Volvo 70 heads Hobart race epilogue

Matt Allen's Ichi Ban entered in Boag’s Sailing South Race Week in Hobart

The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s 2007 Boag’s Sailing South Race Week looks likely to attract the strongest ever line-up of mainland contenders, headed by the former Volvo Open 70 Ichi Ban.

Entries for the six race regatta to be sailed on the Derwent River, d’Encasteaux Channel and Storm Bay from 2-5 January, close tomorrow week 19 December.

IRC entries have been received from Matt Allen’s Jones 70 Ichi Ban from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Chris Dare’s Corby 49 Flirt from Sandringham Yacht Club and Ray Borrett’s Laurelle from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, the first production built Farr 42 by Austral Yachts.

Other expected entries are from the Quantum Racing, Ray Roberts’ Cookson 50, Team Lexus, the Sydney 38 owned by Lawrence Vincent, and a Sydney 47CR to be skippered by David Kellett, Vice President of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

Allen and Kellett, along with Roger Hickman who will be racing on Flirt, have been strong supporters of Sailing South Race Week, Kellett and Hickman have competed in every Race Week since the inaugural regatta in 2001 and Allen since 2002.

They will join a strong fleet of local yachts with entries already received from Mirrabooka and Magellan, along with Hobart’s three Farr 40 One Design boats - Hughie Lewis’s Euro Central, Stephen Boyes’ Wire and Wayne Banks-Smith’s War Games - and other leading local competitors such as Don Calvert’s Intrigue.

Mirrabooka, the ocean racer previously owned by the late John Bennetto, is making a return to racing under the ownership of Eddie Hidding, Bruce Rowley and Michael Wearne.

Dick Knoop’s Magellan, which won the PHS Division of Sailing South Race Week in 2001, has returned to Hobart following an impressive performance at this year’s Hamilton Island Race Week.

The opening race of Boag’s Sailing South Race Week will be sailed in conjunction with the traditional King of the Derwent on 2 January 2007 followed by a distance race into Storm Bay and four short windward/leeward races on the harbour for the IRC and PHS division boats.

Other divisions include Cruising Yachts and Sports Boats/Trailable Yachts.