Entries for Ocean Dynamics and Mount Gay Airlie Beach Race Week 2024 continue to grow and among the latest, with two boats in the running, is local Michel Van Der Zwaard, whose two kids have been added to one of his boats for the 36th running of Airlie Beach Race Week, to be held from 8-15 August.
Van Der Zwaard’s daughters, Grace (10) and Mia (7), along with older school girls Jazz and Demi, are among the crew on his MC38 Black Jack 38. The boat, formerly owned by Peter Harburg, is entered in the Performance Racing Division.
A member of the host club, Whitsunday Sailing Club (WSC) Van Der Zwaard is more at home on a multihull, so he and the rest of the crew have been using local twilight races to get used to sailing a monohull – and with each other.
The youngsters are fortunate to sail on a boat of this calibre and it will be a steep learning curve for them.
The Performance Racing Division has all sorts, including Geoff Hill’s 2023 Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race line honours winner, Antipodes (Hong Kong); Colin Wilson’s MKL 49 Never A Dull Moment (NSW), Michael Rowe and Ben Martin’s Cookson 12, Kanreki (NSW), best remembered as the ex-Sail Exchange and Leo Rodriguez/Iyas Shaheen’s RP36 Shockwave, Smooth Criminal (Qld).
Back with Van Der Zwaard, the Airlie Beach Race Week regular and previous winner has also entered the MC32 multihull, M32 World.
Sailing M32 World, Mitchell will therefore be pitted against his brothers Paul and Blair Mitchell on Paul’s Extreme 40, Ullman Sails in the Multihull Racing Division, where there are currently a large and competitive fleet of 22 registered.
The Mitchells are difficult to beat at the best of times, so the battle between two boats will make for interesting viewing and the Mitchells have the rest of the division to contend with as well.
For more information on WOS, please visit: https://www.whitsundayoceanservices.com.au/about-me/
