Slow start tipped in Qld Easter yacht race

Overwhelming favourite Black Jack's aim to set a Brisbane to Gladstone race record won't be helped by a slow start to Queensland's premier yacht race on Good Friday.

Light winds are forecast in Brisbane's Moreton Bay as the annual 308-nautical-mile race gets under way for the 68th time.

A fleet of 30 yachts will set sail at 11am from just off Shorncliffe Pier, which is being officially reopened after a four-year $20 million reconstruction project.

Organisers expect starting winds of about eight knots will double in strength by Friday evening, with peak northeasterly winds predicted for late Saturday afternoon.

But that could be too late for defending line honours and handicap champion Black Jack, whose skipper Mark Bradford wants 15 knot winds.

Multiple winner Black Jack's crew have been close to breaking the race record of 20 hours 24 minutes and 50 seconds, set by Skandia Wild Thing in 2004, before and will still give it a crack.

Race official Jodi Visser said light winds didn't necessarily mean the record wouldn't be broken by the 70-footer.

"Black Jack are travelling light this year, they only have a 12-man crew," she said.

"They are definitely vying for it."

Quest looms as the event's dark horse who Ms Visser believes could pull off an upset.

This year's event includes a shorthand category, which allows a maximum two crew members for yacht, for the first time.

BRISBANE TO GLADSTONE YACHT RACE:

- first held in 1949

- 308 nautical miles long

- race record of 20 hours, 24 minutes, 50 seconds was set in 2004

- begins at 11am (AEST) on Good Friday, starting two nautical miles from the Shorncliffe Pier

- has weathered worse storms than the Sydney to Hobart, with Cyclone Emily wreaking havoc in 1972 with winds up to 96 knots