With a week full of decent wind in the Whitsundays, racing is getting a little heated at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. None more so than the Multihull division! Pre-start jostling on Thursday saw no less than three of the multihull fleet returning to the marina before racing even began! Two of which will not be returning to racing due to extensive damage. Pictured adjacent, the super lightweight Farrier F32srcx, Carbon Credit from Adelaide will be going home in pieces, after losing the entire front half of their starboard float to the cruiser cat, Earthling. "It was in slow motion in a sense," said skipper Peter Hawker. "No-one got hurt; we made sure we were well back. Fortunately we were hit in an area that's not structural. It's a rotten way to finish the regatta; so disappointing for the crew. Things happen. That's sailing. We were just enjoying the week…." Unique to multihulls, the annoying trait of stalling in the middle of a tack was what led to the collision. While running down the line before the start, Carbon Credit threw in a last minute tack and stalled - head to wind. With all of nine tons behind her, Earthling had nowhere to go and took out the float, continuing through and slicing a huge hole in the main hull just forward of the mast. While the damage isn't all structural, repairs will be lengthy for the Adelaide based racer. Also retiring from racing for the day was the homebuilt Seven Seas 50, Fantasia. The sleek and luxurious catamaran collided with a monohull and destroyed the nose of their port hull. In a story of true Hamilton Island spirit however, the very next day they had her patched up and sailing again! Not only that, but they won the day! With a hard weekends racing ahead of the fleet, it's all-but-over in the Whitsundays! Check out the forecast right here on Seabreeze.com.au to see what's in store for sailors at the iconic regatta.

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