WhitsundaysSailing Articles
However Race Week is about more than podiums. Success can be measured in moments as well as in points. On the Bommie Deck of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, one sailor’s afternoon ended with an entirely different kind of victory: a marriage proposal met with a resounding yes. The bride-to-be, fresh from a day out on the water watching the fleets fly through the Whitsundays, was caught completely off guard. The crowd’s cheers proved once again that Race Week is as much about people and connections as it is about racing.
© Salty Dingo
Forty Years, One Island, Endless Stories
02-09-2025
New names join the line-up this year, including Rod Appleyard’s RP69 Moneypenny from Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Dara Johnson’s silver-hulled Gunboat 68 Slingshot, and Grant Poklington’s 40-foot flyer Anarchy, racing in the Super 40 division.
The heart of the regatta, however, is the loyal fleet who make the pilgrimage year after year. Boats like Stuart Malouf’s multihull Coconuts (NSW), John and Kim Clinton’s much-loved Holy Cow! (NSW), Mark and Karen Tobin’s C’est La Vie (QLD), and Wayne Millar’s Zoe (QLD) — last year’s divisional winner — form the backbone of this great tradition.
27-08-2025