– written by Robert McClelland
It was windy, wild and wonderful in the Whitsundays for Hamilton Island Race Week 2026 — and a particularly successful week for the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
Strong south-east trade winds dominated much of the regatta, with 20-plus knots, stronger gusts and bumpy seas providing fast, physical and demanding racing. Boats, equipment and crews were tested throughout the week before somewhat lighter conditions arrived for the final day.
RPAYC had a substantial presence, with 17 Club yachts competing across the Rating, Super40, Hamilton Island, Multihull and Non-Spinnaker fleets.
And they produced some outstanding results.
Leading the way were WILD OATS X and BLACK SPARROW, which between them secured three overall series victories. SEEKING ALPHA added a second overall and ROAMANCE a third, giving RPAYC five overall podium results across the various divisions and rating systems.
WILD OATS X wins Rating Division 1
Sandy Oatley’s WILD OATS X emerged victorious from a remarkably close Rating Division 1 IRC contest.
After seven races, WILD OATS X finished on 12 points, just one ahead of FIRST LIGHT and three ahead of HIGHLY SPRUNG.
Her series included five race podiums — wins in Races 3, 4 and 7, a 2nd in Race 5 and 3rd in Race 6. With her Race 2 retirement discarded, three victories from six counting races were enough to secure the Rating Division 1 title.
BLACK SPARROW does the double
Peter Higgins’ BLACK SPARROW produced another of the standout performances of Race Week, winning the competitive Super40 fleet under both SFR and ORC AP.
Under SFR, BLACK SPARROW won the series on 12 points with an extraordinary seven podium finishes from eight races — three wins, three seconds and a third.
She was even more consistent under ORC AP, winning on 11 points. Her seven counting races comprised three firsts and four seconds, meaning she did not count a result worse than second throughout the series.
BLACK SPARROW also finished 5th overall under IRC, including a 2nd in Race 3.
Winning two Super40 series under different rating systems was an exceptional result for Higgins and his crew.
SEEKING ALPHA takes second
David Hamilton’s SEEKING ALPHA (MHYC/RPAYC) finished an excellent 2nd overall in Rating Division 2 IRC.
Few boats demonstrated greater consistency. SEEKING ALPHA finished on the podium in six of seven races, recording three seconds and three thirds.
Her only result outside the top three was a 7th in the final race, which became her discard. Remarkably, every race counting towards her final series score was therefore either a second or a third.
ROAMANCE on the Multihull podium
Gordon Beath’s ROAMANCE completed RPAYC’s overall podium results with 3rd in Multihull Racing EHC.
It was exceptionally close at the top. ROAMANCE finished on 22 points, just one point behind CUT SNAKE and MINT.
Her EHC series included a win in Race 3 and 3rd places in Races 2 and 7.
ROAMANCE also raced under OMR, finishing 6th overall and recording two further 3rd places. Across the two handicap systems, Gordon and his team finished the week with an overall podium, a race victory and five individual race podium results.
Strong performances across the RPAYC fleet
Behind the four headline performers was considerable depth throughout the RPAYC contingent.
RPAYC members were also well represented aboard yachts racing under other club burgee. Grant Pocklington’s RMYC Newport Super40 ANARCHY included a number of RPAYC sailors in her crew and produced a strong week, finishing 6th overall under SFR — tied on points with BUSHRANGER — and closing the series with an excellent 2nd in Race 8. In Rating Division 1, Andy Kearnan’s KOA, representing CYCA and with RPAYC’s Steve Maconaghy and Dave Taylor among the crew, finished 6th overall under IRC and completed the series with a 3rd in the final race.
The TP52 QUEST provided another significant RPAYC presence in Rating Division 1. Vice Commodore Peter Farrugia and members of his Bullwinkle team combined with the owner’s team for Race Week. QUEST finished 7th overall under IRC, with a best result of 5th in the final race.
Two more RPAYC yachts secured top-five overall finishes. Scott Robertson’s BANTER was 5th in Hamilton Island Yellow, with a 2nd and a 3rd among her results, while Billy Davis’ WINGS 12 finished 5th in Hamilton Island Green after recording two 2nd places.
DAGUET 2 (MHYC/RPAYC), sailed by Rob Aldis and Peter Byford, finished 7th in Hamilton Island Blue, with a best result of 5th. In the same division, Patrick Allaway’s PEGASUS finished 11th and recorded an excellent 3rd in Race 4.
Philip Bennett’s KING BILLY (RSYS/RPAYC) finished 8th in Hamilton Island Orange, highlighted by a 2nd in Race 2.
In Hamilton Island Yellow, David Boekemann’s BOMBOLO finished 10th, including a 3rd in Race 2, while Matt Doyle’s LA TROISIEME MITEMPS produced one of the week’s best individual RPAYC results by winning Race 6.
Sean Gartner’s SEREMISA finished 13th in Hamilton Island Orange, with a best result of 4th. Also in Orange, Alan Reece’s VITTORIA overcame a difficult overall series to record an excellent 3rd in Race 2.
Matt Lumsdaine’s ALBATROSS finished 12th in Hamilton Island Green and saved her best result for the final race with a strong 4th place.
In the Non-Spinnaker fleet, Liam Bennett’s CLOUDBREAK finished 10th overall, twice going close to the podium with 4th places in Races 2 and 3.
A Race Week to remember
The headline results for RPAYC:
- 1st – WILD OATS X – Rating Division 1 IRC
- 1st – BLACK SPARROW – Super40 SFR
- 1st – BLACK SPARROW – Super40 ORC AP
- 2nd – SEEKING ALPHA – Rating Division 2 IRC
- 3rd – ROAMANCE – Multihull Racing EHC
But perhaps the strongest feature of the Club’s week was the depth behind those results.
There were overall victories at the top end of the Rating and Super40 fleets, an exceptionally consistent second from SEEKING ALPHA, a Multihull podium for ROAMANCE, two more top-five finishes from BANTER and WINGS 12, and race wins and podiums spread throughout the RPAYC contingent.
From TP52s and Super40s to cruising yachts and multihulls, 17 RPAYC-connected yachts took on a particularly demanding Hamilton Island Race Week and produced an impressive performance.
For the owners, skippers and crews who represented the Club, it was quite a week.
Windy, wild and wonderful — Hammo 2026 was a Race Week to remember.