SAILS HOISTED AND ALL HANDS ON DECK
SAILING fanatics from across the country have flocked to Tropical North Queensland for the 14th annual Sealink Magnetic Island Race Week.
The event is set to kick off today, with competitors raring to set sail following the unfortunate cancellation of last year’s event due to Covid-19.
The Magnetic Island race week has defied the odds after the virus ravaged the regatta calendar for a second straight year.
Race HQ co-ordinator Jenny Birdsall said it had been all hands on deck to ensure that this year’s event went ahead.
“This is only the fourth event on the eastern seaboard in the last 12 months where we’ve had mixed events and got everybody in one place so it’s pretty exciting and very good for Magnetic Island to go ahead,” she said.
Mike Steel, the chair of the event, will compete in this year’s regatta and highlighted why it was so important for the region.
“It’s the biggest event on Magnetic Island for the year. We estimate it’s in excess of $1 million that’s actually injected into the economy through our event,” Steel said.
Despite this year’s event reaching capacity in record time, Steel said it hadn’t all been smooth sailing, with a number of competitors having had to withdraw due to border closures.
“We had a fantastic start to the year. We had 90 entries at the very beginning with people on the waitlists but with the borders closing, we’re now back to 56 competitors and most of them are in the region as we speak.”
The event will host 19 first time entrants and 18 first time skippers, with competitors travelling from as far south as Tasmania to participate.
Sealink Queensland general manager Chris Briggs said the week-long regatta would host a range of events.
“We’ve got a great Father’s Day event lined up, and we’ve got the annual beer can regatta,” he said.