Disappointed to miss the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Alex Gough still managed to win an important race back to Queensland before the border closed.
The Bluewater Classic was cancelled amid a COVID-19 spike in Sydney’s northern beaches but there’s a silver lining for the 27-year-old, because will get to spend a rare Christmas with family instead.
“I’m pretty disappointed (not to compete) but there’s not a lot we can do about it. It’s out of our hands,” he said.
“I guess the upside is it’s probably the first Christmas I’ll have with my family for some time because for the last four or five years I’ve done the Hobart, so that’s good.
“I’ll enjoy some time to relax and hopefully we can do some more sailing in the future.”
Gough returned to Queensland just two hours before the border was closed to people coming from Greater Sydney.
“Luckily, I got across the border in time, just,” he said.
“As soon as the race was cancelled, we left Sydney straight away and went up the Coast, anticipating the border closures could start happening.”
“We got back at about 11pm (Sunday) and we went and got a COVID test, which was negative.”
“We didn’t go to any of the hotspot zones in Sydney for those dates and we made it (to Queensland) before the border closure, so we’re all good luckily.”
Gough was set to compete on highly fancied InfoTrack, as a trimmer, after making a name for himself as a sailor during the past few years.
“From a young age I decided I wanted to do it as a job,” he said.
Man overboard
His appearance in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2018, aboard Scallywag, was the platform for a career.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Gough in that race though. He went overboard during a sail change, amid 15-20 knots, in the Melbourne to Hong Kong leg of the race.
Untethered and without a lifejacket, he fell into the Pacific Ocean and waited for seven minutes to be rescued.
“I was lucky. I got washed off the boat, but they picked me up and everything was fine,” he said.
“It’s one of the dangers of our sport. There’s always a risk. If you go out there and you’re in the ocean, you’re at the mercy of the sea.
“I learned a lot of things during that race … and that incident obviously taught me a lot about the ocean and the limits of what you can do and what you can’t do.
“But accidents still happen. No matter what you do you’re always pushing the boat and it was one of those things.
“It’s an extreme sport so even if you take all the safety precautions in the world you’re still at the mercy of the ocean.”
He said the battle against the elements and the risks associated with it are key reasons to be involved in the sport.
“That’s why we all do it. It’s kind of the ultimate test as a team,” he said.
What next?
Gough is set to compete in Gold Coast race Sail Paradise, with Team Hollywood, in January before assessing his plans for 2021.
“There’s a couple of things in the pipeline for next year but it’s too hard to tell with what’s going on with COVID,” he said.
“Most of my sailing I do overseas so everything’s in the air a bit at the moment.”
For now, he will enjoy his time with family in Queensland.
Gough moved from Brisbane to Peregian Beach two years ago, for the lifestyle and the ocean.
