Audi King of the Docklands

Racing in the first three heats of the Audi King of the Docklands in Melbourne © Andrea Francolini / Audi

Racing in the first three heats of the Audi King of the Docklands in Melbourne © Andrea Francolini / Audi

Racing in the first three heats of the Audi King of the Docklands in Melbourne © Andrea Francolini / Audi

Gale force winds upset Audi King of the Docklands

Organisers were forced to cancel the Audi King of the Docklands this afternoon due to big northerly winds which blew in excess of 25 knots constantly throughout the day forcing the cancellation of all sailing events at Skandia Geelong Week.

There was much disappointment among the sailors who were vying for Australia’s richest prize in sailing, an Audi A4 2.0-litre sedan TDI donated by Audi and an SB3 dinghy, donated by Oceanburo. The prize, valued at over $100,000 was due to be presented to the newly crowned ‘Audi King of the Docklands’ this evening at Waterfront City, Docklands.

Three heats were held yesterday evening and a further three were to be held this evening starting from 6.00pm, after which the six heat winners were to race-off for the prize.

Audi’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann, said the cancellation of racing today at the new Audi King of the Docklands event, due to the gale warning across the state of Victoria, was unfortunate but came with the territory of sailing.

“Part of the excitement of sailing is the unpredictability of the weather. An experienced sailor often deals with a variety of weather patterns in one day of racing and today, down at Docklands, it unfortunately got too rough for safe sailing. The heats which ran yesterday were very exciting and highly competitive between crews who were racing each other to win a new Audi A4 and an SB3,” Mr Hofmann said.

“The spectacle of these lightning-fast one design boats in the middle of Docklands on Wednesday was impressive. The racing was colourful, very visual and very close to shore with spectators easily able to see the action first-hand from Waterfront City. The Audi King of the Docklands really does bring sailing into the heart of the city, making it accessible for everyone to enjoy.”

“Whilst the outcome was a ‘no result’ in 2009, we look forward to a return of this highly competitive event in Docklands next year,” Mr Hofmann said.