Weekly Sailing Summary

AUDI HAMILTON ISLAND RACE WEEK

In the closest ever finish in the four year history of the Audi IRC Australian Championship, Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki, a Reichel/Pugh 63 won the event by a mere 0.31 of a point from Harvey Milne’s Archambault 31 Aroona. Peter Horn’s King 40, Canute, was third with all three yachts coming from NSW. Ainsworth was presented with the keys to a brand new Audi A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic valued at over $90,000 and the elegant Perpetual Trophy designed by John Woulfe. The Audi IRC Championship comprises Audi Victoria Week in January, Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta in March, Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race at the end of July and finishes with Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

The 200 boat fleet of cruising yachts provided colour and spectacle when they set off in their various divisions from an extended starting line off Hamilton Island’s Catseye Bay for the last race around Lindeman Island.

The Prix D ‘Elegance was the perfect opportunity for some grown men to dress in tulle skirts and feather boas, for others it was a chance to make a political statement and for most it once again proved a highlight of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

Sailing superstar Jessica Watson raced a 6.1m SB3 sports boat one day and the next day took a couple of turns on the helm of four-time Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner Wild Oats XI.

For more news and divisional winners see www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

KEEL BOATS

Australian sailing legend John Bertrand and his crew Andrew Palfry and Tom Slingsby wrapped up the 2010 Etchells World Championship title in style at Howth, Dublin, in Ireland with five bullets in eight races and therefore no need to sail the final race of the series. www.etchellsworlds2010.org

The fourth Sunferries Magnetic Island Race Week will start on 3 September with record entries of at least 68 boats. www.magneticislandraceweek.com.au

The online entry system has been launched for the 30th Anniversary Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Race conducted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. www.rpayc.com.au

MULTIHULLS

If wing technology didn’t have everyone’s attention after BMW Oracle Racing’s victorious 33rd America’s Cup, it does now after the International C-Class Catamaran Championship won by Canadian defenders Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, hosted at the New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court Clubhouse. Australians James Spithill and Glenn Ashby were second. The high speeds and almost instant acceleration of cambered foils had members of America’s Cup syndicates, top designers and all sailors in awe. www.nyyc.org

Jerome Le Gal and Enrick Obert, representing France and hailing from New Caledonia in the South Pacific, won the Hobie 16 Worlds in Weihai, China. In second place was former Hobie 16 World Champion Gavin Colby and crew Sasha Marks, from Australia, and fellow Aussies Darren Smith and Jasmine Hill finished in third place. www.hobieworlds.com

18 FOOTERS

On his first visit to San Francisco, Michael Coxon overcame a stumbling entrance with five wins in the last eight races to win by one point the ninth annual 18ft Skiff International Regatta from fellow Aussie Herman Winning, who won three. Coxon’s crew were Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas. Howard Hamlin, the original organiser and two-time winner of the event, won the other race in a mid-regatta move before falling victim to the nature of the class that lives on the edge of catastrophe - in this case three crashes including one instigated by Winning and, indirectly, Coxon. www.18footers.com.au

OLYMPIC CLASSES

The Australian Sailing Team's 470 men's crew of Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page are now ranked number one in the world after winning the 2010 470 World Championship and the men’s 470 class of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, after their second year of sailing together. www.yachting.org.au

Victorian sailor Oliver Tweddell has finished third at the 2010 Finn Silver Cup in San Francisco, a great result for his second Finn regatta after only a few months sailing in the class. www.yachting.org.au

Australia's Laser class sailors are preparing for the 2010 Laser World Championship in Hayling Island, Great Britain, with racing set to begin on Monday 30 August. Australia will have 12 sailors in the 160 entrant strong fleet, led by dual Laser World Champion and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative Tom Slingsby. www.yachting.org.au

Australians Nicky Souter and Katie Spithill will compete in the 2010 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships from 20 to 25 September in New York, USA. www.sailing.org

AROUND THE WORLD

Fourteen-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker who left Gibraltar on 21 August has sailed on her own to the Canary Islands. www.lauradekker.nl

SAFETY & RESCUE

A new patrol boat has been launched for the Illawarra community in NSW. Boating activities like fishing, waterskiing and sailing are popular with Illawarra families, but there were 35 boating incidents in local waters over the past year – seven of which resulted in fatalities. The new craft will be used for a range of activities including on-water safety checks, education campaigns, and managing traffic during events on the waterways. www.maritime.nsw.gov.au

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Sep 4 – QBE Riverfire, opens the Brisbane Festival with aerial displays by the Australian Defence Forces, fireworks and music. www.brisbanefestival.com.au

Sep 4 - 5 – Darwin Boat Show, Darwin Convention Centre. www.darwinboatshow.com.au

Sep 5 – Oct 11 -- The Louisiades Rally for yachts and powerboats over 30 feet will depart and return to Cairns. www.louisiadesrally.com

Sep 11 - Great Whitsunday Fun Race www.whitsundaysailingclub.com.au

Sep 12 - Try Crewing Day, various locations, NSW www.bia.org.au

Oct 2 – 3 – Heaven Can Wait (HCW) 24 Hour Yacht Race and the associated One Lap Dash will be held on Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, NSW. www.heavencanwait.com.au

Oct 8 – 10 – Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show, Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club WA www.mandurahboatshow.com

Oct 16 – 17 -- 2010 Classic and Wooden Boat Festival, National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney. www.anmm.gov.au

Oct 30 - Hempel Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race www.gosfordsailingclub.com.au 

Photograph courtesy of Andrea Francolin/Audi: Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki