Beau Geste’s Hamilton Island tribute and trifecta hopes 16 May 2016 There are still months to go before entries close and already the big boat division of the 2016 Australian Yachting Championship is shaping up as a mighty effort by the local crews to prevent Karl Kwok’s Team Beau Geste pocketing a third consecutive title and back-to-back Hamilton Island series wins. Kwok has long supported the Oatley family’s favourite sailing series and this year in particular he wants his Audi Hamilton Island Race Week entry, which automatically qualifies Team Beau Geste for the Australian Yachting Championship, to convey his respects to the late Bob Oatley. In 2003 the savvy Australian businessman bought Hamilton Island then spent 13 years turning it into a sailor’s paradise and award winning holiday destination. Our team has always enjoyed Hamilton Island and we could not thank Bob enough for his contribution to the sport,” Kwok said. “A big reason for going back to Hamilton is a thank you to Bob and a chance to us to show our respects,” he added poignantly. Sail Port Stephens IRC div 1 winner Ichi Ban. Photo by Saltwater Images. On the division one battleground taking shape he says, “Taking on the Australian fleet is always a tough challenge and this will be the toughest event we have raced in Australia. We will have to be sailing strong from the first race onwards to have any chance of victory. We would like to win three national titles and two Hamilton Island series, but I am sure the Aussies will not let his happen without a fight.” Beau Geste’s racing team has been active in New Zealand fleet over the past six months and found the Kiwis aggressive which, according to the skipper, has kept them on their toes. The TP52 has been the dominant yacht design for some years in terms of major Australian Championship handicap (overall) victories. Two consecutive wins to Kwok’s current Botin designed TP and former 52-footer came off Rob Hanna’s 2013 victory at Geelong with his JV TP52 Shogun, now Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban. Before that Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan sailed to top honours in 2011 and 2012. Last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race major prize was scooped by Paul Clitheroe’s Balance, also a TP52. Recently Ichi Ban took out the NSW IRC Championship at Sail Port Stephens with a mighty clean-sweep of results and some fighting words, an important step in Allen’s most serious challenge to halt the dominance of the form boat and international Beau Geste crew, sailing for New Zealand and Hong Kong. “It will be game on at Hamilton Island,” Allen forecasts. “We are a lot better than we were 12 months ago,” agrees Ichi Ban’s sailing master Gordon Maguire. “Last year we’d only sailed six days before the Hamilton Island series, and with an inexperienced TP52 crew. Now we are a year down the road. We’ve spent time developing different modes and we are definitely minimising mistakes, so we will be harder to beat. Our biggest single improvement is us. Bear in mind we are sailing a boat that’s so old it has an age allowance and Karl’s in a brand new boat so it’s not apples versus apples, but at least we’ll make it interesting for him.” Allen’s Yachting Australia presidential commitments have him flying to Hamilton Island direct from the Rio Olympic Games with a couple of days spare before the championship commences on Sunday August 21. AHIRW 2015 Celestial sailing at Hamilton Island. Photo by Andrea Francolini. Also peaking at the state IRC title last month was Sam Hayes’ Celestial, another TP52 which finished up third overall, and Sebastian Bohm and Bruce Foye’s second-placed Rogers 46 called The Goat, a new-ish campaign that is coming together nicely. When the most fancied TP52 and other big boat crews in the South Pacific head to the 2016 Australian Yachting Championship, part of this year’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week August 20-27, they’ll race a six day passage and short course series in the Rating Class. National champions in three more categories, Passage Rating, Racer/Cruiser and Multihull Racing, will be also be awarded on the final day of the popular winter regatta in the Whitsunday Islands, on Saturday August 27. Audi Hamilton Island Race Week entries are approaching 120. All information relating to AHIRW is on the regatta website www.audihamiltonislandraceweek.com.au Further information: Lisa Ratcliff Australian Yachting Championship media e. lisa@occ.net.au m. 0418 428 511 Jane Gordon YA Marketing & Communication e. jane.gordon@yachting.org.au m. 0438 605 131 Denny-Lyn Dixon Hamilton Island General Manager Marketing e. ddixon@hamiltonisland.com.au m. 0407 160 771