Boxes Ticked for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week start 14 Aug Hamilton Island Marina cleared awaiting influx and race committee boats fueled. Tick. Cool rooms stacked with food, 10 tons of beer and 10 tons of bagged ice. Tick. Gardens manicured, paths swept and champagne glasses polished. Tick. Audis in place and gleaming. Tick. Hamilton Island is ready to host 2,000 sailors plus their family and friends, sailing and lifestyle media, VIP guests and sponsors who are arriving in waves for the second largest Audi Race Week in the event’s 32-year history, and the 10th year of Audi’s collaboration with Australia’s pre-eminent offshore regatta. A whopping 202 Race Week entries across the spectrum have been registered from every Australian state and territory, plus a couple of internationals. Boats old, new, big, small, single hull, double and triple hulled, family crewed, professionally crewed, teams of three up to 15, skippers aged 15 to 90. From this Sunday, August 16, to Saturday, August 23, the huge fleet will scatter each morning, making for their dedicated start line. Comfortably coasting without too much regard for a finish time is the pre-race vision of some crews in the Cruising divisions. Those teams contesting the serious IRC series are wrapping up Airlie Beach race week today, while others have been at the island for days, training and sizing up the competition. In addition to Audi Hamilton Island Race Week’s yearly program of six days of spectacular tidal racing around the Whitsunday islands, this year Yachting Australia awarded the island the IRC Australian Championship. An impressive 42-strong contingent is preparing to split up into four divisions – IRC Racing A, B and C, and IRC Passage Racing – and at the end of an intense week the new Australian champions will be declared. “I’m excited about the number of IRC owners who decided to enter, it’s the biggest IRC fleet in recent memory,” said island CEO Glenn Bourke who will be racing in the series aboard Wild Oats X. “We are also delighted with the growth in the other classes, in particular the multihulls and cruising. In every area of racing more competitors are coming to share the Race Week experience.” Not since 2010 has there been a decent stretch of breeze at the regatta, but today principal race officer Denis Thompson declared the tradewinds are back! “There is a nice high sitting at the bottom of Australia driving a ridge up here. It looks like we’ll have tradewinds until the middle of next week, maybe 15 - 18kts, depending on how the ridge develops. This means really good sailing, and could mean a regatta of two halves results-wise.” There are standby lists for standby lists of people wanting tickets to the hottest functions. Hamilton Island’s decade-long partnership with Audi Australia has created a sophisticated and multifaceted week-long Winter escape perfect for families, holidaymakers, business types, serious sailors and the fashion and food savvy. The FOC activities have been ramped up to a new level – an outdoor cinema thanks to Audi, Eat Street and nightly bands on Front Street to liven the atmosphere well into the night when the second wave of party-goers come out to replace weary sailors and those on curfews. Saturday evening, August 15, marks the grand opening of the 32nd Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, when the flag is hoisted at Hamilton Island Yacht Club and the fireworks spill into the warm night sky. Racing commences the following day, Sunday August 16. List of entries Website : #AHIRW @HamiltonIsland : /HamiltonIsland : #AHIRW @HamiltonIsland For additional regatta information please contact: Lisa Ratcliff Media Manager, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2015 Email: lisa@occ.net.au Phone: + 61 (0)418 428 511