Supersized race week

While Australia’s best winter regatta, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, is traditionally a knockabout affair attracting more than 1000 salty sailors from afar, this year’s soiree from August 21 to 28 will take on a new dimension with the introduction of a superyacht division.

Lang Walker, the owner of the magnificent new 58-metre sloop Kokomo, declared his intention to be at Race Week soon after the superyacht division was announced. But organisers expected a fair number of international entries to follow and we hope Walker isn’t racing against himself. American Jim Clark had previously declared he was considering having one of his yachts, either the 88-metre gaff rigged schooner, Athena, or the J-Class sloop, Ranger, at this year’s regatta.

“The inclusion of the Superyacht Division means that Audi Hamilton Island Race Week will now cover the full spectrum of keelboat sailing, from the smallest cruising yachts to the largest superyachts,” said Hamilton Island CEO, Glenn Bourke.

“We have wanted for some years to have superyachts join us, and now, with the new Hamilton Island Yacht Club, our luxury villas, and the stunning 18-hole Hamilton Island Golf Club fully operational, we really can cater for everyone. Our regatta is going to be even greater,” he said.

ISLAND BUOYS
There will be special courses created for the superyachts so they avoid the coral reefs and to put on a spectacle for the mere mortals. The fleet will sail around the islands rather than buoys, with a long race on the Monday, and two lay days so their crews have time to pop the corks and down the canapés. The recent GST concession on new boats here by overseas owners might also help to boost big-boat numbers in future.

Meantime, for the hoi polloi, it will be tropical racing as usual: dodging whales, avoiding strong tides, riding stiff breezes, getting sun-kissed, having a ball, and maintaining the nation’s reputation as bon vivants with big thirsts.

“Hamilton Island is the best location in the world for this type of major regatta," said Bourke. "The island is the centrepiece among 68 uninhabited islands. It’s tropical, the waters and wind are ideal for sailing, and the onshore social activities cap it off to perfection."

Bourke, a three-time Laser class world champion and Australian Olympian, will be taking a special interest in the SB3 division at Race Week being a two-time winner of the SB3 UK championship.

Those crews in the Cruising Class and Non Spinnaker division will round the cans with their rail-mounted barbecues smoking, those competing in the Sports Boat and Performance classes will be trimming with vigour, while the IRC Passage Class will showcase the slippery cruiser/racers.

The big-boat razzle dazzle from last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart is well and truly spilling over into the territory of seasoned year-round ocean racers such as Syd Fischer and Ed Psaltis, with two 100-footers, Wild Oats XI and Investec LOYAL, signed up for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s seven-race Blue Water Pointscore Series commencing with the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in July. From Southport, many of the racing fleet will join the annual whale migration, cruising north in August to Airlie Beach or straight to Hamilton Island for Race Week.

To prepare for the BWPS and ultimately this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart, Sean Langman and Anthony Bell’s Investec LOYAL - fourth in to Alfa Romeo in last year’s Sydney Hobart Race - has spent the off-season in the shed undergoing the first of two refits. The initial works included widening the hull to find a better form and trim for what Langman describes as “a tacking regatta”, that is, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

“We will use Wild Oats as a trial horse at Hamilton Island then it will be back in the shed for a second round of mods to make us faster sailing in a straight line to Hobart at Christmas,” said Langman.

Physical training in the park and the gym started mid-May and with the celebrity element working a treat, there will be some very recognisable faces onboard for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, Langman promises.

For a full race program, on-shore activities, accommodation, travel details, and more, click on HamiltonIslandRaceWeek.com.au.