Gotta Go To Geelong- Vic Race Week!(Geelong, Victoria, Australia)- The boyz and gurlz Down Under as usual are having a ball on their J/24s going to some cool events, Simon Grain again has a bloody amusing report about an upcoming event that all J "Yachties" ought to know about (in case any of you are so inclined after freezing your buns off up North). "The annual Geelong Audi Victoria Week regatta over the Australia Day weekend is amazing! And, what a glam regatta it will be, again."
In the past, we had Terry Wise down from Sydney, Karl Chappell from Adelaide, both of whom are keen to come back. Call them and ask them about what a good time they had! Hmmmm, maybe that had a lot to do with all those girls on my boat (see photo)?! Actually, there is lots of everything. Lots of boats– around 600, lots of yachties– around 3,000, lots of cool refreshing drink (didn’t count), lots of bands playing lots of music (more than I could listen too) and, well, lots of girls, the sailing ones too! I guess I should point out to the sailing girls– there are lots of guys too, but you knew that already. In fact, if you can’t get a sail and a cool drink in Geelong then you are definitely not trying. Its one giant party and it’s been going for 166 years.
Last year there were around 25,000 people that visited the annual Geelong Week Regatta and Festival (yes, it is that big), it turns Geelong inside out. The weather was great and, of course, will be again. The Melbourne J/24 fleet is planning to make a big showing this season at Geelong and negotiations are underway to have our own division and prizes.
The week is ideally placed after our Nationals at the end of January and usually involves a race down the bay to Geelong and then a couple of days of round the buoys racing in mixed fleets at Geelong followed by a relaxing sail home to Sandy. Let me say it is a big event and you will feel like you have been through the wringer by the end of it but you won’t want to miss the next one once you have discovered what a blast it is. This is like no other regatta in the Southern Hemisphere.
For boats returning to Adelaide after the Nationals (or, coming from Sydney) – bring your boats back through Melbourne and we will store them for you and then launch them at Sandy before the racing. If you want to borrow or charter a boat from our fleet – get in early as there may not be many available, my guess is most will be going to the party. Or, maybe you just want to fly in and be a ROCKSTAR– do it, but get a crew spot early!
So the racing will be hot and if you’re coming from interstate, you will be racing against the likes of Dave Suda and Hugo Ottaway, or relative newcomers like Ron Thomson and Adam Evans, skippers that are dying to knock the best off their pedestals. Of course, you will have to race with the rest of the fleet too, now around 13 boats.
So this is a party not to be missed and you need to plan ahead. If you want to talk to us in Melbourne about sailing to Geelong then give us a call. Call Luke Mathews on 0403 233 589 or the other bloke Simon Grain on 0413 870 046. For more information on Audi Victoria Week Also, more information on J/24 Australia Class site