The Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta is this weekend and Middle Harbour Yacht Club has extended early entry to 25 February and revealed some prizes for the 20th anniversary edition from 1-2 March in an event where club racers match it with Olympians, America’s Cup and world champion sailors.
Marking the anniversary of NSW’s largest keelboat regatta, the VX-Ones will sail as a One Design class at the regatta for the first time. Five are entered to-date and the standout is recent addition to the fleet, V Wagon, owned by Chris Dawson/Steve Bryant who finished runners-up at the Nationals in January. Rumour is there will be a guest appearance from a certain well known Australian female sailor on the helm!
Other contenders are Jervis Tilley’s AUS353 and Warwick Rooklyn’s Bolt, sixth and seventh respectively at the VX-One Nationals.
The Dragons, a former Olympic class, will hold their NSW Championship at this event and all manner of other classes and divisions will be out in force too.
Nautilus Marine Insurance CEO Lyndon Turner is an enthusiastic supporter of the regatta:
“We are very proud to continue to offer our support to Middle Harbour Yacht Club and the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta,” he says.
“Each year the Nautilus Marine Insurance team and I look forward to this event. Over 180 yachts and crews, across 17 divisions, race all over Sydney Harbour and just offshore. It is a true celebration of sailing when that many sailors, supported by eight Sydney yacht clubs, come together for two days of competition,” Turner ends.
“Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) is very pleased to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Regatta,” the Club’s CEO, Andrew Forbes said.
“The ongoing support from Nautilus Marine Insurance CEO Lyndon Turner and his team has been integral in helping us reach this milestone. The wonderful coincidence of Nautilus Marine Insurance also marking its 20th anniversary in 2025 makes it a double reason to celebrate!”
In this 20th year, competitors will be eligible to win some fabulous Grand Prizes:
A Supercar Track Day for two at a race on the Supercars Calendar, with two General Admission tickets, along with a money-can’t-buy pit tour and grid walk access, courtesy of the Steadfast Group.
A Manly Spirits ‘Distillery Experience’ for a yacht crew of up to 10 people.
Details of all Grand Prizes will be published in a Notice to Competitors closer to the event.
Regardless of who wins the Grand Prizes, all divisional placegetters will receive a pair of wine glasses and a Zhik voucher.
Entrants in the Performance Class (Spinnaker) divisions will be competing hard for the prizes. They provide large numbers every year, making a spectacular sight on the Harbour with their colourful spinnakers, ahead of their crews enjoying the after-race festivities beachside at the Club.
Airlie Beach yachtie, Mark Beale, is one, returning to sail Rob Reynolds’ local Farr 40 Exile in Division 1. “There will be me and seven of my crew. We all live in Airlie Beach these days, but originally come from other places,” the former NSW resident says.
On why they are coming down for the Sydney Harbour Regatta again, Beale says, “Everyone has a dream to sail a yacht on Sydney Harbour. One of my crew hasn’t done it before and we’ve all been in that position.
“We love the competition and practicing our skills against some of the gun sailors there. We’re just a bunch of hacks though,” Beale is at pains to point out.
Jan ‘Clogs’ Scholten has entered the Stewart 34, Panchax. ‘Clogs’ is well known around the traps. A past Laser Masters world champion, he made history as the first to win the double-handed division of the Sydney Hobart in 2021 with Jules Hall on Hall’s boat, Disko Trooper_Contender Sail Cloth.
“I’m sailing the family boat fully crewed with the co-owner, Stephen Parker. His wife Christine, my daughter Anneliesse, work colleagues Joris Meijboom, Jim Dargaville and Otto Burrows are with us,” Clogs said.
“It’s an iconic regatta and I just want to chill with friends on my own boat. After racing, catching up with other friends on the beach with the tide coming in is great. MHYC deserves recognition. They run a great regatta and they’ve been good to me over the years.
“It’s also an opportunity to leave the Northern Beaches and sail with the city folk on the Harbour,” Scholten finishes.
David O’Loughlin won Division 2 last year with his J/99, Siena, but defending that win is the last thing on his mind: “It’s a well-run regatta and a lot of fun. We’re coming back to have a good time. That’s the important thing – not the result – just the competition. The more people are like that, the better time everyone will have. We’re all looking forward to it.
“Besides that, I love sailing passage races on Sydney Harbour and have done so since I was a young boy,” O’Loughlin added.
Alan Robertson returns to helm Alruth after winning the Historical 18 Footers at the 2024 Sydney Harbour Regatta. Don ‘Admiral’ Buckley, skippering Yendys, is the quiet achiever who could upset that applecart.
Yendys has won her share of trophies over time, while Buckley is a former six-time 18 foot skiff champion when sailing alongside the legendary Iain Murray and Andrew Buckland. ‘The Hystericals’ as they are known to those who sail them, complement the old classic yachts in the Classic Keelboats division.
Close of entries is 2359hrs on 25 February, so don’t miss out – enter online where you will also find the Notice of Race: https://www.shr.mhyc.com.au
Di Pearson/MHYC media
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