Hamilton Island Race Week calm before the Midway Party

Today marks the halfway point of racing at Hamilton Island Race Week, crews squeezing the most from the gentle conditions for their passage race around Denman Island before the biggest Front Street party night and a well-earned day off tomorrow.

Thursday’s forecast for sou’easters 18-29 knots will ramp the action-metre back up for the second half of the annual six-day Queensland sailing series, now in its 36th edition.

“The second part of the week looks fresh, 20-25 knots, so we will have a great mix of conditions across the series,” said regatta director Denis Thompson. “With the combination of courses, short, long and medium races and light and heavy weather, we’ll get true champions in each division at the end of the week.”

Full results for all divisions racing at Hamilton Island Race Week here.

HIRW22 day 3 — SA multihull Crosshair_credit Bow Caddy Media

After three races in Hamilton Island multihull white division, Gerald Valk’s South Australian Farrier design Crosshair is a point ahead of its sistership and clubmate Carbon Credit, both F32s that will have been towed 6,000kms across three states and back by the time the roundtrip is complete.

Valk’s plan for tomorrow is a demolition derby on the Hobie cats at Catseye Bay with fellow multihull sailors and espresso martinis. Speaking about Thursday’s forecast blast of wind he said “we plan to get out there and keep the boat together. If it’s over 22 knots, we may consider staying in”.

Joining Multihull black division on board Andrew Pearson’s Nautitech Open 40 Flo team today was toddler Archie Curnow who was having a ball on the foredeck with mum Natalie.

Michael Rowe and Ben Martin’s Mumm 36 Norton White Corum is a lightweight 1993 design and a brutal ride upwind, “enough to shake your fillings out” calls out one crewmember. Like Crosshair, Corum’s crew isn’t excited about Thursday’s fresh breeze either. “When she’s good, she’s very very good but when she’s bad she’s horrid!” confesses Rowe.

The Manly Yacht Club team are given a money-can’t-buy item when they join the Norton White Corum regatta program – purple Hawaiian crew shirts.

“You think how many people get a baggy green and gold – hundreds!” says Rowe. “There are only 10 of these shirts in existence. If it’s your first regatta on the boat you are formally presented, but you don’t get to keep it.” Corum is currently fourth on the pink division pointscore.

Other division leaders at the midway point include David Fuller’s Another Duchess (Hamilton Island blue div), Wayne Millar’s Zoe (HI pink division) and Jon Linton’s Llama II (HI yellow div).

Onshore, the lay day will be a busy one – Bloody Mary pop-up bar and breakfast stall at F-arm, free pre-booked skin checks at the Skin Check Champions clinic, Charles Heidsieck champagne lunch and White Claw pool party and food stalls at the main pool on the resort side of Hamilton Island. An outing to the world-famous Whitehaven Beach, crew lunch at one of the island’s many restaurants or just a day to catch up on washing and boat repairs are options too.