Airlie Beach Race Week

Racing in Whitsunday's is spectacular!
Sailing has been very good to me, it has allowed me to visit some really beautiful places. None have been any better than the Whitsunday's, a boating playground that stretches from Mackay in the south to Bowen in north. Its epicentre is Airlie Beach on the mainland with a string of beautiful islands protecting the waterway, each one a cruising paradise on its own and helping to form the Greater Barrier Reef. Hayman, Hook, Whitsunday, Linderman and Daydream Islands have coral filled surrounds with rocky formations and heavily forested protection from the south east trade winds that blow predominately all year round in this latitude.

 From a yachting perspective it is quite a technical place to go racing. The big tides that run through the main channel and around the Islands combined with the wind shifts bending through the valleys and bouncing off the cliffs of the small landmasses littering the water makes for decision making that belies the overall beauty and laid back nature of the area.     Hamilton Island has an international airport, marina, and is a microcosm for bare boat charters and holidaymakers in general. In September it is over run with an international yachting regatta now hosted by Bob Oatley, the owner of the Island and also of his maxi Wild Oats. Hamilton Island Race week is a week long event for the rich and famous and where normally beautiful yachts look small.   

A maxi lies in waiting at Mackay Marina

For as long as this regatta has been running there has been a more humble "other regatta" from the less ostentatious Airlie Beach Yacht club on the mainland. With a casual bar and welcoming spirit this regatta began as a bunch of cruisers out to enjoy the company of visitors filling in time. The first rule back then was you couldn't cross the finishing line without a topless maiden doing their best figure head impersonation! Like all things, the racing has become more and more serious in the ensuing decade or so to the point now that although not attracting the maxi yachts, it is considered a big regatta in its own right and a great tune up for the ultra competitive one design fleets. Learning the tricky patterns and subtle nuances of this waterway is critical and what better way to get some extra practise by joining the 250 odd fleet registered to match wits in the warm tropical water and enjoy the festivities this great club can offer as the sun slips behind the mountain ranges to the west!

 My days as a racer are by and large complete. I prefer these days to use my skills to navigate out to beautiful Islands with desolate beaches. To travel when the conditions are fair and relaxed rather than just bashing for the sake of bashing. To enjoy the company of friends and loved ones snorkeling or padding or sipping a drinks with an umbrella in it.  Having said all that I still love the water and the cruising lifestyle. just not the focus on how fast you can get there. For some people though there is a definite exception.

      

One of the reasons I consider myself so fortunate is looking at my best friend Mike. I have known him since we were both in our teens and even from an early age his energy and insight were remarkable. Over the years he has proven himself not only to be a successful businessman, he has become a dedicated husband, loving father and considerate and generous friend. He is also an adventurous soul and for years he has dreamt of sailing his yacht to an exotic location  to compete in one of these world class classics. Five years ago he drew the line in the sand and after much preparation his dream came to fruition. Having already enjoyed an epic adventure sailing his Bavaria 48 "Razzmatazz" North from Sydney (a passage of around 2000kms) it was time for us to make our way up here to join Mal, Col, and Mike(2nd one) for four days of racing and frivolity before the partners and wives arrived for the second half of the week to show us up!

Our skipper - Mike

So it was that we arrived to a festive Airlie Beach yacht club looking over our racetrack on a beautiful late Thursday afternoon. Marques had been erected and music was filling the bay as crowds of yachtsmen and women, most adorned in their team gear gathered in anticipation for the week ahead celebrated with cool amber from the sponsors.
There is nothing like the excitement/tension of a marina filled with yachts the day and even morning before racing and I headed down the dock soaking in the adrenaline of people scurrying about, bending their racing sails onto the fine spars, dodging wheelbarrows of anchors and bedding being removed to lighten the vessels up and watching the last minute repairs and maintenance being carried out with renewed enthusiasm on the eve of racing.

Media helicopter swing by for some action for nightly news

I won't bore you with the race intricacy's  except to say we had four perfect sailing days in beautiful sunny warm conditions with the trade winds turning on a perfect amount of wind for us to relish the conditions.

Mike(2) enjoying the ride before an injury cut short his time

Our teamwork and subsequent results also improved with each outing as we gelled into a team showing in our ever improving standings.
Each night after the"Razz" was tucked away we returned to the sponsors marque for an in depth breakdown of the days racing whilst a talented and beautiful female singer performed in an ever decreasing amount of dress! By the end of a racing day the focus of the discussion as we motored back to the marina was centred around what she could possibly be wearing that night! After the racing talk was exhausted we would all go into town to sample a varied fare from one of the many restaurants on offer in the packed hub of the towns activities.
                                                                               
                                                                               

Mal was an inspiration sailing with a broken arm!

                      Here on the eastern seaboard of Australia there is a thriving back packer market beginning at Bondi in Sydney's Eastern suburbs and ending up in Cairns in the far North Queensland Tropics. Along the way are such treats as Byron Bay, the hippie centre of Australia and a beautiful spot to try your hand at surfing.  Fraser Island the largest sand island in the world and home to the only pure breed of dingo, and the Whitsunday's with its centre piece the stunning Whitehaven Beach rated as on the best beaches in the world. As a result the town caters for the masses of young tourists with an ample choice of bars and hangouts with energy to burn for the party revellers to socialise all through the night before recovering in the huge waterside lagoon in the morning. As we made our way home the streets were filled with people staggering from one venue to another, all pumping out music to a variety of tastes. Just being there made me feel old and out of place!

Col and I teamed up as trimmers( he did the hard yards on the Genoa)don 

On the passage up Mal, who sailed with Mike and  Col, had a serious accident which resulted in him being evacuated by helicopter off the boat to Bundaberg Hospital. Mikes wife Rebecca went into overdrive making sure he was transported back to Sydney where she further organised the best surgeons to mend his badly broken arm. During the accident Mal managed to bend a winch handle that defied belief and thus, it was agreed the bent handle should be framed and passed on from crew to crew as they did their best to out injure each other! Mal's extra eyes and input proved a valuable asset to the crew despite his broken wing.
I am still not sure if it was with relief or sorrow (or both) that on the second day of racing he was able to pass on the "bent winch award" to the second Michael who managed to cut his foot under the toes during a tack just minutes before the second race. With blood pouring all over the deck it was decided to withdraw from the days racing and after bandaging up the severed foot sent him to hospital where 6 stitches were attended to his wound.

What this meant was that we suddenly had an opportunity to sail out to Hayman Island for some snorkelling and a relaxing swim for the afternoon. A man down our sympathies went as far as dropping him off and organising transport to the hospital whilst we enjoyed a perfect sail out to this beautiful nook! Having anchored away from the tourist boats gathered we pulled out the masks and fins and sampled some of the delights of coral coast sailing, gliding over coral heads watching colourful fish darting around its perimeter. I was especially pleased as this was an unexpected opportunity for Eva to sample this renowned area. Her one outing to join a race had turned into an experience she will never forget.

As the final days of racing for us completed and we swapped our crew position for Rebecca and the other girls we had a close tussle with several others before crossing the finish line ahead of them I turned to see Mike standing near me with a beaming smile of satisfaction. The pressures of work commitments a race course away I smiled, he looked truly happy and satisfied. Although we didn't set the racing world on fire, we did bond with some people I will be honoured to call friends. Most of all though I will always remember the look on a mans face that I care deeply about and know that I was a part of sharing his yachting journey and dream. I know this because just the day before as we hovered over some fish with masks on he looked back at his boat and remarked to me..."this is your fault you know, you and your sailing. I love it!!"