It seems that the lack of olympic kite racing hasn't dampened the spirits of Australias Kiteboarders, as the list of entrants grows steadily for Sail Brisbane. 

The competition that runs over Easter weekend takes on a similar format to the hugely successful Sail Melbourne event held last year. The regatta is open to all Olympic classes as well as invited internationally recognised classes, which for the first year ever includes kiteboarding. Racing in Waterloo bay off Brisbane City, the flat water and smooth winds around late March mean racers will enjoy the chance to test their skills with big kites in the 13-17m ranges. A nice contrast to the 30 knots days they had own in Melbourne!

Racing against the kites, will be all the boring kinds of boats you'd expect to see in a sailing regatta. Things like the 49ers, which cruise at speeds of around 10 knots on a nice day will seem like bathtubs compared to the kiters, who can easily top 30 knots on a downwind run in the bay. Could this be the publicity exercise that kite racing needs to reach the masses? 

It's not just QLD racers who'll be in the spotlight either, there's guys from Sydney and Melbourne making the drive up, and then the slightly more crazy guys from Perth who are flying over. Apparently there's some kind of bet going on between them and the NSW guys. Then, going one step further are the guys from Kiwiland... New Zealand. Not only are they getting on a plane, they're crossing the ditch to give us a taste of what went on in Sail Aukland earlier this year (can you see a trend here?). 

That rounds out one heck of an entry list for little yacht club in quiet old Manly. What are they going to do when they've got 40 kites on a start line!!!! Lets hope they can handle the spectacle... 

Stay tuned to hear about the event as it unfolds later this month. It runs over the Easter long weekend from the 29th March to the 1st April. 

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