Gladstone yachts to take on hot shots

by Media Services on 3 Aug 2005 Two local yachts are travelling north to compete in the prestigious Hog's Breath and Hahn Premium Hamilton Island Race Weeks from the 12-28 August.
Spirit, a Beneteau 44.5 owned by Brad and Maryke Barker and Immigrant, a Mumm 30 owned by Janet and Jeff Paul, will be flying the Port Curtis Sailing Club flag.

This will be Spirit’s umpteenth time racing up north and Immigrants first. Both yachts are being crewed by local sailors with a few imported hotshots on Immigrant.

Racing starts at Airlie Beach with the Hog’s Breath tropical shirt regatta, from 12-18 August, then it is over to Hamilton Island for a hard week of sailing at the Hahn Premium Race Week starting on 20 August.

Three other quick Mumm 30s will be at Hamilton Island, including the current national Mumm 30 champion from Melbourne. Racing will be conducted on windward/leeward courses, suiting the grand prix style of racing the Mumm’s excel at.

With a huge entry list expected to break the 200 mark, a clean start in the IRC fleet, expected to be around 40, will be a big factor for Immigrant to contend with.

For the Hog’s Breath regatta, Immigrant has the experience of Ray Hobbs, Tony Craner, Ben Hobbs and Steve Harrison (a Tassie Mumm 30 owner), while Janet Paul will be the shore-based crew, ensuring the crew get plenty of rest, instead of partying all night – she has an impossible job ahead of her.

Come Hamilton Island, the crew includes Ray Hobbs, Kane Davison, John Nayler and Michael von Felton, with the addition of a Perth crew member.

With a new suit of North carbon 3DL sails, featuring the most advanced sail technology available, including three new spinnakers, there will be pressure onboard to put this technology to the most efficient use.

Meanwhile, Spirit’s owners, Brad and Maryke Barker, have been taking their yachts and Gladstone crew to compete at regattas in the Whitsunday’s, firstly at Hamilton Island Race Week with Lunchcutter and then later with Spirit. They are now adding Hog's Breath Race Week to the itinerary.

‘It is a great trek north, with friends helping cruise to the race destinations and various crews joining the yacht at Airlie Beach for the weeklong regatta, then a change of guard for Hamilton Island,’ the Barker’s said.

Spirit has had a major revamp this year and her owners are looking forward to two wonderful weeks of racing in the large Cruising Division at both regattas.

Local crew, Geoff and Kym McInnerney are joining them at Hog’s Breath with stalwart Ian Chapman, while brother Col will take Ian’s place at Hamilton Island, while Wayne Sampson will do both regattas.

The Barkers son, William, will join the crew for Hamilton Island Race Week, while younger son, Tom, just back from representing the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at the Governors Cup, a Youth match racing event in California, will join the Sydney 38 Team Lexus crew for the second year running.

At Hamilton Island, competitors can look forward to:

Sat 20 August: The Lindeman Island Race (22 miles approx)

Sun 21 August: Short Coral Sea Race (60 miles approx)

Mon 22 August: Lay day (activities at Hamilton Island)

Tue 23 August: 2 x windward/leeward (12 miles each approx)

Wed 24 August: 2 x windward/leeward (12 miles each approx)

Thu 25 August: Whitehaven Race (15 miles approx)

Fri 26 August: Baynham Island Race (30 miles approx)

Sat 27 August: South Molle/Daydream Is. race (23 miles approx)

All results and news can be viewed at Sail-World.