens)
This week, we’re celebrating Jerome Bae from our Teens group! Jerome has shown excellent focus and determination on the water these holidays, tackling every challenge with a positive attitude. Well done, Jerome!
Upcoming Programs
Adult Learn to Sail – August Intake
Starts Sunday, August 3
Perfect for beginners — 3 Sundays, no experience needed.
Register here: https://www.oxenfordwatersportscentre.com.au/events/273241
Term 3 Kids & Teens Learn to Sail
Starting this weekend – limited spots remaining.
Book Now: https://southportyachtclub.com.au/sailing/sailing-academy/
RACING RESULTS 2025/2026
SYC Special Events:
Club Division Results:
- Offshore Division Results
- Thursday Twilight Offshore Series Results
- Thursday Twilight Results
- Inshore Division Results
- Off the Beach Catamarans Division
- Off the Beach Dinghies Results



