The 2020 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, a major lead-up event prior to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, has been rescheduled to start in October.

Previously scheduled to commence in late July, the 384-nautical-mile Noakes Sydney Gold Coast had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19-related restrictions and concerns.

The 2020 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast is now due to start on Saturday, 3 October, as the second race in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s highly regarded Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series.

This announcement, it is hoped, will form part of a wider calendar of rescheduled and adjusted events for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) in 2020, to be confirmed as early as the end of May – but always dependent on Government advice and restrictions.

“We are incredibly pleased to be able to announce a provisional start date for the rescheduled 2020 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race,” CYCA Commodore Paul Billingham said.

“The safety of competitors, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders always remains the number-one priority and, while it wasn’t ideal to reschedule initially, we absolutely understand and respect the importance and challenge associated with flattening the curve related to coronavirus infections.

“We’re very much looking forward to recommencing sailing in the not-too-distant future and look forward to staging another successful Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in the later timeslot of the first weekend of October.

“And a huge ‘thank you’, it must be said, to all of Australia’s frontline workers and respondents who have so successfully helped us navigate this extraordinarily challenging period thus far.”

The Notice of Race for the 2020 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast will be released shortly, along with future announcements regarding other CYCA races including the 2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The 2019 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race was a thriller, with Barry Cuneo’s Envy Scooters edging Tattersall Cup-winning Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban for the overall win on corrected time. The Oatley Family’s Wild Oats X took line honours.

by Hamish Hardy