Record fleet for Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week 2011

by Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week media on 1 Aug 2011 With close of entries still five days away, there is already a strong fleet for the 22nd annual Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week, which will be conducted on the waters of Pioneer Bay and the Whitsunday Passage from 11th to 18th August 2011.

Race director Denis Thompson says ‘We are only a few boats shy of the record of 119 boats now, so the scene is set for a record fleet and another great regatta.'

The biggest division will plainly be the Cruising Division which already has 38 entrants. Race organisers are expected to split the division into two and the Sports Boat fleet is likely to be scored both overall and within two divisions as well. This will be the largest sports boat fleet assembled in Australia in 2011 and a new record for Airlie Beach.

Many of the IRC Racing fleet are still on the water for the Sydney Gold Coast race, so it is expected more entries will come in over the next few days to join the 10 already registered.

There are already eight IRC Cruising entrants and eleven in Performance Racing, which traditionally is the strongest Whitsunday Sailing Club fleet. There are so far nine in the Cruising Non-Spinnaker fleet, ten Multihulls including the fastest boat in the southern hemisphere TeamVodafoneSailing, and seven Super 30’s.

For the Notice of Race and online entry and the current list of boats entered so far by division, go to www.airliebeachraceweek.com.au