Newsletter May 2008

Tropical Shirts

Cold weather and tropical shirts, what’s that all about? They don’t sound like they go together and they don’t. But if you have Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week in mind it is time to shake off the cold weather of the southern states, hunt the wardrobe for you loudest tropical shirt and get ready for some great times in the warm trade winds. Racing starts on Friday 15th August and goes through to Thursday 21st August. Check out the website for more details.

Marina

Meridien Marinas Abel Point, regatta headquarters, has been making a huge effort in landscaping the environs of the marina and surrounds in time for this year’s regatta. You will see a big difference in marina and the competitor’s area from previous years. Some limited dredging has been done at the marina to help those boats with deep draft. With marina pens at a premium we will be working hard to fit everybody into the marina with as little as possible rafting necessary. The competitor’s marquee will be located alongside the administration building looking out over the marina. A perfect spot for having a few cold refreshments while watching the sun go down after the race. The marquee will be in operation each day for after race lie-telling and taking the mickey out of fellow racers. There will be food available in the marquee and, of-course, cool liquid refreshments to celebrate a great day on the water.

Sports Boats

The Sports Boats fleet have embraced the new SMS (Sportsboat Measurement System) since the start of the year and are getting their boats measured at a number of measurement days around the country. Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week has specified SMS as the handicap method for all the Sports Boat races this time round. This will take a lot of the conjecture from the arbitrary handicaps which have been used in the past. The regatta is deemed a ‘wet’ regatta which means all boats have to be in the water for the whole length of the event. Launching of the Sports Boats is at the Abel Point Marina and boat trailers can be stored at Whitsunday Sailing Club for the duration of the regatta. The enthusiasm of the Sporties group is infectious and it looks like there will be a big fleet to contest the regatta on Pioneer Bay and surrounding Islands. If the breeze is up it is spectacular watching these boats planing on the flat waters around the islands.

Lasers

Those who were at race week four years ago would remember the F18 catamarans racing at the same time as the yachts on Pioneer Bay, very spectacular for sure. This year expect to see some Laser class boats blasting around the bay during race week. The Meridien Laser Master Blaster regatta is a new event which is part of Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week. Entry is restricted to the more mature sailors hence the name Master Blaster. In Laser speak a master is over the age of 35. We figure the Laser sailors shouldn’t have to miss out on all the fun of race week and the great sailing on Pioneer Bay. After such a successful Worlds at Terrigal there are lots of Laser Masters looking for another regatta to do. The Notice-of-Race for the Master Blaster is available on the regatta website.

And The Party Goes Like This

One of the most important areas of race week is the social scene and the organisers have expanded the hectic round of parties during race week. The Welcome to Race Week function will be held in the Competitors Marquee at the marina on Thursday 14th after registration. This will feature live music, food and fun to kick off the regatta and set the tone for the whole week. Friday evening skippers and their partners are invited to join Hume Campbell from Fantasy Cruises on board “Amari” for drinks and to cruise around the bay and take in the breathtaking sunset. The marquee will be jumping on Saturday after racing with a local live band pumping. Sunday evening after a refreshing cool drink at the marquee it is a short trip to town and the famous Parrot Head Party on the Esplanade until very late. The Parrot Head Party is one not to miss with a Jimmy Buffet tribute band playing. Monday is a lay-day and a chance to rest and relax (or do repairs to the boat after three days of hard racing). Partners of the racing crews are not forgotten and Tuesday is the Partners Long Luncheon. Sit at the Luncheon and watch the boats race around the bay while enjoying the food delights served in a fabulous surround. You will need to book early for this one as there is limited seating available. Jamaica Joes is the venue for Wednesday evening’s cocktails for owners and navigators. It is sure to be a great shindig. The last day of the regatta is Thursday and as soon as the race committee have tallied up all the scores we will get on with awarding the trophies and prizes. When we have done the official duties it is party time at the competitor’s marquee! Whew, that sure is one hectic schedule to keep up with.

Book early

Whilst Airlie Beach has a lot of accommodation it soon fills up for race week. If you have not booked your accommodation, please do so soon, we would hate you to miss out.

Live Music

The ‘Wolverines’ are back from entertaining the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (did you catch them on TV) and are fired up for Airlie Beach. John and the boys will be bring their rather unique style to the event once again (it wouldn’t be race week without them, would it). You can be sure they will have the marquee jumping after a hard day on the water. As well as the Wolverines another return gig is Brian Fraser and good friend Pop who will be on in the early part of the week. This duo is a classy pair who performs anything from Blues to Rock. To keep things bopping along, a couple of local bands are also going to play in the competitor’s marquee after racing. These locals know how to entertain and will blow your socks off!

Courses

We have been pouring over the charts and tide tables in to the wee small hours designing courses for this year’s regatta. Whilst a lot of the courses haven’t changed much there are some subtle differences from previous years to ensure the best racing around some very scenic parts of the beautiful Whitsunday Passage. The tides can make a big difference in the direction of the courses and PRO Tony Denham and the Race Committee has come up with the right answers on the course design. If Hughie (the wind God) plays his part, we are in for some very good racing.

See you on the water !!

Denis Thompson Regatta Director