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Australian professional sailor back home for Rolex Sydney Hobart

Home 2025 Australian professional sailor back home for Rolex Sydney Hobart

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When Katy MacDonald got the call to join the Rolex Sydney Hobart program on board Oroton Drumfire in 2021, she was quick to respond.

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“I couldn’t have said yes faster,” MacDonald recalls.

This year will be the 29-year-old sailor’s third outing on the Hoek design 24-metre for the 628 nautical mile journey from Sydney Harbour to the River Derwent in Hobart.

Oroton Drumfire nearing Hobart in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart - Carlo Borlenghi/ROLEX pic.

Strength to strength career moves

Born and raised in Cronulla, MacDonald now calls Bondi home when she isn’t hopping on and off local and international yacht programs.

In May, the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and former First Mate on board S/Y Ningaloo (a privately owned 44.7-metre Vitters yacht) left Australia for more sailing opportunities in the UK and Europe.

MacDonald is the mainsail trimmer on board Oroton Drumfire - Ashley Dart/CYCA pic.

What followed was a jam-packed European summer of sailing. Highlights include her first double-handed offshore race with fellow Australian sailor Andrea Davey in Italy. In July, MacDonald competed in the 100th anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race on board Paddy and Keith Broughton’s classic S&S yawl Kialoa II. And in October, she raced on board Malcolm Roe’s Swan 48 Grace of Sydney in the Rolex Middle Sea Race in Malta.

Kialoa II competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race - Kurt Arrigo/ROLEX pic.

Reflecting on her career as a professional sailor, MacDonald emphasised the importance of flexibility.

“You have to take opportunities as they come,” MacDonald said. “There is a bit of a chase involved where you are going after these opportunities. There is also a lot of waiting for things to pop up, being in the right place at the right time.

“And it’s still very much who you know as well.”

MacDonald has already built an abundant and fulfilling life as a professional sailor, and at 29, it’s only just started.

The Kialoa II crew.

“I love the variety of it [professional sailing] and what you can do with it because there’s so many different careers that you can take with sailing, everything from your teaching, your racing and then of course the superyacht pathway,” MacDonald said.

“There’s a massive spectrum of variety that you can go with.”

Going forward, MacDonald plans to complete her MCA Officer of the Watch (3000 GT) ticket, which will open more doors in the superyacht world, including potential captaincy roles.

Oroton Drumfire

MacDonald sums up her year so far as “epic”, but it’s not over yet.

She arrived in Sydney in late November to help the Oroton Drumfire crew in the lead up to the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Although this will be MacDonald’s third Sydney Hobart on board ‘Drummy’, she did her first Sydney Hobart in 2019 on Ian Edwards’ Dehler 46 Wings.

She has worked day jobs intermittently over the years on board Oroton Drumfire.

“What brings me back [to Oroton Drumfire] - she's an incredible boat and it’s an incredible team,” MacDonald said. “We all are totally aware of the heavy loads that she has as well because she's not necessarily a light boat.”

The stunning Oroton Drumfire in action - Carlo Borlenghi/ROLEX pic.

The Oroton Drumfire crew are of the highest calibre. Joining MacDonald for the passage south is James Whelan, who in September partnered with celebrated offshore sailor Stacey Jackson at the 2025 Offshore Double-Handed World Championship in Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. Jackson crewed on Oroton Drumfire in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

The crew’s objective is to secure the PHS Overall title, which they claimed in 2023.

Coming home for Hobart

Despite having raced in an array of overseas races and regattas, the date 26 December remains penned into MacDonald’s diary.

“I’m coming home to do Hobart as much as coming home for Christmas,” MacDonald said.

“It’s a priority in the racing calendar.”