The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) will host the 5.5 Metre Class World Championship 2020 from 9-13 January, with the Scandinavian Gold Cup, Alfreds Gold Cup, the Royal Kaag Classic Cup and Hanko Evolution Cup to be held in the lead-up.
 
Prior to the Worlds, the famous 100 year-old Scandinavian Gold Cup (an inter-nation trophy), will also be hosted by RPAYC, starting on 3 January. The two events are expected to attract a large fleet from both Australia and overseas and will be sailed on the Palm Beach Circle on Sydney’s beautiful Northern Beaches. 

With entry barely open, already nine boats have signed on, including locals from RPAYC, which can boast the largest and expanding 5.5 Metre fleet in Australia, with 11 registered. Three internationals have also announced their intentions early. 
 
Italian Alfredo Delli will represent Italy with the famous Classic Carabella, while Craig Symonette is sailing for the Bahamas with the Modern Al-Baba. Symonette’s secret weapon is Flavio Marazzi, a Swiss sailor with four Olympic Games under his belt; in the Star class from 2000 to 2012. Kaspar Stubenrauch from Germany will sail the Evolution Antares. 

The RPAYC has an historic association with the 5.5M class. Club member, Bill Northam, won Australia’s first ever sailing gold medal at the Olympics Games in the 5.5M at age 59. He remains the oldest Australian to win sailing Olympic Gold, and in the process, debunked all myths that elite sailing was for the younger set only. 
 
Northam sailed Barrenjoey to Gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics crewed by Dick Sargeant and Peter ‘Pod’ O’Donnell. Beforehand, in 1963, he joined O’Donnell and Sargeant as crew on Sir Frank Packer’s Gretel, the Challenger for the 1963 America’s Cup. 
 
Although coming to sailing late at 46 years of age, Northam was a natural all-round sailor who received many accolades for his Olympic success and also made his mark on the offshore scene, including the Sydney Hobart. 

 
“We are looking forward to hosting the 5.5 Metre Worlds and the Scandinavian Gold Cup and to welcoming our fellow sailors from overseas,” Australian 5.5 Metre president, Martin Cross said, “It has been 15 years since Australia last hosted the Gold Cup and Worlds, so we are proud it has come full circle back to Australia.”   
 
Cross and his co-conspirator, Bob Stoddard, represented Australia at the 5.5 Metre 2018 Gold Cup and Worlds held at the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight. Their first modern 5.5M, Alpha Crucis, is now being shipped to the RPAYC. Their newest 5.5M, Beta Crucis, will be sailing at the 2019 Worlds in Helsinki, Finland in August before this boat is also shipped to Australia for the big event. 
 
Other RPAYC members who will join Cross and Stoddard for the 2020 5.5M Worlds include John Bacon, a well-known one-design and double-handed sailor (Ku-Ring-Gai), Scott O’Connor (Kings Cross), and  Steve Brajkovic (Skagerak).
 
A major sponsor of the 5.5 Metre Worlds, Höegh Autoliners, is a leading global provider of transportation and logistics services within the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) segment. The company is offering unbeatable shipping rates from Europe and America return, making the decision to experience an Australian New Year and summer of sailing easy. 
 

For those interested in joining the 5.5M fleet, there has never been a better time to buy and ship and join us in Australia. There are 40 Classics (pre 1970) boats for sale with prices starting at $4,000; 23 Evolutions (pre 1994) starting at $11,300 and 10 Modern (post 1994) boats starting from $41,900. For more information on boats for sale, please go here.

Don’t wait until it is too late, online entry, Notice of Race and all information here. 
 
Written by Di Pearson

Pics Robert Deaves, Warwick Crossman,