The inaugural Audi Centre Sunshine Coast Mooloolaba 200 Offshore Classic will go ahead on the weekend of 5th and 6th October.

Event Manager, Rod Jones, announced today the long-weekend Mooloolaba Yacht Club (MYC) event will go ahead after receiving sufficient minimum entry numbers to press the Go button.

“It’s always a bit nail-bitting putting together an inaugural event, especially one that is quite innovative.

“Then there is the challenge of getting boat owners to complete the entry process far enough in advance for the event organiser to know if there will be the required minimum entry number. It seems to be the same challenges every time we organise an event and not just for our club,” Jones said.

Jones has entered his 50-foot Welbourne, Audi Centre Sunshine Coast. The MYC Rear-Commodore of Sailing, Gary McCarthy, is reading his Beneteau First 34.7 for action. Mark Jacobsen has entered his newly purchased Sydney 38, Hasta La Vista. Former Melbourne to Osaka Race competitors, John and David Netherton, are competing two-up on their new acquisition, the Tiger 10 Likatiger. 

Tim McCall’s Yeppon-based Archambault 40, Arcadia, is expected to enter later this week.

In the Classic’s Multihull Division, the first entry is from Multihull Yacht Club of Queensland’s Chill Pill owned by Wayne Bloomer.  The 15m Schionning design catamaran has been a strong performer in its recent races.  

“Our last couple of big races were the 2011 Brisbane to Gladstone where we finished fourth overall and the 2012 Surf to City which was also a fourth place for us.  

“We have entered Mooloolaba 200 for some crew training and a bit of fun,” Bloomer said. 

The Offshore course is for performance monohulls and multihulls racing in the 200 nautical mile Classic. The fleet will head out on Saturday racing north from Mooloolaba into Noosa’s Laguna Bay. They then head further north to Wolf Rock, just off Double Island Point, before turning south-east for Flinders Reef. 

From the reef the fleet take a zig-zag course heading west to the outer Gneerings, just off Mooloolaba Bay, then back into the coast to Caloundra before heading east again for the penultimate leg out to Flinders Reef. The final leg is a westerly track home to the finish off Mooloolaba and the big prize-giving party.

The Inshore cruising monohulls and multihulls, sports boats, trailables and SB20s will be racing on passage and windward/leeward courses on both the Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday the sports boats, SB20s and Cruising divisions will coastal race 40 nautical miles north to Noosa and back to Mooloolaba in the Laguna Bay Challenge. Then on Sunday the Cruising Division will have a short passage race in Mooloolaba Bay while the Sports Boats will complete nearby in several races on a windward/leeward course.

For more event information, go www.mooloolaba.yachting.org.au