World champions line up for Hog’s Breath Race Week

by Ian Grant on 10 Aug 2005 Sunshine Coast ocean racing veteran, Bob Robertson, has cast the mooring lines to enjoy some warm water racing at the International Hog’s Breath Race Week over the Whitsunday Sailing Club courses off Airlie Beach.

Robertson and his delivery crew completed a comfortable cruise from Mooloolaba, aboard the Bavaria 42, Monkey Magic, and have enjoyed a relaxed week preparing the sloop for the opening race - around the Double Cone and Armit Islands on Friday.

‘You have just got to love this place - it’s a yacht racing sailor’s test-bench set in a warm and friendly environment,’ Robertson said.

He has sailed in 12 Sydney Hobart races and has regularly flown his battle flag in the annual Race Week regattas in the Whitsunday Islands, winning the Hahn Premium Baynham Island trophy at Hamilton Island last year.

Robertson’s well prepared German designed and built sloop will contest the IRC class for the Boss Hog trophy against a high class fleet of grand prix sloops, including the Sydney Mooloolaba line honours champion, Steven David’s Wild Joe.

Wild Joe, better known on the international racing circuit as the Bob Oatley skippered 2003 Admirals Cup champion, Wild Oats, is the pre regatta favourite.

However, good form should only be treated as a guide, as this fleet easily represents the best of the best to compete in the regatta’s 16 year history, and there are a number of different designs, both new and old, that have the potential to roll over the favourites.

The Sunshine Coast will be well represented; Bob Robertson’s Monkey Magic, Michael Balkin’s former Hong Kong Admirals Cup team yacht Corum, Ian Griffiths with Amity and Ken Down’s Ticket of Leave, just some which could win the main prize.

Balkin finished as the best performer in the Brisbane Gladstone race earlier this year and intends to continue with that form to contest for the trophy in the highly competitive IRC class championship.

A spirited Americas Cup match racing type duel is expected between the high performance 18m sloops from Sydney; Wild Joe, Dick Cawse’s Vanguard and the impressive new Reichel Pugh 60, Loki, owned by Stephen Ainsworth and having her first outing on the race track at Hog’s Breath Race Week.

All three yachts will superbly crewed, with Mumm 30 and Farr 40 World champion sail trimmer, Darren ‘Twirler’ Jones, flying in from Hawaii after racing in the Transpac to crew on Wild Joe, just one of the many ‘names’ expected at the event.

Hog’s Breath has more than just yacht racing though, and Cooroy catamaran skipper, Mal Gray, will be hard pressed to protect his ranking when he contests the 2005 Hog’s Breath Australian Formula 18 Championship against a group of high-profile rivals, including the newly de-crowned F18 world champion and defending Australian champion, Glenn Ashby from Victoria and Hobie 18 world champion, Brad Sumner, from NSW.

However Gray raced off Airlie Beach in the Hobie 16 Worlds, and this experience could provide an advantage when the 27 boat fleet duels for the honour of winning the green and gold ribbons.

*Amended by Sail-World