Light airs, not the forecast easterly, decided the third race of the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore, with Sebastian Bohm's TP52 Smuggler claiming overall victory in the Tollgate Islands Race.
Rob Appleyard's R/P69 Moneypenny crossed the line first, as most expected, taking her second consecutive Line Honours win this season. But Line Honours and overall victory are different contests, and this race made the gap between them obvious.
The fleet departed Sydney at 1700 hours on Friday 16 October into a moderate 12 to 15 knot easterly. Forecasters expected the breeze to ease overnight then build again along the coast, but conditions took a different course.
Crews instead found themselves grinding through long stretches of light, shifting air, particularly around the Tollgate Islands and on the return leg north through the Illawarra. Sunday became a slog for much of the fleet, with boats still working their way home into the evening and well past dark.
Seven yachts retired. Magic withdrew with crew illness, Wot's Next suffered mainsheet damage, and Atraxia, Inner Circle, MWF Kayle, Ragtime and Toucan all pulled out due to time constraints.
Moneypenny finished the job in one day, three hours, 20 minutes and 15 seconds, crossing at 2020 hours on Saturday evening. Back 2 Black had led the charge early, setting the pace off the start line before the breeze died away.
Smuggler held her nerve better than most in the lighter patches, enough to take the overall win on corrected time. It's her first overall victory of the 2026/27 season. She was the 2024/25 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore champion, and the result leaves her well placed heading toward the Rolex Sydney Hobart, where a strong TP52 fleet is shaping up for Boxing Day.
Jules Hall's J/99 Disko Trooper produced the standout recovery of the race. An individual recall at the start, followed by being last boat out of the harbour, hardly set up a dream run. Yet the Double Handed crew clawed their way back to finish sixth overall, taking out both IRC Double Handed and IRC Division 2, including the ongoing scrap among the fleet's other J/99s.
The pointscore race is tightening. With three races completed, Disko Trooper leads on nine points, with Back 2 Black close behind on 11, both boats firmly in the hunt as the fleet turns its attention to the season's business end.
Next up is the Bird Island Race on Saturday 14 November, the shortest leg of the series at 83 nautical miles, heading north to Bird Island off Norah Head and back.
Entries for the Rolex Sydney Hobart close this Friday, 23 October, at 1700 hours AEDT. The countdown to the final blue water showdown is well and truly on.
