The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is now welcoming entries for the 2021/22 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore.

After a disrupted calendar in 2020/21, a full schedule is planned for the prestigious Pointscore this year, beginning with the 2021 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race on Saturday 31 July.

This will be followed by the Flinders Islet Race (Saturday 18 September), Tollgate Islands Race (Friday 15 October), Bird Island Race (Friday 12 November), Cabbage Tree Island Race (Friday 3 December) and the return of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on Sunday 26 December.

CYCA Commodore Noel Cornish AM said: “The Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore is one of the country’s most respected challenges in ocean racing. It brings together passionate sailors from across Australia and abroad.

“We particularly look forward to seeing the return of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast, Flinders Islet Race and Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, which were all impacted by last year’s restrictions, and are excited to introduce the Tollgate Islands Race (located off Batemans Bay).

“I would like to warmly thank Audi Centre Sydney for their ongoing support of the CYCA and wish competitors all the best.”

How it works

Points accrued across the six races will determine the winners of the overall trophies:

• Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (awarded to the overall IRC winner)
• Cape Byron Series (awarded to the overall ORCi winner)
• Tasman Performance Series (awarded to the overall PHS winner)
• Bass & Flinders Series (awarded to the overall scratch winner)
• Wild Rose Pointscore (encourages female participation across all boats in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore)

The 2021/22 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore will also see the introduction of a Corinthian IRC Division, featuring competitors with a fully Corinthian (amateur) crew.

Perpetual trophies are awarded to overall winners in each of the six races, as well as to the overall Pointscore champions.

The history

The CYCA first introduced the Blue Water Pointscore in 1958, won by Graham Newland’s Lion 35 Siandra.

Matt Donald and Chris Townsend’s TP52 Gweilo is the defending Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore champion.

Gweilo won IRC honours in the 2020 Bird Island Race and was third on IRC in the Cabbage Tree Island Race.

Only eight skippers have won the Jack Halliday Perpetual Trophy multiple times.

Visit the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore website for more information.

by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia