The centuries old saying, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,’ will be ringing true for Melbourne yachtsman Ross Wilson and his crew at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010.

They have been on the podium in their performance cruising division at Race Week on four of the six occasions they have campaigned Wilson’s Beneteau 47.7, Eagle Rock, but they have yet to be the winner.

Well, if Wilson is looking for any sort of good omen pointing towards victory this time, maybe Eagle Rock being the 50th yacht to register on the already impressive entry list might just be it.

‘Hopefully this year will be the one for the big win,’ said Wilson. ‘Race Week is the only regatta we do each year, so if persistence has anything to do with winning we certainly have to be a chance.’

In all, Wilson has competed at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 11 times, and while winning would be special for him, that fact that he and his crew have so much fun each year is what keeps bringing them back.

‘Race Week is an exceptional regatta,’ he said. ‘We love it because we can enjoy some fantastic racing over a very short period of time in superb tropical surroundings, and the fun on shore isn’t bad either. Everything about Race Week is special.

‘I get a great crew of mates together – half from Sydney and half from Melbourne – plus a couple youngsters who can go forward of the mast, because we’re getting too long in the tooth for that, then we head to Hamo for a good time.’

What will be the 27th staging of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week is scheduled for August 20 to 28. Rod Jones, who is a two time winner of the Race Week champion crown in the IRC Grand Prix Division, currently holds the honour of having the smallest entry this year with his 6.2 metres long Sb3 sportboat, Club Marine Blue. This year’s list already reflects the broad base of the competition that is always enjoyed at Race Week: there is just about every possible type of keelboat already entered, starting with some casual cruisers in the non-spinnaker division and working up from there.  The largest to date is the 50-metre long superyacht Perseus. Kiwi offshore legend and Race Week regular, Jim Farmer, has entered his 52-footer, Georgia, out of Auckland, and Sydneysider Stephen Ainsworth is on the list with his impressive Grand Prix 63-footer, Loki.

Yacht Perseus

All information regarding Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010 is on the website – hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au This includes the Notice of Race and entry form plus details of the exciting, and very diverse, social agenda planned for the week.

Already more than 30 yacht owners have registered for the spectacular event. It will be staged from August 20 to 28 on the tropical waters of Queensland’s Whitsunday region where Hamilton Island stands as the centrepiece.

The entry list already reflects the incredibly wide range of racing being offered this year, and it also shows how far people are planning to travel to be at what is Australia’s most awarded regatta. The smallest entry to date is the eight-metre long Lorna Rose Too, owned by Tasmanian Mike Wearne, and not far behind in the size stakes is Tony Horkings’ Farr 30, Farrst One, from Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast. Then, at the other end of the spectrum is the massive 50-metre long superyacht, Perseus, which will be taking in Race Week as part of an 18-month cruise through the Pacific.

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010

This will be the first time that Superyachts have competed at the regatta. Another first will come at the Grand Prix level of racing this year: Hamilton Island’s owner, Bob Oatley, has decided that for the first time he will have both his Sydney Hobart race record holder, the 30.2-metre long supermaxi Wild Oats XI, and the smaller Wild Oats X, at the series.

Supermaxi Yacht Wild Oats XI

The first entry to be lodged came from Lake Macquarie yachtsman Noel Gough with his Northshore 38, Excapade: ‘I had no option but to get the entry in as soon as they opened on-line,’ said Gough. ‘My crew has been at me during the entire summer season, wanting to make sure I’d committed to Race Week. So, the only way I could get them off my back was to enter as early as possible. ‘This is my fourth Race Week. For us it’s all about mates having fun both on the water and on shore. There’s no regatta like it. You want for nothing. We can’t wait to be there.’

If you are interested in chartering a racing performance yacht or any type of sailing yacht in the Whitsundays, Australia, the South Pacific or worldwide, please chat with the charter specialists – CharterWorld.