2024 SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week will feature five days of sailing and more than 68 crews

Hundreds of sea lovers are descending on Townsville as the SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week kicks off, after the event saw a record 68 crews sign up in just 12 minutes.

Magnetic Island Sail Week 2024. Picture by Nikita McGuire

Hundreds of sea lovers are gathering in Townsville ahead of the annual SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week.

Kicking off on Thursday, the annual event reached 68 crews this year, with the event booking out in a record 12 minutes.

Race Director Denis Thompson, who has been involved in the event since its inception in 2007, said there will be some great racing throughout the event, with a mixture of light and heavy winds forecast that will suit the range of boats set to sail throughout the event.

“It’s a big open bay out there, so we can set some pretty good courses,” he said.

Competitors can join in the reat Inflatable Race. Picture: SMIRW

“It doesn’t get very wild weather; we have the beauty of the island. A signature race around the island, we look for good weather and the tides to be right. We look like we’re going to do that on Tuesday. The whole fleet will sail around the island, that’s always a good race.”

Featuring a stacked line-up of races and social events, chairman Mike Steel said it has become a staple for racing lovers across Australia.

“The event is going to bring about 5 or 600 sailors and their families over to the Island, so we are expecting around 1000 people to be involved,” he said.

“70 per cent of the fleet are from outside of the Townsville region, which really something to show what Townsville and Magnetic Island mean to the sailing community.”

Sailing master Jim Nixon is part of the crew sailing on Amaya, a 40-year-old, 11.6-metre boat, and said they have been enjoying the North Queensland conditions.

“We’re all from the south. We have a Tasmanian and a couple of Sydney to Hobart veterans,” he said.

“We came second in the Gold Coast to Mackay race... We did the Hamilton Island series.”

“We have just come up from Hamilton Island and there has been some good fishing on the way up. We’ve got a nice yellowfin tuna that we are still eating.”

From Father’s Day picnics to long lunches, deck parties, DJ’s and mud crab races there is something for everyone both on land and at sea during Race Week.

A favourite for the kids is the Great Inflatable Race.

SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week runs from August 29 to September 4.

For more information, visit the website.

Originally published as 2024 SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week will feature five days of sailing and more than 68 crews