Hamilton Island Race Week August 20-28

Event Calendar

Hamilton Island Race Week August 20-28

Hamilton Island Race Week is one of the gems on the sailing calendar. It has often been described by visiting skippers as “the best regatta week in the world” and if you enjoy close racing, perfect conditions and a packed social calendar then it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

At the “pointy end” of the fleets will be all the usual suspects – Wild Oats, Black Jack, Lahana, Loki and all the IRC boats still in contention to win an Audi car in the Australian IRC Championship, which has its last heat at Hammo every year. In 2010 at least one  superyacht, Kokomo, will be competing along with a few of the old maxis that are available for charter up this way, such as Condor and Hammer of Queensland.

But the competition can be just as fierce in the “social” Cruising and Non-Spinnaker divisions. Many club level crews attend regattas such as this one because they know it will improve their racing. While they may sail only once a week at home, getting out on the water eight days out of nine (there’s at least one lay day) improves their crew work and team spirit and most go back better sailors than when they arrived.

The classes to be raced in 2010 are IRC Grand Prix, One Design (Farr 40, Sydney 38, Farr 30 and any other where enough boats of the same design enter), IRC Passage, Performance Racing, Sportsboats, Super Yachts, Cruising, and Non-Spinnaker.
The Notice of Race can be found at
www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au.

However, the attraction of Hamilton Island Race Week isn’t just on the water. Hammo, more than any other race week in Australia, puts enormous effort into providing a superb social program. Celebrity chefs Matt Moran and Shannon Bennett will host two very special dinners and will also run master classes, allowing guests to get ‘behind the scenes’.  My Kitchen Rules presenter and chef, Pete Evans, will host a Ladies’ Lunch and Boys’ Barbeque, as well as a Cocktails and Canapés Cruise around the surrounding islands.  The traditional Moët & Chandon Lunch will be a social highlight, while a new addition for lay day will be a high-energy pool party, with live music and tropical cocktails.

The island will also welcome back the team from the US TV deep sea fishing series, The Deadliest Catch, who will regale the audience with their stories about the ones that didn’t get away – while the diners snack on fresh prawns and other local seafood delicacies.

Last year’s event provided plenty of action for those who didn’t sail, with the launch of three new fashion collections, including an exclusive showing of Collette Dinnigan’s 2009/10 Resort Collection, styling suites by ModelCo, regular wine-tastings at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club hosted by Robert Oatley Vineyards and daily tennis clinics with Todd Woodbridge. This year, golf clinics will be offered in recognition of the recently opened Hamilton Island Golf Club on neighbouring Dent Island.

As the southern half of the country shivers through the last month of winter, the tropical north looks even more inviting than ever.