HAMILTON ISLAND RACE WEEK
16- 23 aug 2025
Hamilton Island Yacht Club (HIYC)
ABOUT
Hamilton Island Race Week is one of the most spectacular regattas on the Australian sailing calendar. Held each August in the Whitsundays, the event brings together the best crews from across the country and beyond for six days of fiercely contested racing in one of the world’s most challenging and beautiful venues.
For Moneypenny, each day is a fresh battle. The courses weave through narrow channels, around rocky headlands, and across open passages between the islands, demanding constant precision in navigation and sail handling. Trade winds can deliver blistering downwind runs at full power, while other days require patient, tactical work in lighter conditions - all under the watchful eye of a fleet ready to pounce on any mistake.
While each race is a stand-alone contest, every result contributes to the overall series score. Consistency is key — one bad race can undo a week of hard work, while a string of strong results can secure the podium. Hamilton Island Race Week demands adaptability, flawless execution, and relentless focus, and for Moneypenny, it’s a chance to prove our speed and skill against the very best.
RACE REPORT
Hamilton Island Race Week was a great success for Moneypenny and the team. Only three Maxis made the journey all the way up there – Wild Oats, Wild Thing, and Moneypenny – and getting yachts of this size up to the Whitsundays is no small undertaking. With just three maxi entries, we couldn’t form our own class and were combined with the highly competitive TP52 fleet. On the shorter courses, and with the need to short-tack close to the island shorelines to avoid strong currents, it was always going to be difficult to compete on handicap against the smaller, more nimble TP52s. Wild Thing, as a 100-foot super maxi, faced an even bigger challenge.
Our main goal in attending was to line up against the Oatley family’s Wild Oats X – the reigning Australian Maxi Yacht Champion and a Hamilton Island Race Week regular (whose family also own Hamilton Island). With both boats rated closely under IRC, the stage was set for some superb boat-for-boat racing. Race One went to Wild Oats, Race Two to Moneypenny. We also took out the third race – the longest race of the week – before the lay day. After that came two short windward-leeward races, which were never going to suit a bluewater yacht like Moneypenny with manually managed water ballast. Wild Oats claimed both with their maneuverable canting keel design.
That left two longer races to close out the regatta. In the first, we fell short by just 17 seconds to Wild Oats. In the final race, however, Moneypenny turned the tables. On that more open course, less influenced by current, we not only beat Wild Oats by 9 minutes but also finished ahead of all the TP52s on IRC handicap – taking out the division win.
This marks a huge step forward in our campaign toward our ultimate goal, the Sydney to Hobart. In our first outing at the Maxi Yacht Championship in December 2024, Wild Oats took the win while Moneypenny finished third. Now, less than a year later, we are proving highly competitive against them.
Fantastic racing, a magnificent location, and an incredible social atmosphere made for a truly memorable week. A huge thank you to the entire Moneypenny team for an outstanding effort – and a special mention to our ever-enthusiastic cheer squad on land.