Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) is excited to announce a Rally for Cruisers has been added to the second edition of the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, due to start on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Saturday, 11 October.
Cruising yachts (with a minimum waterline length of 8.50 metres) and cruising multihulls (with a minimum waterline length of 9.50 metres) are invited to enter, but will require a Category 1 certificate for the 1250 nautical mile endurance course.
Those who opt to join the Rally have the choice of starting at Pittwater or from Sydney Harbour and will race to Auckland Harbour via Cape Reinga.
“I highly recommend the Rally to any sailor looking for adventure. You’ll be in good company with other boats on the same journey,” RPAYC Commodore, Rob McClelland says.
“As a sailor who has returned to New Zealand many times and cruised its coastline extensively, I can say without hesitation that New Zealand is one of the most spectacular cruising grounds in the world. The scenery, the beautiful harbours, bays, and islands are unparalleled.
“Once in New Zealand you can explore the Bay of Islands, Whangaroa Harbour, Great Barrier Island, the Coromandel Peninsula and so many other hidden gems in between. It’s a truly wonderful area to explore, and I look forward to welcoming all rally and race participants to this incredible destination,” the Commodore ended.
The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race is a Category 1 event open to fully crewed racing and cruising yachts, two-handed yachts, superyachts and ocean-going multihulls.
Charles Meredith is the latest entry received for the race with his Chris White 46 MKII multihull, Peccadillo.
Meredith is a vastly experienced multihull sailor from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in Victoria. His race resume includes Melbourne to Devonport, Melbourne to Hobart and Brisbane to Hamilton Island races.
The Victorian sailor said, “This is the chance to do a race where you need a passport – to do an international race. I’ve often thought going to New Zealand would be good. We’ve got plenty of preparation and practice to do in advance. This will be the longest race we’ve done.
“We’re allowing up to ten days for the race, but seven days is our average working time.”
In the lead-up, Meredith said, “We’ve had a busy racing program here (Victoria) already. We just did the ORCV’s (Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s) King Island Race and next is their Apollo Bay Race and Winter Series.
“We’ve just started to think about the race to Auckland. If I can get enough crew, we will stay a while and do a few races. They have a good multihull fleet in New Zealand. Then we’ll do some cruising. It would be a shame to race and come straight back,” he ended.
Meredith and fellow competitors are looking forward to the day when they line up on Sydney Harbour for the start. From there, it is a left turn at Sydney Heads, then then round a turning mark off Barrenjoey Headland at Pittwater before sailing off into the wild blue yonder on the Trans-Tasman crossing to Auckland.
The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race is organised by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in NSW in association with New Zealand’s Royal Akarana Yacht Club.
Entries close on 11 September 2025. For all information, including access and Notice of Race and Notice of Rally, please visit: www.sydneytoauckland.com
Entries received after the Closing Date shall be accepted at the sole discretion of the Organising Authority.
For enquiries regarding the race and rally, please contact Race Director, Nick Elliott on +61 2 9998-3700 or email: nick.elliott@rpayc.com.au
By Di Pearson/Sydney to Auckland media
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