Two races are better than one: Brisbane to Hamilton Island and Brisbane to Keppel starts
by Nic Douglass 2 Aug 2019 21:18 BST
2 August 2019
TP52s on the line - Lendlease Brisbane to Hamilton Island Race © Nic Douglass /
www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com
The Lendlease Brisbane to Hamilton Island and Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel races are away from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in perfect downwind conditions with a 12-15 knot sou'easter looking likely for the majority of the courses.
"What more could you ask for in an ocean race, a nice spinnaker start and a forecast of pleasant downwind sailing" said Katie Spithill, who was the lead commentator for Adventures of a Sailor Girl with Brady Lowe from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. "The stand out off the start was Barry Cuneo's TP52 Envy Scooters who executed a clean kite set and were first to get their bow forward".
Twenty four monohulls, including fourteen for the Hamilton Island destination, and ten for Keppel started the race at 1100 hours, with two multihulls getting under way for the Lendlease Brisbane to Hamilton Island Race getting under way just five minutes later.
"Carl Kwok's Beau Geste was quick to hunt down the monohulls who had a five minute head start, they looked nicely in control averaging in excess of 22 knots of boat speed" said Katie post broadcast.
You can check out the team's live introduction to the race, and their coverage from the sky thanks to H2O Media below.
Preamble for the start and introduction to the fleet
Live start of the Lendlease Brisbane to Hamilton Island and Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Races
Unfortunately since the live broadcast Celestial has retired, all are safe on board and she is returning to port.
Track the fleet and see the latest handicap standings here
Follow the Lendlease Brisbane to Hamilton Island Yacht Race at official website and Facebook page.