Hamilton Island Race Week
Date: 15 August 2026 – 22 August 2026
Location: Hamilton Island Yacht Club, Hamilton Island, Australia
Hamilton Island Race Week is Australia's largest offshore keelboat regatta, sailed each August out of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays with courses threading the islands along the Great Barrier Reef coast. The 2026 regatta, the 41st, runs 15-22 August and had passed 170 entries by June, from the 100-foot maxi Wild Thing 100 down to a 6.9-metre Sonata 7, with international campaigns including Karl Kwok's Beau Ideal from Hong Kong in the Super 40 division. Racing spans rating divisions through to cruising and multihull classes, so the fleet is genuinely broad. Ashore, the event doubles as a resort-island social week. The 2026 programme includes a long lunch with chefs Josh Niland and Khanh Ong, a conversation with Olympic silver medallist Olivia Price, a Kylie Minogue Wines garden party and spectator cruises aboard the superyacht Rascal. Entries close on 3 August 2026. Trade-wind season sailing in mostly flat water between islands is the core of the appeal.
View this event on the World Sailing Day map
More sailing events in Australia
- Sydney Boat Show — 30 July 2026 · Sydney, Australia
- Great Barrier Reef Festival — 31 July 2026 · Airlie Beach, Australia
- Airlie Beach Race Week — 6 August 2026 · Airlie Beach, Australia
- Magnetic Island Race Week 2026 — 27 August 2026 · Magnetic Island, Australia
- World ARC 2026-27 Second Half Start — 8 September 2026 · Darwin, Australia
- Sail Melbourne 2026 — 26 November 2026 · Melbourne, Australia
See all sailing events in Australia, or browse the world map to discover regattas, open days and sailing festivals near you — and explore yacht clubs, marinas and sailing schools along the way.
Sailing nearby
Planning to attend? These clubs, marinas, schools and other sailing places are close to Hamilton Island and worth a visit while you are in the area:
- Hamilton Island Marina — Marinas, Hamilton Island, Australia
- 1st Victorian Sea Scouts — Sea Scout Groups, Melbourne, Australia
- 35 South Marina — Marinas, North Haven, Australia
- Adelaide Sailing Club — Yacht Clubs, West Beach, Australia
- Altona Yacht Club — Yacht Clubs, Seaholme, Australia
- AusSea Sailing School — Sailing Schools, Sans Souci, Australia
- Australian National Maritime Museum — Maritime Museums, Sydney, Australia
- Australian Superyachts — Yacht Brokers, Sydney, Australia
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