Hogs Breath Race Week has been chosen to host the Sydney 38 One Design Pan Pacific Championship for 2003.
This continues a long association between the Sydney 38 One Design Class and Hogs Breath Race Week, with the Sydney 38 One Design Australian Championship having been held at Airlie Beach for the past three years.
Hogs Breath Race Week will again be held at Airlie Beach, from the 8th to the 14th of August. This year's event will be the fourteenth. Alongside the Sydney 38 One Design Pan Pacific's, the expected fleet of over one hundred boats will sail in the Big Boat and Premier Cruising divisions, IRC and PHS handicap, Farr 40 and Sports Boat fleets, as well as the Cruising Division.
With the new marina facility at Abel Point nearing completion, Hogs Breath Race Week is better equipped than ever to accommodate a large fleet. The majority of competitors will also compete at the 20th Hahn Premium Race Week at Hamilton Island in the week following Hogs Breath Race Week. Hahn Premium Race Week will also see the staging of the 2003 Sydney 38 One Design Australian Championship.
The Regatta Director for Hogs Breath Race Week, Andrew Palfrey said,
"We are very pleased that the Sydney 38 One Design Class will again be represented en masse at Hogs Breath Race Week. We have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship with the 38's over the past years. We are focused on providing a great week of sailing and socialising for all of our competitors, not least the Sydney 38's."
In commenting on the decision to again host a major class event at Airlie Beach, Sydney 38 One Design Association Executive Officer Simon Reffold said,
"The Sydney 38 One Design fleet has a long and happy association with Hogs Breath Race Week. We were looking for an on-going concept that would "internationalise" the class and the annual Pan Pacific Championships will do that for Sydney 38 One Designs. We have a number of boats in the US and SE Asia and we want to encourage those owners to attend this regatta and mix it up with their Australian counterparts. There are a number of great boats available for charter locally and, because they are strictly one design, using a charter boat represents no impediment to performance.