SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week 2014 - Coming back for more fun

by Tracey Johnstone on 1 May 2014 2014 SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week - Sydney yacht Never a Dull Moment has been absent from the SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week start line for the past two years, but now find themselves happily drawn back to north Queensland and the 2014 Race Week being held 28th August to 5th September.

A week of competitive racing and great parties is hard for any sailor to knock back, least of all this team who already know just how much fun they can have at the Magnetic Island regatta.

Never a Dull Moment’s owners, Colin and Denise Wilson, have competed three times in Race Week. The first time Colin was tactician for his friend Kevin Horne, aboard the little 32 footer Wild Spirit. He quickly learnt about the challenges of sailing around the island and in Cleveland Bay, including the shallows near Cockle Bay Reef.

In 2009 Colin and Denise returned with their boat Never a Dull Moment, a Lyons 49, finishing third in the Performance Racing Division. Then in 2011, the Wilsons were again on the start line in the Performance Division for a very windy regatta. A start line crash in Race one was a small distraction for the focused team. They performed well enough to be on the podium, but on count back they again finished in third place.

The Wilsons’ interest in again bringing their boat north from Sydney to Magnetic Island has a lot to do with the north Queensland camaraderie. 'It’s small town hospitality and really great place to go. The racing is fantastic,' Colin said.

The decision on which division they enter however is still open. Colin plans to have the boat remeasured in the hope that since the boat is now just over 10 years old, this year it will rate competitively. He commented that the boat is classified as a one-off race boat so previously hasn’t rated under IRC. 'Once we have that we will decide if we are going to race IRC or Performance Handicap.'

In previous years Colin’s enthusiasm for Race Week has driven him to push his fellow Cruising Yacht Club of Australia members join him in the regatta fun. This year he hasn’t had a lot of time to talk to other boat owners as has been too busy with his other passion, conservation. Colin is both responsible for the rejuvenation of the palm collection at the Sydney Botanic Gardens and the donation of plants for a two-acre garden in the Wollongong Botanic Gardens which will open in October 2015.

Colin doesn’t expect that his lack of event marketing around the Sydney fleet will have a negative impact on Race Week entry numbers. 'The regatta is getting a mind of its own. People are talking about going so I expect there will be a good fleet this year.

'We are still an advocate for the regatta and will definitely be entering,' he said.

The Notice of Race and the online entry for the nine divisions is available here. Entries close Friday 22nd August 2014.

Magnetic Island Race Week is hosted by Townsville Sailing Club. Sponsored by SeaLink. Supported by Magentic Island Marina, Touism and Events Queensland, Yachting Queensland, Townsville Enterprise.