Winter 2026 · the opening campaign

Two races,
900 nautical miles north.

The race boat

Employment Hero Alliance.

The Dehler 30 One Design we're racing this season – drawn by Judel/Vrolijk for one purpose: fast, safe, two-person offshore racing. See the hull, the sail wardrobe and the electronics.

Meet the boat →

Race 1 · 25 July 2026

Sydney to Gold Coast

2nd · double-handed PHS 384 nm 2d 17h

Sydney Harbour to the Gold Coast, up the NSW coast against the East Australian Current. We took second in the double-handed PHS – after tearing both spinnakers on the very first night. Read the debrief ↓

The route: Out through Sydney Heads, north past the Central Coast, Newcastle, and up through the NSW coastline. The key tactical decision is where to sit relative to the East Australian Current: too far offshore and its southerly flow parks you; play it smart inshore and you can find eddies pushing your way.

Landmarks along the way

Sydney Heads
The iconic harbour entrance – starts on Sydney Harbour near the CYCA's home at Rushcutters Bay, then out through the Heads.
Barrenjoey & Broken Bay
First major headland north, where the afternoon sea breeze can throw in local wind shifts.
Newcastle & Port Stephens
Industrial coastline gives way to bays, and the shelf narrows – important for current strategy.
Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Whale territory in July, where tropical and temperate waters meet and the currents turn unpredictable.
Byron Bay & Cape Byron
Australia's most easterly point – the lighthouse means Queensland is close, and often a wind transition zone.
Gold Coast – The Seaway
Finish. The Seaway entrance can be tricky in a big swell – but after 384 nm, a very welcome sight.

goldcoast.cycaracing.com →

Race 2 · 30 July 2026

Gold Coast to Mackay

~260 / 520 nm Only double-handed entry

Further north into tropical Queensland – the smallest boat and the only double-handed entry in a fleet of big boats. We got ~260 of the 520 nm in before calling it, after losing both spinnakers with the autopilot down in building breeze. Read the debrief ↓

The route: North from Southport along the Queensland coast, past Moreton Bay, up the ocean side of K'gari (Fraser Island) and around Breaksea Spit, then into the tropics. The breeze should be southeasterly – classic trade wind sailing.

Landmarks along the way

Moreton Bay & Stradbroke Island
Exit past North Stradbroke Island, where the sea steepens over the shallow banks and the breeze bends around the cape. Dolphins guaranteed.
K'gari (Fraser Island)
The world's largest sand island – we run its ocean side and round Breaksea Spit off the northern tip, where the seas stack up over the shallows.
Bundaberg & the Burnett River
Turtle territory, where the water turns tropical turquoise and the trade winds settle in.
Lady Elliot Island
The southernmost cay of the Great Barrier Reef – reef waters from here, so navigation gets more careful.
Yeppoon & the Keppel Islands
Tropical islands passed offshore – spectacular views, and often a good downwind run.
Mackay Marina
Finish – 520 nm from the Gold Coast, with the Whitsundays just up the road. A proper celebration awaits.

goldcoastmackay.com →

The season continues…

These two races opened the campaign, with more to come as the 2026 season unfolds.

Debrief · Race 1

Sydney to Gold Coast

2nd · Double-handed PHS 2d 17h 384 nm

A clean start out through the Heads, holding on against bigger boats; a few wind holes later we were able to pick off a good number by working the shore and the pressure offshore.

Sadly both spinnakers were gone by the end of the first night – one split on the spreader, the other let go at 16 knots. Two more nights on the code zero – and still second.

Annie and co-skipper Peter with the 2nd-place trophy at the Gold Coast — 2nd place · Gold Coast

Race 1 debrief →

Debrief · Race 2

Gold Coast to Mackay

260 / 520 nm 18 kn top speed Only double-handed entry

The only double-handed boat in the fleet. A windy start – A5 up, surfing metre-and-a-half waves, then more spinnaker issues and complexities with the autopilot.

Day two, the breeze built. One A2 already down from a wipeout which threw me across the cockpit. Later the halyard snapped and dropped the A5 in the water. 260 miles in, no spinnakers left and thirty knots forecast, we made the hard call and retired into Bundaberg.

Race 2 intro →

What the season taught us

The learnings.

Miles make you better
The more you sail, in more conditions, the better you get. No shortcut.
Calibration is everything
Autopilot calibration matters most in big downwind seas. Ours was off for most of both races – still digging into why.
Race the day you're given
Knowing the boat's potential is one thing. You still have to sail the day in front of you.
Hard days teach the most
You learn far more when it's hard. That's the point.
Know your sails' limits
Spinnakers make you fast – until they don't. Older sails need gentler hands.
Read the helm
Learn the rudder angles for each condition, and the signs the helm gives you.
Won before the start
So much happens pre-race. The small thing you skip is the one that bites.
And the honest one
Breaking gear on night one is really rubbish.