Racing will finish on a high note for the final day of racing at the Whitsunday Yacht Club’s 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week, as the sun is out again and officials say conditions will be near perfect with a 15 knot trade wind forecast for all race areas.
Overcast yes, but conditions looked more manageable than yesterday, with winds in the 16-20 knot range at the 27th Airlie Beach Race Week today, but low and behold, not everyone got off scot-free.
Jason Ruckert has steered his Thompson 7, Mister Magoo into an almost unassailable lead in the Trailer Boat Nationals at the 27th Airlie Beach Race Week, with one day of racing remaining.
After sailing three windward/leeward races on Pioneer Bay, Mister Magoo (Qld) scored a second place and two wins to take a seven-point advantage over his nearest rival and former national champion, Katie II (NSW), in the Whitsunday Sailing Club hosted event.
All good things must come to an end, and today’s racing marks the penultimate day of 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week and the final winners of each division will be revealed tomorrow evening.
Conditions for the Whitsunday Sailing Club hosted Tropical Festival of Sail are expected to be more kindly than the big gusty winds of yesterday, with 20 knots forecast for Airlie Beach and its surrounds.
The weather gods turned their wrath on competitors at Airlie Beach Race Week today, the normally ‘Tropical Festival of Sails’ was not living up to that moniker, instead winds gusting 35 plus hit the Whitsundays.
Race Director for the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s annual regatta, Denis Thompson, called race officers to a meeting this morning to make tough decisions. In the end, it was decided IRC Racing and Passage divisions, along with Spinnaker Cruising Divisions 1 and 2, would race on the bay.
Race Director for the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week advised just before 11am that some divisions would race shortly after midday today.
Thompson said a course would be set on the bay in front of Whitsunday Sailing Club for IRC Racing, IRC Passage and Spinnaker Cruising Divisions 1 and 2, while the rest would stay ashore, to minimise damage and for safety reasons.
Otherwise, conditions are sailable on the bay, where winds are expected to be a manageable 25-27 knots.
What a difference a day makes, as overcast skies, showers and a forecast for big winds may bring racing to a halt at the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week today - gone are the warm, sunny and lovely trade winds of the first three days, maybe a layday upset the weather gods, who knows.
Race Director, Denis Thompson, has advised that due to strong winds the race committee has decided to postpone racing for a while, and a further decision will be made at 11am.
The best day yet at Whitsunday Sailing Club’s signature event, Airlie Beach Race Week, as trade winds strengthened to north of 18 knots, allowing yachties to enjoy a day of pressured up but pleasant conditions.
While the sports boats contested three windward/leeward races on the bay, the remainder sailed a longer passage race to the north-west from Airlie Beach. Graham Sherring’s Retuned scored a win in the final race of the day to continue her lead over Rees Howell’s Octopussy.
Another superb day of sailing weather at 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week yesterday and more on the way, according to the local forecast and competitors are asking, “How much longer can this fabulous racing weather last?”
Warm, sunny and lovely trade winds, whales and other sea life amid the beautiful Whitsunday Islands - it has been hard to take.
The weather could not have been better for yesterday’s opening day of Whitsunday Sailing Club’s 2016 Airlie Beach Race Week – or so we thought – but today‘s trade winds were enjoyed by the record 131 entries sailing across 10 divisions.
