Sailing's popular Wednesday night summer racing series, involving all classes of craft from small dinghies up to large cruising yachts, is set to begin this week in Hamilton Harbour.

Last year, more than 50 boats took part at some point during the series with between 20 and 35 out on the water in most of the weekly races.

This year organisers at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) have teamed up with the Fairmont Hamilton Princess to try to make the event more accessible to spectators.

The start and finish lines will now be in front of the waterfront hotel, with the hotel's Harley's Restaurant providing the overall trophy and offering a drinks special for race-watchers on its terrace.

Racing begins each Wednesday at 6 p.m. with boats sailing a course out through the Great Sound that will be fixed depending on wind conditions. Boats will then sail up the harbour to a turning mark off the RHADC and return to finish off the Princess before sunset.

In past years, the Wednesday races have started and finished opposite the Flagpole on Front Street. But cruise ships tied alongside Front Street made the starts and finishes difficult for spectators to watch.

As the event grew, the old start line became more crowded and organisers wanted to move the start to the other side of Albuoy's Point where there was more room.

Racing starts tomorrow and will continue every Wednesday until September 22 with four separate series trophies, sponsored by Bacardi, up for grabs.

In the past, entries have included everything from windsurfers to the ocean racer Starr Trail, a Farr 72.

Last year's overall winner was Addiction, a 28-foot Lindenberg , followed by the J24s' Erin and Gripper.

The PHRF handicap system will be used to allow different sized boats to compete fairly against each other. Entry forms can be picked up at the RHADC on Pomander Road.