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39th Edition of Hamilton Island Race Week Concludes
17-24 August 2024
The final day of on-water action at Hamilton Island Race Week 2024 pushed all the way to the wire, with match racing finishes pushing right to the end in multiple divisions as placings remained in contention across all divisions.
It was a fitting end to a great Race Week, with 2000 sailors, 22 volunteers, and locals embracing the event in its full scale, from the racing to the onshore community and spirit.
“The 39th Hamilton Island Race Week has been a fantastic celebration of camaraderie, competition, and our shared love of sailing. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back next year for our 40th milestone—it’s going to be an event to remember!” said Hamilton Island Chief Executive Officer, Pete Brulisauer.
Conditions for the final day of racing left the whole fleet with a smile on their face; 15 knots of building trade winds, the stunning Whitsunday blue water and seriously tight racing.
The Rating and Hamilton Island Blue Divisions started from Dent Passage, with the remainder of the fleet, including Multihull and Trailable Divisions, starting from Eastern Passage. All divisions completed an island race to Lindeman, with the finish line awash with colour as fleets overlapped on the downwind return via Dent Passage to the Hamilton Island Yacht Club.
In Rating Division 1, Alive, skippered by Duncan Hine, and Wild Oats X, skippered by Mark Richards, showed their intentions early with fierce match racing in the pre-start. The two were looking for the early upper hand with only two points separating them overall. They ended up locked together for the race, with Alive eventually winning out across the line by just 29 seconds, giving them the IRC win as well. The match race gave Wild Thing 100, skippered by Grant Wharrington, clear air to sail a clean race and lead the division over the line by 20 minutes.
“The week’s been really good; I missed not having my friend Phillip Turner (owner of Alive) with us; we couldn’t have had better racing,” said Duncan Hine, skipper of Rating Division 1 winner Alive.
“This is probably our favourite destination for racing and we come every year if we are here. It is perfect, professional race management and the level of talent in the fleet is quite amazing. The hospitality has to be mentioned as well; we just love coming here,” he finished.
Rating Division 2 saw a similar battle emerge in the pre-start between overall leader Matador, skippered by David Doherty, and Hooligan, skippered by Marcus Blackmore. The match racing between the two saw Zen, skippered by Gordon Ketelbey, take the lead, which they would hold across the line for a second on corrected time. Despite being back in the pack, Matador did enough and held out Hooligan to take the IRC race win and the overall regatta win. Hooligan and Zen secured second and third places respectively.
In Rating Division 3, Ikon, skippered by Bruce McCraken, had already secured the overall IRC win before the day’s racing, but put it beyond doubt with a final win on corrected time in the last race. In the minor placings, Wazza Red Boat and ToyBox2, skippered by Ian Box, finished in second and third, which broke the tie heading into the day and matched the overall results.
Ray Roberts’ Team Hollywood took line honours in the Super 40’s, securing them a perfect scorecard on IRC corrected time, the overall win and “Boat of the Regatta”. Secret Weapon, skippered by Rob Appleyard, secured second place in the last race to move up and take second place from Kukukerchu, skippered by David Ross, in third place on the IRC table.
In the Cape 31 National Championship, Kukukerchu took the honours, with their dropped third place the only time they were out of the top two all week. Taking second place was Game On31, skippered by Julian Newton, with three wins in the last three races pushing them past Sam Haynes’ B4 – Celestial.
Multihull Black saw big changes to the overall standings as drops flipped placings throughout. Drew Carruthers’ Rush Hour took the handicap win in the final race. Zero, skippered by Jeff Dodd, came in second, doing enough to take the overall lead and secure the division win. Stuart Cox’s Cut Snake rounded out a consistent week with second overall, with Alba Dash taking third.
Hamilton Island Blue also saw a shuffling of overall results in what has been a tightly contested division all event. Katana, skippered by Brett Cooper, took the handicap win for the day, with Oroton Drumfire, skippered by Phillip Neil, and Eureka II, skippered by Mal Robertson, taking second and third. Overall Sharon Ferris-Choat’s Magic Miles took the win, with Gin and Tonic, skippered by Mitch White, in second place. Third was Caol Ila, skippered by Walter Carpenter.
Hamilton Island Yellow saw another tight overall finish with two and a half points between winner Zoe, skippered by Wayne Millar, second placed Kerazy, skippered by Shane McKay, and third placed Carla M, skippered by Mark Michalowsky. As one of the biggest divisions in the fleet, most boats had a high drop, and only ten points separated fourth to twelfth place.
Shearwater, skippered by Peter Barry, won Hamilton Island Orange by a clear margin. Solaire, skippered by Gary Davison, was second, with Rampallion, skippered by Geoff Adams, taking third. Also a large division, Orange saw mini battles throughout the week all the way through the table.
Hamilton Island Pink was won overall by Banter, skippered by Scott Robertson and Stephen Jurd, despite having their lowest score of the regatta in the final race. Second and third place was tied, with L’Esprit, skippered by Rick Rogers and David Stoopman, securing second on a countback from Tim Lewis’ Charm Offensive.
In Multihull White, Tao, skippered by Mick Hodgins, held on to their overnight lead to take the overall win. Vivacious, skippered by Kevin Lord, secured second place. Sea Dragon, skippered by Stephen Leonard, secured third place on a countback from Ralph Norton’s St Arnou.
The Trailable Yachts division saw the closest top three of the event, with just one point covering first to third. 5 O’Clock Somewhere, skippered by Paul Hawkins, took first place on a countback. Masquerade, skippered by Tom Vujasinovic, was equal points in second place. Third place was secured by Keep on Running, skippered by Gordon Syme, just one point behind in third place.
The Non-Spinnaker division was won by Bigger Day Out, skippered by Remco Pen. Second overall was Catcha Star, skippered by Jim Holroyd, who moved up from their overnight position. Third place was secured by Sea Change, skippered by Clive Saunders. The results are a reflection of the varied yachts making up the division, with a wide range of scores across the week.
The 39th Hamilton Island Race Week was a fantastic celebration of sailing in the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. Next year promises to be even better as the event celebrates its 40th edition.
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Ava Thompson, a skilled sailor and marine journalist from Auckland, has developed a deep connection to the ocean that guides her work. With a degree in Marine Journalism from the University of Auckland, Ava is known for her engaging and detailed storytelling. Her writing brings to life the thrill of sailing and the unique maritime culture of New Zealand, earning her recognition in the sailing community. Outside of her journalism, Ava enjoys exploring the rugged coastlines of New Zealand and competing in local regattas, always in search of her next seafaring adventure.
