By Ian Grant.
The warm waters of Pioneer Bay and the picturesque Whitsunday Passage were transformed into a colourful spectacle when the Whitsunday Sailing Club hosted the 2010 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week.
As expected the 21st anniversary regatta proved to be another outstanding success for the sport of international yacht racing while also injecting a welcomed cash flow into the community of Airlie Beach.
Sailors from the colder latitudes south of The Tropic of Capricorn welcomed the opportunity to blow away the winter blues with the opportunity to enjoy racing in the warm water environment which has identified the ‘one of a kind event’ as Australia’s tropical shirt regatta.
Race Director Denis Thompson and his regatta management team have applied the professional touch which now allows Airlie Beach Race Week to be ranked as Australia’s friendliest regatta.
This year’s record breaking entry attracted competitors from New Zealand, West Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and major Queensland clubs from Southport to Cairns.
One owner who had a big smile creasing his new suntan was Michael Hiatt the owner skipper of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria sloop Living Doll.
The popular skipper who treats his yacht racing as a relaxing break from managing the Living Doll label in the very competitive fashion industry is a serious competitor who has a passion for combining a high degree of fun factor with his crew.
“This is my seventh regatta and we will be back for the eighth next year”.
“The regatta has grown in stature because it is a great venue is professionally well managed besides being such a friendly place to race”. He Said.
However while the crews enjoy the racing, in the warm sunshine and the post race debrief with a cool drink in the hospitality tent there is an even larger crew who diligently work behind the scenes to make sure the regatta is a success for the Whitsunday Sailing Club and the community of Airlie Beach.
On race days this friendly crew slap on the sun screen and the traditional colourful tropical shirt then head to sea as volunteer’s supporting the race management team.
There are too many to mention individually however they deserve to be recognised for their loyalty to the Sailing Club and the event.
“It would be logistically and financially impossible for the Sailing Club to host the regatta without the generous support of our volunteers” Club spokesperson Jim Hayes said.
“They are generally the first on the race course and the last to leave yet their loyal attitude remains the same”. He Said.