Strong field for Whitsundays Festival of Sailing includes yachting champion Marcus Blackmore and his new superyacht

Whitsunday Sailing Club is expecting a sizeable fleet at the annual Airlie Beach Race Week, including several big names and the debut of luxurious new superyacht.

Carrera S and Ponyo tough it out at Airlie Beach Race Week in 2019. Picture: Andrea Francolini.

A trio of past Sydney to Hobart winners are among the heavy hitters heading north to race in the IRC Passage Division at the 33rd running of Whitsunday Sailing Club’s annual Airlie Beach Race Week in August.

Geoff Boettcher has updated his boat a couple of times since winning the 2010 Rolex Sydney Hobart and will arrive with his latest TP52, which in keeping with the theme of his former yachts, is named Secret Mens Business, or SMB.

The South Australian bought the 2017-built TP52 formerly known as Rio, in January, and finished third under IRC to Ichi Ban and Hooligan in the Adelaide to Port Lincoln race after claiming top place in Adelaide’s Premier Cup.
SMB still needs some fine-tuning ahead of the race week, where Boettcher’s rivals Darryl Hodgkinson and Phil Turner, and yachting champion Marcus Blackmore will also compete.

“We’ve found where it [the boat] was wanting; it’s not as good in heavier air as we originally thought,” Boettcher said.

He expected Airlie would give his crew some good practice for the Australian Yachting Championships at Hamilton Island, and he hoped to see more TP52s on the water.

“Everyone’s been a bit short on events to get up to speed this past year,” he said.

Darryl Hodgkinson is also racing a different yacht to that which won him the 2013 Sydney Hobart.

The newest Victoire, a Carkeek 40, also has its share of runs on the board from various events, including the Sydney Harbour Regatta in March.

“It’s very good in enclosed waters,” Hodgkinson said of Victoire.

The New South Wales yachtsman last competed at Airlie Beach Race Week in 2018 and professed:

“We’re looking forward to coming back because the courses are well-designed and you usually get a good variety of conditions.

“You also get a good variety of accommodation and restaurants.

“It has a good atmosphere for all concerned.”

Alive speeding downwind at the 2018 event. Picture: Andrea Francolini.

Phil Turner’s Alive (Tasmania) won the Sydney Hobart in 2018 and is returning with usual skipper, Duncan Hine, at the helm.

Marcus Blackmore will join Reichel/Pugh 66 with his new luxurious superyacht, Ammonite, which will make her major regatta debut at Airlie Beach.

Other well-known yachts entered in the IRC Passage division will also join: Carrera S (Gerry Cantwell) and Ponyo (David Currie) from Victoria, along with Sail Exchange (Carl Crafoord) from New South Wales.

Whitsunday Sailing Club is expecting a sizeable fleet as it celebrates 50 years’ operation, which began on the point in Pioneer Bay on April 2, 1971.

Entries to-date across all divisions have been received from Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

A full calendar of events and information can be found at: www.whitsundaysailingclub.com.au.