By Ian Grant. At Hamilton Island.
Popular ocean racing skipper Marcus Blackmore and his Hooligan racing team continued to express their unmatched boat speed when they won the 2011 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week trophy yesterday.
Hooligan the former Team New Zealand TP52 and winner of the 2010 Merit Cup in Europe has become the start performer on the highly competitive Australian blue water sailing circuit.
‘I had a simple purpose in mind when I took delivery of the yacht late last year”.
“That purpose was to buy a high performance racing yacht then ask a group of good sailors to help me sail her to happily and hopefully be successful on the race course”
The Hooligan racing team inherited a well prepared racing yacht previously crewed by a team of professional New Zealand sailors who have won the Americas Cup.
“Sure the Hooligan as we call her now was set up to be competitive but it was up to her new crew to point the yacht in the right direction”. Skipper Marcus Blackmore said.
Hooligan hit her straps winning her first regatta in Sydney last December before winning the Geelong Race Week on Victoria’s Corio Bay then winning the Sydney Harbour regatta.
Skipper Blackmore then entered Hooligan in the 308 n/ml Brisbane to Gladstone race and scored a convincing win.
After a short celebration with the 62 year old The Courier-Mail Cup he then mentioned that Hooligan a super fast TP 52 class sloop would be nominated for the prestigious Audi Hamilton Island Race Week series.
Over the past seven days the Hooligan racing team headed by master tactician the World champion Olympic Laser skipper Tom Slingsby have left their rivals following their power sailing wake as the crew of good Pittwater sailing mates coached by Olympic Gold Medal winning mentor Victor Kovalenko claimed seventh win from nine races on a relatively moderate Whitsunday Passage today.