Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and Port Hunter Sailing Club are joining forces to bring the harbour alive next March. Newcastle Harbour has been synonymous with sailing for many years, staging the first organised regatta way back in 1834. By all accounts, that first regatta was three years prior to Sydney’s Australia Day Regatta, regarded as the world’s oldest sailing event. For the inaugural Newcastle Harbour Regatta, butcher boats competed in competition, with a carnival atmosphere hosted on the foreshore. That vision of fun and friendly sailing has inspired the revitalisation of the event for 2019, with a new opportunity to embrace the past and showcase the region. To be billed as Sail Newcastle, the event will incorporate the historic Newcastle Harbour Regatta and equally iconic Cock of the Harbour Race, with kite-surfing, one-design dinghy and sportsboat racing, classic timber sailing vessels, and an offshore series for bluewater ocean racers all in the mix. Organisers have proposed a preliminary March 30 to 31, 2019, date for the inaugural regatta, to be hosted by the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club. This timing avoids clashes with existing events in the traditional sailing season, which are pre-arranged well in advance by classes and clubs. In turn, it will attract a larger and higher quality fleet, including a strong contingent of TP52 ocean racing competitors from Sydney Harbour. Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club has previously hosted the Australian IRC Championships and NSW Country Yachting Championship, and will soon host the newly formed TP52 circuit for a race. The club also provides organisational expertise and resources to Corlette Point Sailing Club in conducting the annual Sail Port Stephens, NSW’s fastest-growing regatta over the past 12 years. The Notice of Race for Sail Port Stephens 2019 has been posted, and will include a cruising Non-Spinnaker class, plus a Jeanneau Division to the Commodores Cup. The event will also welcome trailer-sailer/traileryacht classes. With more than 360 affiliated sailing clubs and 65,000 registered on-water members nationally, the long-term objective of the event will be to draw a higher percentage of interstate and international competitors and establish Sail Newcastle as a premiere sailing event in NSW. Events being conducted by Port Hunter Sailing Club will be brought under the Sail Newcastle marketing umbrella to build awareness and increased participation and attendance of sailing events in the Hunter ahead of proposed Volvo Ocean Race hosting bid. Newcastle has been identified as a potential host city for the round-the-world yacht race in 2021, after becoming a viable location for major sporting events. Newcastle Harbour is a perfect amphitheatre for spectating, allowing visitors to stroll the Foreshore and watch everything from dinghy sailing and model yachts under lights, to Olympic class boats and skiffs duelling in the Honeysuckle Basin, and grand prix ocean racing directly off Newcastle Beach. The yard well known for its durable and versatile RIBs, SACS has unleashed its latest model, the Rebel 40. Built with a high performance hull and sturdy tubes, the Rebel 40 delivers safety and comfort in an exciting ride. It includes a wide bathing platform in the aft, complete with huge folding sun beds, two comfortable chaise lounges and a soft sundeck towards the bow. Down below, the lower deck features a queen size cabin with considerable height and brightness for a RIB in this category, and includes a bathroom equipped with a separate toilet and shower and an aft cabin. The Rebel 40 is fitted out with two 370 Volvo Penta D6 engines as standard, capable of speeds of up to 40 knots, and will reach our shores in the new year. Maritimo’s recently revealed X50 is already selling well months before its world premiere at next year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Ever since the first details of the dynamic X50 sport yacht were revealed, it has caused widespread interest internationally. “Given the early demand, and the price point of the X50, we are confident that this model will be something special” Maritimo’s Tom Barry-Cotter says. The X50 design incorporates an innovative aft accommodation space accessible from saloon and swim platform deck. This area can be optioned and utilised as a beach club with ensuite, twin single stateroom with ensuite or 3.2 metre tender garage. Maritimo’s build pipeline now stretches to the end of 2019.

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