The great ocean racing courses and breezes are only 15 minutes sail from the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club's marina, and the club is right in the centre of the Newcastle city. This is the location of the 2024 Australian Yachting Championship.

Newcastle offers direct flights from Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. Even Sydney has a direct flight, should the short drive or door to door train service not quite be your thing. The city of Newcastle itself offers spectacular beaches, museums, and a thriving coffee, bar and restraunt scene. And you haven't even rigged up for the day's racing yet.

Racing in the centre of Newcastle...

or along Newcastle's spectacular beaches.

The racing is the 2024 Australian Yachting Championship held under IRC and conducted as part of SailFest. SailFest is an event supported by the City of Newcastle and is hosted by the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and the Port Hunter 16-Foot Skiff Sailing Club. Timed in mid-April, SailFest is in the Goldilocks zone of neither too hot nor too cold, but has just the right temperature. Australian boat owners should mark the dates in their calendar and take advantage of the time available to organising and preparing their crew and boat.

Paul O'Rourke visited the 2023 edition of the Australian Yachting Championship in Port Lincoln and "promised Geoff Boettcher the world if he could come" to defend his title in Newcastle. Paul went on to comment how the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club has a true deep water facility without bridges or overhead wires. The club could berth all of Australia's mini-maxi and maxi fleet easily, let alone the 52 footers like Secret Men's Business.

SailFest attracts a large fleet of all sizes every year. Boettcher may have a tough task defending his division win from this year at Lincoln Week Regatta, what was effectively his home ground. Many boats Boettcher would face in 2024 compete on these waters every year, a clear advantage to them.

To learn about the Australian Yachting Championship click here.
The SailFest website is here.
Information about IRC is here.

By Glen Stanaway