Hamilton Island Race Week Looms

Hamilton Island Race Week will soon be upon us with at least 150 entrants expected to compete in Australia's top offshore regatta.

The 150th entrant in the race is Romanza, an 18.2 metre long Morelli & Melvin Rapido 60. This is a fast paced trimaran, designed for speed and cruising. Owned by Auchland based yachtsman, Dougall Love, this innocuous yacht was designed by Los Angeles multihull designed Gino Morelli and Pete Melvin - a pair whose boats have proved their worth in the Olympics, the America's Cup and numerous multihull races.

Dougell Love will also be making his debut at the regatta, firmly at the helm for the duration of the race.

"It's certainly going to be an exciting week for me in every sense, Hamilton Island Race Week has been on my radar for many years, and I can think of no better way to make a debut," said Love.

The current 2018 Hamilton Island Race Week fleet includes 70 cruise-racers, 23 multihulls, 11 trailable yachts and 27 IRC class yachts. When entries close on August 5, the fleet is anticipated to exceed 200.

This fleet includes Australian racing figure, Ray 'Hollywood' Roberts who is bringing his Fast 40+ class offshore race, Team Hollywood, to the regatta.

"Like the TP52, the Fast 40+ is an exciting boat to race, so much so that I won't be surprised if the class gets a solid foothold in Australia over the next few years," said Roberts.

"I was at the inaugural Hamilton Island Race Week in 1984 and have been back more than 20 times since.

"Every one of those regattas has been unique in its own way, both on shore and on the water. However, I'm hoping this year will be particularly special because Team Hollywood should be ideally suited to the tropical trade-wind conditions we can expect for the series," he said.

(21st June 2018)