V5 (Brian Petersen) represented the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron with pride in the CYCA’s Noakes Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race – the second major event on their ambitious 2025 calendar, which will see Brian Petersen’s TP52 sail over 6,000 nautical miles this season.

In a competitive fleet, V5 delivered an impressive performance, finishing 4th on line, 3rd in IRC Division 0, and 5th overall. The team completed the 384-nautical-mile course in 1 day, 20 hours, 35 minutes, and 6 seconds.

For this race, half of the Groupama crew were joined by Australian friends, making V5 a true ANZAC effort. The race began on Saturday, 26 July, with all 49 boats starting simultaneously from Sydney Harbour. V5 had an excellent start position but was deemed OCS (on course side) due to crowding to windward. After returning around the pin end, they worked their way back through the fleet, exiting Sydney Heads not far behind their rivals.

Like most of the 50-foot-plus yachts, V5 opted for an offshore route to clear the East Australian Current, chasing stronger breeze in moderate northerlies. While the wind conditions were favourable, the sea state proved challenging. The first night saw many of the crew paying tribute to the sea gods through the keelbox or off the transom – ginger snacks became the hot item onboard.

The rough conditions also took a toll on the equipment. On day two, the wind gear was lost from the mast, adding complexity to the night sailing and the light, shifty winds near the finish.

A building westerly allowed the fleet to reach toward the Gold Coast on a port tack, only needing to tack in the final miles to head inshore to the finish. Although conditions never allowed for a gennaker hoist, the crew were kept busy with frequent reefing, shaking out the main, and rotating between the J3, J2, staysail, and two different code zero sails.

V5’s next challenge begins tomorrow with the Gold Coast to Mackay Yacht Race — the third leg in their packed campaign. The race officially starts on Friday, 1st August 2025, with the first warning signal expected at 1255 hrs AEST.

Live coverage and race tracking will be available from 1230 hrs AEST via the official live tracker on the race website. Follow V5’s progress in real time on the tracker to see how they fare over the 520‑nautical‑mile course to Mackay.

V5- Noakes Sydney to Gold Coast 2025
26/07/2025. Photo: Andrea Francolini

Sydney to Gold Coast Race Stats

Distance Sailed: 430nm
Elapsed Time: 1d:20h:35m:06s
Top Speed: 22.3 knots
Skipper: Brian Petersen
Navigator: Greg Patten
Crew: Mike Bills, David Kneen, Ross Masters, Hamish Revell, Ella Sagnol, David Sturge, Hamish Tait, Alex Toomey