Over 130 entries have been received to-date for 74 Islands Distillery Airlie Beach Race Week and among them are a good roll-up from the multihulls taking to the water in the Racing, Passage and Weta 4.4 divisions.
Those out to put their best feet forward for the 37th edition of Airlie Beach Race Week, to be conducted by Whitsunday Sailing Club (WSC) between 7-14 August, include the Paul Mitchell skippered Extreme 40, Ullman Sails.
Mitchell, the Whitsundays Ullman Sails sailmaker and enduring support sponsor of Airlie Beach Race Week (ABRW) is a maestro of multis and has won at ABRW several times, inclusive of last year.
Terry O'Brien (NSW) is another. As we went to press, he and wife Caroline were on the road with their Farrier F-9rx, The Stig, which they sailed to second place in 2023 and 2024– beaten both times by Intrigue (Peter Hackett).
The O'Briens left Lake Macquarie at 6.30am on Tuesday morning and will do the usual - take time out for overnight stops at camping grounds along the way. "The three guys on our crew will join us at Airlie," O'Brien shared.
From a quick stop at Coffs Harbour, O'Brien said, "It's made me rethink my strategy a bit, being beaten by Peter, who told me it's easier to win with a low OMR. It's an interesting psychologically now, because he used to be in front of me, but now he has a smaller boat, he's behind me. It's 'out of sight, out of mind', which is dangerous."
However, Hackett can't make it this year, so the road is clear for all-comers. The Lake Macquarie sailor sums up the competition: "Beatrix (Ray Martin) from WA will be hard to beat. It's a Farrier F85sr, which is a quick design and he has the standard rig, not the big rig, which means I should be faster on paper, but…
"Trojan is a Corsair 28r, Darren (Simmonds) the same as Peter Hackett's new boat, so he should be good. Terry Archer (ABRW Regatta Chairman and competitor) with G'Nome (a Grainger 075) is good in bigger breeze and has won the class in the past. Harmony (also a Grainer 075) is owned by Gordon Myers, an ex-sailmaker, who still makes trampolines for multis. He has a bigger rating, but on windy days, we really have to watch him.
"Frankie, the Farrier F82r (Joanne Norbury and Bill Trueman) is quick in the right conditions too," says The Stig's owner, who is bringing his boat to ABRW for a fourth time.
"I've done five Race Weeks in total. I came second in monohulls in 2003 on a Green 43, Strewth. I moved to multihulls in 2022 after sailing monos for 50 odd years. I turned to multis because they're fast, easy to trail and you don't have crew issues that you can have with monos.
"I've done 21 knots a few times on The Stig, but we're looking for an extra 4 knots this year – I have converted it to a canting rig, which I used in the Marley Point Race, which we won. We took line honours and finished second on the first day of the Bay to Bay Race in Queensland in 30 knots and finished third overall over the two day regatta," O'Brien said.
With ABRW number six approaching, O'Brien muses, "Sailing in the Whitsundays – how good is it? The variety of courses, sailing in the Molles race, the whales, weather and kiteboarding at Whitehaven on the lay day. Terry Archer and his team do an excellent job taking care of everyone. They put so much energy into the racing and the social side - kudos to them.
"My brother has his 46 foot cat in the marina – that's our accommodation – so we're always immersed in the sailing."
This year, O'Brien says, "I want to get the multi guys together in a WhatsApp group and rev them together as a collective to meet at the Club after racing. Usually my crew go back for a couple of beers and the presentation, but we want to make more of an effort with all the multi guys this year to enjoy the Club more."
In the Multihull Passage class, the entry list is just as eclectic as the Racing fleet and both first and second placed from the 2024 podium are among them. Troy Forrest's Grainger Raku 48, Mint, defeated Craig Molloy's Lidgard 52, Avalanche, by three points, so it is sure to be on again.
The top three Weta 4.4's from 2024 also return. Second and third placed Hazmat (Brad Stanley) and Manaia (Terry Bailey) respectively, will try to find a weak spot in George Owens' Wetasashag after the latter won nine of the 10 race series last year, using a win and a second as drops.
An international event, so far 133 entries have been received for 74 Islands Distillery Airlie Beach Race Week, which enjoys continued support from Tourism and Events Queensland, including as a feature on the It's Live! Queensland events calendar. Those entries represent every state and territory of Australia, along with Hong Kong and New Zealand.
The social side of ABRW is always fun. This year the ever popular Long, Late Lunch on the balcony at the Whitsunday Sailing Club returns, as do food stalls and live music every night at WSC – but more on the social side in our next release.
There is still time to enter, so register now to avoid missing out.
