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GCCM SPONSORS YOUNG AUSSIE: THE MOST DARING VOYAGE AUSTRALIA HAS SEEN THIS DECADE

GCCM SPONSORS YOUNG AUSSIE: THE MOST DARING VOYAGE AUSTRALIA HAS SEEN THIS DECADE

WHAT IS THE NEXT BIG LITTLE THING IN SAILING?

THE ANSWER IS THE LITTLE AUSSIE LAP.

Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard are proud to announce our sponsorship of a daring young Aussie sailor, Xavier Doerr, who is undertaking an extraordinary project – and aiming to break various sailing records in the process.

WHO IS XAVIER DOERR AND WHAT ARE HIS GOALS?

At only 21 years old, Xavier is a two-time veteran of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race. In addition to being a member of home club Southport Yacht Club, he is a member of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) and their prestigious world class youth match racing program in Sydney, which has produced some of the world’s best offshore sailors.

Xavier has a passion for sending high performance carbon fibre race yachts down the face of huge waves. Through his work as a rigger, passion for match racing and self-learnings on the carbon fibre construction and shipwright work, he is making a name for himself as a prominent youth offshore sailor.

Xavier is self-sufficient out on the open oceans, being able to repair any mishaps or breakages that come his way and he’ll need to be on his next big voyage – circumnavigating Australia on a 21 ft yacht!

BIG AMBITIONS BREAK BIG RECORDS

‘The Little Aussie Lap’, sponsored by GCCM, will be a solo, nonstop, unassisted, circumnavigation of Australia in a 21ft high performance carbon fibre race yacht that will make and break several Guinness World Records.

In one of Australia’s most daring and extreme record attempts, the trip is the equivalent of completing 12 consecutive Sydney to Hobart races, or 1/3 of the total distance of a lap of the globe. It’ll mean 200 freeze dried meals for Xavier and only 15 minutes of sleep at a time so that he can maintain a constant lookout to achieve maximum performance.

In order to facilitate his journey, Xavier has spent the past two years planning and refitting a 21ft high performance carbon fibre offshore racing yacht; a Mini Transat 650 class yacht. The Mini Transat – a boat specifically designed for high performance solo sailing across the Atlantic Ocean forms the perfect platform to complete such a record attempt.

GCCM and many of our Marine trades are proud to be supporting Xavier in his attempt to break these records (Southern Seas Marine, Hybrid Composites, Wrap It Marine who did the boat’s new blue wrap, etc.).

Andrew Chapman, COO of GCCM, had this to say when asked why GCCM became involved with this project. “The Little Aussie lap is such an exciting project but to be undertaken by such a young Sailor is amazing. At GCCM we believe in supporting Australia’s Youth particularly those with a water-based focus. Honestly, when Xavier delivered his bid for us to be involved it wasn’t a matter of yes or no but how many ways can we help him with the amazing GCCM network to ensure all he needs to worry about is sailing and breaking the records. We here, at GCCM are 200% behind Xavier on the project and you should be too.”

WHEN IS HE DOING IT

Xavier Doerr plans to depart Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast in April 2023 and when his voyage is completed, he’ll be the fastest, youngest sailor to complete the journey on the smallest boat. Xavier plans to complete the journey in under 50 days.

This will mark his second attempt to claim the record, with his first attempt coming to a halt due to electrical failure within a howling, multiple day 60 knot storm.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

As a group of boaties supporting boaties, GCCM are proud to be sponsoring Xavier’s not so little journey around Australia. We’ll be watching his progress closely and so can you!

At each major port around Australia, a flotilla of boats and news crew will be there to trail Xavier as supporters follow his journey on social media from their home cities.

With access to a custom built 24/7 online tracker, fans can track Xavier’s progress in real time, all the time, from anywhere in the world.

The tracker may be viewed at: www.thelittleaussielap.com/tracker

As Xavier is working hard towards the preparation of his departure, there are still opportunities to partner with The Little Aussie Lap. This is a great opportunity to align your company with GCCM and support the adventure. We wish Xavier all the best on his journey, and we look forward to updating you on his progress.

 

 

 

Published in print April-June 2023

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