Seawind Moreton Bay Regatta - 15 strong fleet compete

by Morgan McDonough on 11 Nov 2013 In October, the Seawind Cruising Club Series sailed into Brisbane for the annual Moreton Bay Regatta, run by Seawind distributors Multihull Central. With 15 Seawind catamarans competing and over 50 people in attendance, the social racing event was a great display of the momentum that the Seawind brand has in South East Queensland.

The weekend kicked off with a 'Meet the Fleet' BBQ and briefing at the Wynnum Manly Yacht Club and sponsored by Nautilus Marine Insurance. After a race briefing at the club early Saturday morning the fleet headed out under sunny skies and a soft breeze of about 8 knots, perfect to start everyone off and ease into the days racing while employing some different tactical strategies to get along the course. A group of close finishers gave the hard earned finish line the excitement it deserved, before heading into St Helena Island for raft-up lunch in front of the national park.

As the breeze increased to around 12knots it was time for the second race and conditions suited some nice long reaching sails from the start to Hope Banks beacon and then back to the Manly Harbour entrance. Once again even after a 12mile race there was a distinct group of five finishers at the end. Among the mighty fleet, Seawind 1000 'Sunbird' was dressed to impress with Pirate outfits and flags to match while other vessels chose to stay with more modern entire.

With racing completed it was time to head back to land and get ready for the Presentation Dinner at Wynnum Manly Yacht Club. With the club exclusively booked out by Seawind, the band Leave Pass entertained the crew while the gourmet buffet was laid out by the friendly staff.

With plenty of food and drink under the belt it was time for presentations. Third place was taken out by Craig Margetts onboard his Seawind 1160 Scarlett which circumnavigated Australia only one year ago, second place went to Andrewand Aida Stephenson on their Seawind 1000XL Black Diamond and the first place winner went to James & Nicola Udy with their Seawind 1200 Vellela.

Nicola commented on their win, 'A big thanks for organizing such a great weekend. We had a fun few days, topped off with a very unexpected victory!'

With presentations made and a timely fireworks display complete, it was time to get on the dance floor and party the night away!

The boats that didn’t need to head home continued the festivities on Sunday with a casual cruise over to Moreton Island, again a gorgeous reaching sail on crystal clear water followed by lunch on anchor at the beach.

Special mentions for this fabulous weekend have to made as it takes the support of our sponsors and friends to make these events possible. Peter Miller and the sailing committee of the Wynnum Manly Yacht Club were kind enough to provide the start boat for both races, start & finish. After watching the regatta Peter, a monohull owner himself, expressed a desire to go sailing on a Seawind 1000! We would like to thank Peter, The committee, all of our great sponsors & of course the owners for making this event possible.

Next year’s event will again be at Wynnum Manly yacht Club at the end of October in 2014.

The Seawind Moreton Bay Regatta is just one of eight Seawind events held around Australia and internationally, aimed at bringing the 'Seawind family' of owners together for social racing and sharing cruising knowledge and friendship as part of the Seawind Cruising Club Series. The Series has its crescendo at the Seawind Pittwater Regatta on November 22-24, the biggest non-trailerable multihull event in Australia.