January 14, 2019
One year to the 2020 5.5 Metre Worlds and Scandinavian Gold Cup in the Southern Hemisphere!
Friday 3rd January to Monday 13th January 2020 at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club Newport, Australia.
It is now only one year to the 2020 Gold Cup and Worlds in Australia. All the members of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club are really looking forward to welcoming 5.5 Metre sailors from all over the world back to summer in the Sydney area and racing on the iconic Palm Beach Circle. It is time to put the dates in the diary and start making plans.
Notice of Race
The NoR for the Worlds can be found at NoR 2020 Worlds RPAYC. The NoRs for the Scandinavian Gold Cup and other Cups will be published shortly. Given that many people may be travelling to Australia for Christmas the club is prepared to hold a pre-Worlds Competition on the Palm Beach Circle on 28-29thDecember provided there are at least 10 pre-entries (NoR for this event will be also be published shortly).
Principle Race Officer
We are pleased to announce that the PRO for the Worlds and Cups will be Denis Thomson. Denis is one of Australias most experienced race officers having been PRO for Hamilton Island Race Week and many national and world championships over many years.
Boat Transport
Hoegh Autoliners A.S. of Norway, the International Roll On / Roll Off (RO/RO) shipping company have become a major sponsor of the event, and have offered highly competitive transport rates from/to Europe and the USA.
The price return from Europe or USA is $US 7,500 including all shipping, port and standard Customs costs (with some conditions). As we are still 12 months away from the event this price might vary by a small amount. The price for one way shipping will be half the above price at $US 3,750.
Shipping from Europe will mainly be from Antwerp (other ports maybe possible on request). It may be most convenient for many boats to be shipped immediately after the 2019 Worlds in August. The Dutch association (Kim Charbani) has kindly offered that for convenience pending transportation boats can be stored Braassemmermeer in the Netherlands. They can then be transported for shipping to Antwerp for a fixed rate.
Upon arrival in Australia boats will be transported as part of the shipping price to the RPAYC on their trailers by experienced members and parked at the RPAYc awaiting the arrival of crews.
Specific final details of the transportation and booking procedure will follow in March. We would appreciate if participants will confirm their preferred shipping dates at this time.
Flights and travel
The closest airport to the RPAYC at Newport is Sydney International Airport which is 50km away from the RPAYC. Return economy flights to Sydney from Europe have come down considerably in price recently. Flights in January 2020 are currently retailing at between 1,000 - 1,300 Euros ($US 1,180 - 1,500) per person (From Zurich and Paris, cheapest to recognised carrier e.g. Emirates, Qantas, British Airways).
The cost of a taxi from Sydney International Airport to Newport is about about 115 Euros ($US 135). There is good public transport with a train into Sydney and a bus that leaves every 10 minutes to Newport which costs 15 Euro ($US 18) in total. A shuttle bus can be booked for 52 Euro ($US 60). Car hire is relatively cheap in Australia.
Accommodation
Christmas, New Year and January is the height of the summer holiday season in Australia. Accomodation will be at a premium. You are therefore advised to book accomodation early.
Newport has one 4 Star Hotel that has 47 Rooms. The Metro Mirage Hotel Newport. This Hotel is 1km from the RPAYC and a pleasant 10 minute walk by the Pittwater shoreline. Depending on exchange rates the range of cost for the rooms is approximately 142 Euros ($US 165) to 195 Euros ($US 227) per night. The Metro Mirage has offered a special discount rate for the 5.5 Metre Worlds. The promotional booking code for the 2020 Championships is … SAIL …
This unique code offers 5.5 Metre participants and and guests a 15% discount off the best available market rates on the Newport/King standard, King Spa and Waterfront Spa premium rooms. To book all you need to do is contact the Reservations Desk on +61-2-9997 7011, or email Newport@metrohg.com, quoting the above code, please ensure you have your contact information (mobile no. & email address) and credit card at the ready,
Alternatively you can look for accomodation at AirBnb. AirBnb allows booking 12 months ahead. Currently for December 2020 AirBnb has 290, 3 bedroom places that can be booked around Newport. The average daily rate of is around 185 Euros ($US 210) for the Bookings for around 2020 will open online in February 2019,
Epic Holiday location
Sydney/Northern Beaches is one of the worlds iconic cities and locations. A great place for a holiday as well as a World Championship. More details are available below:
https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do
https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-north/northern-beaches/activities
We look forward to welcoming you to Australia in January 2020 for a great Gold Cup and Worlds so please start making your plans. More information to follow shortly.
Martin Cross. President Australian International 5.5 Metre Association (martin.g.cross@gmail.com).