Money man Paul Clitheroe's TP52 Balance 50th entry for Hamilton Island Race Week 2018
by Rob Mundle 29 Mar 2018 14:20 AEDT
18-25 August 2018
Paul Clitheroe's TP52, Balance, charges downwind during last year's Sydney Harbour Regatta © Andrea Francolini
As the list of yachts competing at Hamilton Island Race Week 2018 continues to climb at an impressive rate, two distinctly different designs have become the 49th and 50th entries.
It was high-profile financial expert, Paul Clitheroe, who took this year's fleet into the 50's when he lodged the entry for his two-time Sydney-Hobart race winning TP52, Balance. The yacht first won the classic in 2008 when named Quest and owned by Bob Steel. Then in 2015 Clitheroe took the same yacht, which he had renamed Balance, to top honours.
This will be Clitheroe's tenth Race Week, and he has declared that he and his crew plan to adopt a far more casual approach this year.
"I have always thought the TP52 would be a fun boat for Race Week, and we intend to prove that this year," he said. "While many other owners will be more fanatical about their racing and results, we plan to race well and party hard.
"The atmosphere around Race Week is unique, and we intend to see all sides of it this year," Clitheroe added. "There's something very special about racing around the islands in the Whitsundays then heading back into the harbour and going ashore to enjoy beers with everyone while listening to great live music. It's a fantastic atmosphere."
While the lodgement of the 50th entry marks an impressive milestone for Race Week 2018, the 49th and smallest entry to date is sure to turn heads during the regatta.
It is the 7.3 metre long Seascape 24 production yacht, Alfina, a European design that is having a huge impact on the sailing scene in that part of the world. The design is a development of the Seascape 18, which already boasts a fleet in excess of 300.
Since its release last year, the Seascape 24 has been voted "European Yacht of the Year 2017", and the best yacht in its category by three of the world's leading yachting publications. It is billed as "...the modern answer to the traditional 'people's boat' concept: trailable, sleeps four crew members, inshore performance oriented."
Understandably, owner Warwick Harman, from the Gold Coast, is eager to get Alfina to Race Week for her Australian racing debut.
"Having enjoyed three Race Weeks in recent years, I know this design will be right at home on the wonderful courses they set around the islands," Harman said. "It's going to be an exciting boat to sail on those waters."
Multihulls have also made a strong impression on the entry list. Twenty per cent of all entries to date are either catamarans or trimarans.
The 35th edition of Hamilton Island Race Week is scheduled for August 18 to 25. The largest Race Week fleet to date came in 2016 with 252 entries.
Hamilton Island Race Week has always attracted an impressive cross-section of yachts from around Australia and overseas. They range from small trailables – some of which have been towed half-way across the continent to compete – through to cruising yachts, Grand Prix racers, luxury superyachts and 30-metre long supermaxis. The strong multihull fleet has been similarly diverse.