Aussie v Kiwis - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach RW

'The Cookson 50 'Pussy Galore' to leeward of the Bakewell-White 52 'Wired' (Auckland Tauranga Race).' Richard Gladwell

New Zealand Ocean racing skippers Anatole Masfen and Rob Bassett plan to heat up the challenge for the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week line honours trophy on the warm Whitsunday Passage next month.

Both skippers have previous experience having raced under the Kiwi Battle Flag in 2006 and 2007 Festival of Sails and they are raced prepared to test the sailing speed of the Australian crews.

Rob Bassett has a slight size advantage with the 15.86m sloop Wired however he is expected to face a challenge from the three evenly paced Cookson 15.24m yachts, Anatole Masfen's Pussy Galore and the impressive Australian team challengers Quantum Racing (Ray Roberts) and Living Doll (Michael Hiatt).

The traditional Trans-Tasman sporting rivalry will almost certainly turn the picturesque aquatic playground of the Whitsunday Passage and adjacent island passages into a tactical warzone when these four exceptionally fast yachts become engaged in the dog-fight for the fastest at the regatta trophy.

A similarly interesting match race will unfold for the championship trophy in the IRC class with the 2007 champion Geoff Pearson's Arajilla returning to test her proven handicap rated speed against a high class fleet.

Geoff Pearson improved the resale value of his Archambault 35 sloop when Sydney 2000 Soling Class Olympian Neville cleverly helmed her to a relatively comfortable 2 point win over Living Doll while 2006 champion Ray Roberts steered Quantum Racing into third on count back over Bob Steel's TP52 Quest and Karl Kwok's Hong Kong sloop Beau Guest.

Pearson's 2008 crew will base their challenge on the fact that Arajilla has already proved she can sail above her handicap rating with her faster seven race aggregate of 5.89 seconds an hour becoming a handy start over Living Doll and Quantum Racing.

However her crew remain aware that the championship battle will be very competitive with both Living Doll and Quantum Racing gaining some speed sailing value from the line honours contest which could allow them to also sail above their handicap ratings.

Interest will also focus on the exciting Sports Boat championship where the former Australian JOG (Junior Offshore Group) champion Noel Leigh Smith returns to racing with the exceptionally fast and lightweight Vivace.

Vivace has shown her pace in previous Airlie Beach Race Weeks and her clash with the equally fast Stealth 8m 'sprint machines' No Limits (Bruce Tardew) and Bob Cowan's Stealthy promises to be a highlight of this international regatta.