The 2026 GCCM Gold Coast Mackay Yacht Race fleet had pumping winds for the start on Thursday 30 July, and those winds never really let up.

CYCA yachts continued to make their Club proud, with four boats flying the burgee on the journey north.

Mistral‘s Rupert Henry, who we’ve been accustomed to seeing sailing double handed, was joined by three crew for the race – Jan Scholten, Emily Sellens and Henry’s 2026 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast co-skipper Greg O’Shea. Despite being a late entry, that didn’t stop the Lombard 34 taking the Overall win, as well as first place on IRC and PHS Monohull – Division 2. The yacht completed the race in 2 days 6 hours 57 minutes 23 seconds.

On the win, and having extra hands on board, he said: ‘I had forgotten how cool it is to have people to do all the work on the boat.’

KOA (Andy Kearnan)also had a killer reach up north, placing second on IRC Division 1, third on Line Honours and fifth Overall. Fellow TP52 Gusto placed 7th Overall and 4th on Line Honours – not a bad result for owner Lee Hawksley, considering it was his second offshore race on the boat since purchasing her earlier this year. Wendy Tuck skippered the Lyons 54 Make Waves Kayle to 10th on PHS Division 1, and Geoffrey Hill’s Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes claimed 10th Overall.

Largest yacht in the fleet, the 100-footer Wild Thing 100, recorded boat speeds of up to 29.3 knots. The black-and-pink maxi took Line Honours in the 520 nautical mile race in 1 day, 13 hours, 14 minutes and 20 seconds – not a bad time for such a lengthy course.

Much of the GCCM fleet will now head to Airlie Beach to compete in Airlie Beach Race Week (6–13 August).