flinderS islet RACE
20 SEP 2025
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
ABOUT
The Flinders Islet Race is one of Sydney’s great offshore challenges — a thrilling 92-nautical-mile dash from Sydney Harbour, around Flinders Islet near Wollongong, and back. Starting just outside the Heads, the fleet quickly spreads out along the coast as crews battle shifting winds and changing sea conditions. It’s an exciting race to follow, often featuring dramatic starts, tactical coastal sailing, and a fast return leg to the finish. A true test of teamwork and endurance, the Flinders Islet Race showcases offshore racing at its best.
RACE REPORT
Flinders Islet was the second race of the Blue Water Pointscore. After being unable to complete the first race (the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Race) we were very keen to deliver a strong result.
There were around 40 yachts across Divisions 1 and 2. Among the maxis with Moneypenny were No Limit and URM, both of whom we hadn’t lined up against since the 2024 Maxi Championships. The fleet also included a strong contingent of TP52s, including Smuggler, the IRC winner of the previous Gold Coast race.
We had a fantastic race over the 88nm course from Sydney, down to Flinders Islet off Wollongong, and back. The Moneypenny team took first place on IRC, with URM second, Smuggler third, and No Limit fourth - a fantastic result.
We launched off the start line with great speed and positioning, hoisting a spinnaker when the other maxis chose not to, and blasted out of Sydney Harbour to be the first boat out - in just over nine minutes! The larger and higher-rated URM chased us down and passed us off Coogee. We stayed in touch sailing windward toward the island, with URM leading by just enough to have us behind on corrected time at that point.
The downwind leg back to Sydney was right on the edge nearly all the way, with Moneypenny consistently sitting on 20-26 knots. We managed to gain a full nautical mile on URM during the return leg, finishing only nine minutes behind - enough to secure the IRC corrected time win by four minutes in Division 1, and the overall win as well.
We did have a “learning experience” mid-race when the main halyard lock failed while reefing the main, costing us some time heading towards Flinders Islet. However, it was another valuable lesson and didn’t take away from an excellent overall performance.
Another fantastic effort by the whole Moneypenny team!
- Rob Appleyard (Owner & Skipper)