Pallas Capital Gold Cup Act 1 - Matador and Beau Ideal Headline
by Nic Douglass 23 Mar 21:07 NZDT
21-22 March 2026
Act 1 of the Pallas Capital Gold Cup has wrapped up on Sydney Harbour, setting the benchmark for one of the standout series in Australian sailing.
With nineteen grand prix boats across two high-performance fleets, even with a tough day one due to a very busy Sydney Harbour, Act 1 hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, was one of the strongest starts to a national series in recent years.
Following a challenging first day impacted by shipping movements, fleet review restrictions and unstable conditions, day two brought the racing needed to decide the opening act.
In the TP52 division, Matador (David Doherty) delivered a consistent performance to claim Act 1 honours. Gordon Ketelbey's Zen (Craig Neil) secured second place, with Smuggler (Sebastian Bohm) rounding out the podium.
"It was nice to get racing in after yesterday. It was light and tricky, but we managed to piece a few shifts together and the team did a really good job," said Matador mainsheet trimmer James Corrie.
"It was one of those days where if you can string a few shifts together you can get a jump on the fleet, and we managed to do that in a couple of races. The afterguard called it well and the team got the boat moving."
The fleet saw tight racing throughout, with multiple race winners highlighting the depth of competition in the class.
Across the Super 40 fleet, results were split across rating systems, showcasing the competitiveness of the division.
Karl Kwok's Beau Ideal sailing for the first time on Australian waters claimed the win on IRC ahead of Back 2 Black (Sean Langman), and Ambition (Chris Dare).
In ORC, Beau Ideal (Karl Kwok) again led the standings, with The Edge (John Bacon) second and Revolver (Michael Ritchie) third.
Under SFR, Revolver (Michael Ritchie) took the win, with Back 2 Black (Sean Langman) second and Beau Ideal (Karl Kwok) third.
"It was really special for the team. We lost Margaret, one of our team last week, so to come away with the win for her means a lot," said Rye Brady.
"Sailing with my Dad [Gavin Brady] and a group like this is a really cool opportunity, and this is the only 40-foot racing like this at the moment, so it's a great way to keep building and pushing ourselves."
On winning two divisions straight off the bat, "we'll keep training and keep pushing. There's more to come in the series."
Day 1 Video:
Day 2 Video:
Act 1 marks the first stage of the Pallas Capital Gold Cup, with the series set to continue across multiple events through to May.
Act 2 will return to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia for the TP52 fleet, before the Super 40s rejoin for Act 3 as part of Sail Port Stephens. The series will conclude with Act 4, the finale, hosted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
Thanks to naming rights sponsor Pallas Capital and also to Zhik for their continued support of the fleet and the series.