A late rush of entries on the closing day for paperwork has seen the inaugural Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race fleet climb to 23.

CYCA Vice Commodore and sailing committee chairman Garry Linacre believes this race has a promising future given Newcastle Harbour’s ability to hold a large fleet of deep draft yachts, something other coastal ports on the eastern seaboard can’t offer.

“We are excited about the potential of this race given the expansion of Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club’s (NCYC) marina and planned new clubhouse and the fact we have a deep water port close to Sydney, which means families can drive up for the weekend.

“With a fleet of 23 leaving Sydney Harbour on Friday night for the long ocean race and an Ocean Pointscore fleet of around 25 boats leaving 9am Saturday morning for the Sydney Newcastle Race, NCYC will come alive on Saturday evening when the two fleets merge.

“The finish of the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race will for some mark the end of an almost eight month campaign to determine the CYCA’s Blue Water champion for 2007-08 and those crews in particular will be celebrating the end of another hard fought series,” Linacre added.

Audi Australia’s managing director Joerg Hofmann said, “Audi is pleased to be associated with the CYCA as a major partner, and in our capacity as the largest sponsor of competitive sailing in Australia, we are happy with the addition of the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race to our 2008 Audi Sailing Sport calendar.

“This inaugural race is shaping up to be an exciting event as many of the yachts competing in this regatta will have prepared by entering our Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta the weekend prior.

“Once again the Harbour will come alive at the start with yachts heading offshore. No doubt our new dealership in Newcastle, the Audi Gallery, will be thrilled to welcome these competitors at the end of the race – it’s a great new opportunity to build Audi’s sailing profile in Newcastle,” he continued.

CYCA Commodore Matt Allen’s Jones 70 Ichi Ban and Andrew Short’s ASM Brindabella are the two largest entries at 21.5 and 24 metres respectively while Sam Haynes’ Cavalier 35 Celestial II is the smallest at 10.5 metres.

Also among the smaller boats is Jim and Mary Holley’s Aurora which completed its 11th Rolex Sydney Hobart last December and will sail for Lake Macquarie Yacht Club in the 213 nautical mile Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race which will start at 6pm on Friday 7 March off Nielsen Park.  The fleet will head to a laid mark around 20 nautical miles south east of Crowdy Head then back to Newcastle for the finish between the Queens Wharf Brewery and Stockton Ferry Wharf.

The weekend prior, many of those lining up for the final event of the CYCA’s 2007-08 offshore season will take the opportunity to fine tune their crew work around the buoys, and possibly drive away in the overall regatta prize of an Audi A4, in the annual Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta. – Lisa Ratcliff