Hamilton Island Race Week- What do you do when you’re a sunk em sailor

by Rob Mundle on 19 May 2014 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - Two weeks ago, former Australian Olympic sailing coach, Leigh 'Dorro' Dorrington, was involved in an unfortunate collision on Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay – a classic T-bone impact where the other yacht sank.

The good news is that while the incident made national headlines, no one was injured.

The yachts were part of a fleet of Adams 10s contesting the Waitangi Cup interstate challenge at the time. All seven crew aboard the sunken yacht, Serious Yahoo, were pulled unscathed from the chilly waters of the bay and taken ashore.

If there was any 'injury' it was to Dorrington’s pride. The collision was as embarrassing for a man of his sailing ability as it was tragic. It was already a miserable day on the water – the sort of day where the sailing is not a lot of fun because Port Phillip Bay was in a wild, wet, cold and windy mood.

However, within a few days Dorrington’s mind turned to better things: to warmer climes, a different style of racing, and a lot of on-shore fun.

He was thinking Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2014 – Australia’s premier, fun-in-the-sun, keelboat regatta where the best boats and most fun-loving sailors get together in August each year for a gathering like no other. He had been there 'countless' times before, so it was little wonder that the incident on the bay left him in no doubt he needed to be there this year.

Fortunately, his mate, Ray 'Radar' Semmens – who had been with him when the collision occurred – didn’t need any convincing when it came to heading north from Melbourne in August. Semmens owns the Davidson 52, Prime Example, and he readily agreed to Dorrington’s suggestion that they go to Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2014.

The entry was lodged, and ironically Prime Example became the 50th to be registered – a fact that confirmed the list was growing at the same rate as in previous years where an impressive fleet of around 200 yachts was at the island.

'Audi Hamilton Island Race Week is for everyone who wants to have fun and enjoy some of the best sailing there is to be had in the world,' said Dorrington, who was the coach for the Australian Olympic Sailing team’s Soling class in Los Angeles in 1984. 'I really do struggle to understand why Australian sailors want to go to regattas in the Caribbean when everything they seek is here in our own backyard – at Hamilton Island, every August. I can tell you from first-hand experience, Hamo is better.'

This will be the first time that Prime Example has been at the regatta. Semmens and Dorrington have already assembled a crew of male and female friends who know how to compete on the race course, and equally, have a good time on shore.

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2014 will be staged from August 16 to 23. The regatta is open to the full spectrum of keelboats, sport boats and multihulls.

The Notice of Race, entry form and regatta information are all available on the regatta website.