Another winter dazzler blessed the second-largest Hamilton Island Race Week fleet in the event’s 35 years. Fifteen divisions, 233 boats and close to 2,000 sailors from Australia, New Zealand and around the world spent six days in the Whitsundays dashing around tropical islands with only saltwater hitting the decks, until the final afternoon rainstorm offshore broke the sunny and dry winter spell.
It was wonderful to see sailors from all walks of life – carpenters, CEOs, chartered accountants, kids, and the odd canine coming together for a fantastic week of competition. We had a strong fleet of Beneteaus out on the water this year with some incredible results on the podium.
Flagstaff’s Mike Coxon, who led our daily race briefing “Shoot the Breeze” over the week, shared his wrap up of events.
“It was Hamilton Island at its best. Every year it seems to get bigger and better. The first couple of days the crews were all tested with a strong breeze and of course the trademark tides. Later in the week, the breeze was much lighter, the sun was shining and the whales were dancing.
Denis Thompson and his team did a fantastic job in setting challenging courses for all the divisions.
With the leader board being shaken up, most division winners were only decided on the last day with Beneteau grabbing a fair chunk of the silverware on offer.
Morning briefings – we were once again blessed with the company of many celebrity sailors who were very informative to the competitors who gathered.
Thanks to Michael Spies for his insight and tips on the courses and local knowledge.”
Congratulations to all our Beneteau owners; we had some terrific results across the board. Special shout out to skippers Matt Doyle and Paul Cozzi on La Troisieme Mitemps, Steven Fahey on Cartouche, Paul Lindemann on Biddy Hu II and David Rose on Wavesweeper, who all took line honors in their divisions.
Put the date in your diary and start planning now – Hamilton Island Race Week 2019 is confirmed for August 17-24. Please also read more about luxury yacht and powerboat events.
