World, national and Magnetic Island Race Week champion Peter Sorensen has declared he is heading back to the scene of his last Queensland regatta win, the 2015 Magnetic Island Race Week.
Sorensen and his Sydney 36 The Philosopher’s Club team were the dual IRC and PHS Racing champions. They blitzed the field taking out IRC honours ahead of David Currie’s modified Farr 40 Ponyo and Bob Steel’s Mills 39-foot Quest, and PHS honours ahead of both Ponyo and Leon Thomas’ Farr 40 Guilty Pleasures VI.
“We have to come back and defend our dual championship titles,” Sorensen said.
This year’s 10th anniversary Magnetic Island Race Week regatta is being held from September 1 to 6.
“Love it up there,” Sorensen declared. “It is so good. It’s a much more relaxed, low-key regatta. The post-race parties are good too. The island is just fantastic.”
Joining Sorensen in the PHS division will be the 42 footer Elena Nova, owned by Craig Neill and skippered by previous Quest tactician, Andrew Pearson. Neill has campaigned the yacht extensively since 2014, competing in the northern Queensland regattas, IRC Australian Championship, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia harbour races, the Sydney Southport and Pittwater Coffs races.
Pearson expects other yachts from both Sydney’s Middle Harbour Yacht Club and the CYCA to enter in the coming months, prior to close of entries on August 25.
The classes open for this year’s Magnetic Island Race Week are IRC Racing, Performance Handicap, Non Spinnaker, Trailable Yachts, Sports Boats, Multihull Cruising and Multihull Racing.
The race schedule is a combination of round the buoys and passage races. Racing around the 40km of the Great Barrier Reef island coastline, past the Townsville foreshore and criss-crossing the deep blue Cleveland Bay, the monohull and multihull sailors experience the pleasure of pristine waters, stunning natural beauty backdrops and plenty of exciting tactical challenges.
The Notice of Race and online entry are available from www.magneticislandraceweek.com.au.
– Tracey Johnstone
