Clipper Cup Honour Board
1978 to 1982
The name Clipper Cup came to be when Pan Am Airlines first sponsored the Waikiki Yacht Club "Around The State Race" in 1978.
This biennial event was contested four times and attracted a record 78 entries representing Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The race was billed as a perpetual international team racing event .
1995 to 2011
The inaugural Mirage Resorts Clipper Cup Regatta in 1995 was jointly hosted by Cairns Yacht Club and Port Douglas Yacht Club.
This event paved the way for the trophy to re-emerge as a major event for the host club. Only this time 9,000km away on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, on the waters of the Coral Sea, Far North Queensland, Australia.
Mirage Resorts sponsored five back to back regattas from '95 to '99 and it's alleged the hospitality giant purchased the trophy for the princely sum of $1 to ensure it would stay in Port Douglas.
Tim Preuss skipper of Voodoo winner 2005 Hogs Breath Clipper Cup & 2006 Janzs Clipper Cup
Other sponsors of that era included Hogs Breath Cafe, Janzs Winery, Audi Sport and Audi Centre Cairns.
Numbers dwindled as the first decade of the new century wound down. The 2010 Exemplar Clipper Cup attracted just ten competitors, however it was the involvement of Exemplar Coaches and Limousines as the major sponsor that kick started the rejuvenation of the regatta.
2012, 2013 & 2014
Exemplar Coaches & Limousines sponsored five consecutive years and by 2014 the Clipper Cup was well on its way to becoming a huge event once again.
The introduction of multiple divisions in 2012 laid the foundation for what would become Port Douglas Race Week. As the word spread neighbouring clubs from Townsville and Cairns began to attend on a regular basis.
2012 was also the year the regatta switched from racing over two consecutive weekends to five consecutive days. A bold step for a club with small numbers.
Sponsorship from Exemplar Coaches & Limousines allowed the club to offer prize money with consecutive years offering an $8,000 prize pool.
The stage was well and truly set for the bumper years that followed.
2015 & 2016
Mickey Ink Port Douglas Race Week 2015 attracted thirty two boats building on the growing success of the Exemplar Clipper Cup Regattas having attained over twenty boats by 2014.
The decision to re-brand the event Port Douglas Race Week in 2015 was made to align the regatta with the three major north Queensland race weeks.
Hamilton Island Race Week, Airlie Beach Race Week and Magnetic Island Race Week now had a little brother up north!
Scheduled to be the first major sailing event in the region each year the event began to attract a lot of attention.
2015 & 2016 Div 4 & J24 Div winner Bruce Clarke with event sponsor Mickey Doucett
2017 to the present
Quicksilver Group stepped on board as major sponsor in 2017, 2018 and 2019. With tremendous support also given by Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina offering free berths to visiting competing boats, Port Douglas Race Week continues to be a fabulous drawcard for sailing in the far north.
Numbers remain up between twenty to thirty boats with huge support from Townsville and Cairns and 2024 welcomes new major sponsor Riddoch Isurance Services.
Four days of racing and a week load of serious fun! Will you be sailing in the Riddoch Insurance 2024 Port Douglas Race Week?
Charm Offensive crew - 2021 Division 1 winners
ABOVE: 1978 Australian winning team boat Big Schott
BELOW: 1980 Australian winning team boat Challenge