Windfoiling is a new, exciting emerging sport that is quickly gaining attention in Australia.

The Australian Squad team of three participants – Grae Morris, Caelin Winchcombe and Hamish Swain – have been training at the Whitsunday Sailing Club for several weeks, under the guidance of coach Arthur Brett.

“I have been coaching the squad team for the last two years. I have been a windsurfer and a sailor for a large part of my life,” Mr Brett said.

“My coaching duties had been focused on the more traditional Olympic sailing classes but I decided to change over to this exciting class after the Tokyo Olympics.

“What sets it (windfoiling) apart from windsurfing, is that the board has a hydrofoil attached to it, which allows the windsurfer to sail with their board above the water, while the foil remains submerged beneath.

“The board rides on horizontal, narrow but long, carbon fibre hydro foils, and generally rides about 50cms above the water.”

In the next Paris 2024 Olympics, windfoiling will be part of the sailing discipline, and the Australian Squad is taking the opportunity to train in the Whitsundays, where the conditions are best.

“The team has had various international successes in sailing classes and windsurfing but this is a new discipline that we have embarked on,” Mr Brett said.

“We have a heap of work to do and we are up to the task. We are training about six days a week while we are here.

“Our expectations are long-term, and the first step is to qualify the country for a place in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

“The Tradewinds are reliable (here) during the winter months and our sport needs wind!

“The venue is magnificent, and we are extremely grateful to the Whitsunday Sailing Club for welcoming us into their facility.”

The NightOwl Annual Gala Awards evening was a winning triumph for the Whitsundays’ own Roz and Nick Woodham, of NightOwl Airlie Beach.

The awards night was the highlight of the annual NightOwl Conference, where 130 franchisees, support staff, and trade partners gathered for three days to share knowledge, network, and discuss the future of the brand.

The Star, on the Gold Coast, set the scene with a beautiful gold and black formal theme, and this year the inclusion of guest speaker and Olympic freestyle skier Jacqui Cooper added a special motivational moment, leaving everyone feeling inspired.

Roz Woodham was presented with the 2022 NightOwl Award for Customer Service Champion.

Presented by Ross Connel, from Frucor Suntory, it was a well-deserved accolade of recognition for the significant focus Roz places on making sure all her customers feel valued and cared for in-store.

“To receive the customer service award means a lot to both Nick and myself, as we strive to relate to our customers every day,” she said.

“We make a point of knowing our regular customer names, so we can greet them as they enter the shop.

“We start the customer relationship this way. Every customer is greeted with a friendly smile with a ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Afternoon’ or a just polite ‘Hello’.

“We strive to remember if it’s sugar in their coffee or tomato sauce with their sausage roll. Our staff are friendly and helpful every day/night.

“Being open on a regular basis is important so that customers know they can rely on us for what they need.”   

Both Roz and Nick are very proud of their NightOwl stores as anyone who has shopped with them would know.

They love the Airlie Beach lifestyle and have been welcoming customers since opening the stores in July 2014.

Pop in for drinks, hot food, to top up your weekly shop, or for a coffee, or to grab your weekly Whitsunday News newspaper – they’ll be very happy to serve you!

Bangs, tree toppling and chainsaw noises have been prevalent in the Cannonvale neighborhood, just adjacent to the Ergon substation, for the past two weeks, as the first stage of the Cannonvale substation expansion begins.

Now, a wide-open space can be seen by drivers on Shute Harbour Road and surrounding areas; an open space that will allow the company to expand the current substation, from the area near to the existing substation, to the bottom of Lupton Place, next to the TAFE.

In April, the Government announced that Ergon had launched the next stage of a $27.5m upgrade of the electricity network, which will provide power to thousands of customers across the Whitsundays.

“The government announced the expansion in a corresponding media release…residents of the area adjacent to the construction received a brochure in the mail with information,” Senior Corporate Communications Advisor Emma Oliveri said.

The project is expected to refurbish and expand the Cannonvale substation and duplicate key sections of the 66,000-volt underground cable network between the Cannonvale substation and Shute Harbour.

“A safe, reliable power supply is a cornerstone of economic development and this major project is building on existing infrastructure to deliver long-term benefits for households, businesses and industries in this diverse region,” the Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement Mick de Brenni said.

The company assured residents the trees had been assessed for nests and it had developed an environmental management plan prior to their removal, for a safe relocation, if required.

The project will provide a greater capacity that, in turn, improves the security of the electricity supply for 8,000 homes and businesses in the area, and hopefully will prevent another Christmas in the dark, as in 2020.

For updates or to find out more about the project, visit the project website www.ergon.com.au/whitsundays-project or call 1300 653 055.

The moving of the artworks into the new gallery, in the resort centre, is almost complete.

Lightfoot Young, aka Foot, was sailing around the world forty years ago when he came across the Whitsundays, and he didn’t think ‘anything better was on the horizon’.

Many generations of customers from across Australia and the world have passed through Foot’s gallery retail spaces on both Hamilton Island and in Airlie Beach to purchase his marble and bronze sculptures in all sizes.

“The management [of the island] thought they could utilise the land I occupied to expand the Tavern next door, and figured I’d be better off in a more central location,” Foot said. 

“I resisted this for a long time but, in the end, I believe they were right. There was recognition of my contribution to the appeal of the island, and that is quite satisfying.”

The relocation to the new retail space has been not only a hard task, involving the making of custom timber cabinetry, sanding, and lacquering, but it has also been an emotional experience for Foot.  

“There is an incredible amount of emotional attachment to that old building,” he said.

“It was built out of a need for both workspace and show space, from whatever I could find.  

“Some of the timber has barnacles that grew on it before washing up on a beach. It’s growth over 37 years was in direct step with my growth as an artist, and I was lucky to be given the opportunity to establish it.”

During the relocation, Foot and his team faced several challenges, but finally the install and fit out has been completed at the new venue, although the largest pieces still remain in the old gallery, or they will find another home.

“Fortunately, I had the Airlie gallery as a prototype to work from,” Foot said. 

“Management liked what they saw there and I assured them I could give them a fit out that suited a premier holiday destination. 

“But, as usual, I had to do it all myself, but I had some great help. I was lucky to have a good mate, Roy Bannister, who had a large shopfitting firm in Melbourne for years, and his input was incredible.

Every Tuesday afternoon, a group of about 30 people meet to perform line dancing, at the Uniting Church, in Proserpine, and people can just drop in and drop out whenever it suits their schedules.

‘Out of The Blue’ line dancing has been moving their feet on the wooden floor of the Uniting Church for many years, with the company of Debby Shannon, one of the group’s instructors, and also the person behind their beginnings.

“The main thing with line dancing is you learn line dancing, good for the brain, you do lots of dancing, great for the body, and you listen to music, so great for the spirit,” she said.

“People used to associate line dancing with country music but, today, you dance to the best of every kind of music there is.”

In time, ‘Out of the Blue’ has become not only a place to shake and make some steps while dancing, the group is also a place to grow strong friendships that extend beyond the walls of the Uniting Church.

“I am so blessed to have these people in my life. Whenever someone has a challenging time in their life, you can count on at least one member staying in contact with you, even if you can’t dance. I am so proud to call them my extended family,” Petra Cromack said.

Last July, the group organised a successful charity event in Bloomsbury Memorial Church, to raise money for the Cancer Council.

“We weren’t actually aiming to raise heaps of money, but we thought that, if we have the opportunity we would make the most of it and we would donate the money equally half and half to the cancer council…and we raised $1,000 dollars, it actually blew us out of the water,” Ms Shannon said.

Line dancing goes from 1pm to 5pm, on Tuesdays. See Facebook page for details.

PAW-gust is an annual fundraising event across Australia that encourages people and their dogs to go for daily 30 minutes walks, to raise funds for Guide Dogs, during the month of August.

The money raised during August goes towards helping raise, train and breed Guide Dogs for people in need.

The team at Whitsunday Law, Cannonvale, joined the cause and are hoping to raise $1,000 by the end of this month.

“For the month of August, the team at Whitsunday Law will be doing our part to help raise much-deserved funds for Guide Dogs Australia,” Whitsunday Law’s PAW-gust team leader said.

“We hope to reach our goal of raising $1,000 for this worthy cause – this is where we need your help!

“Not only will your donations help us to stay motivated, but it will also help to provide vital funding to Guide Dogs currently in training.”

Whitsunday Law has a team of nine dogs and, so far, they have walked collectively 78kms and, at the time of writing, they had already raised $878.

“We have nearly reached our goal already! The weather has been making it easy for us to enjoy being out and about with our fur babies.

“As dog owners, we know just how much love and joy is brought into our lives by our pooches, however, this is incomparable to the presence of Guide Dogs in their owners’ lives.”

Thousands of Guide dogs are trained every year and it costs in excess of $50,000 to breed, raise and train one Guide Dog, so every dollar donated counts.

Check out Whitsunday Law’s four-legged team and how you can donate for the cause at  www.pawgust.com.au/fundraisers/whitsundaylaw/pawgust

Tarryn Griffin, a business owner and a mother of two kids, left her previous rental property, in March, and, since then, she hasn’t been able to find a home to live in.

“After weeks of staying at friends’ houses…we finally managed to get a cabin in a caravan park out of town so, since May, we have been renting here,” she said.

Her previous real estate agent has refused to give her a reference letter to support her application, which, in turn, makes it even harder for her to get rental accommodation in such a competitive arena.

“We are still applying for rentals in town but there is just literally nothing I can do without a reference letter from my previous real estate agent,” Ms Griffin said. 

Adding to the problem, the few rental accommodations available in town are too expensive for her to afford.

“The accommodations that are available are ridiculously expensive, you know single parents, there is no way they can do it on their own, even with two parents working, they are still going to be struggling,” Ms Griffin said.

Ms Griffin had tried everything possible she could think of, she had contacted several local organisations to help her, such as the Neighbourhood Centre and Whitsunday Housing.

“Housing Whitsunday has a waiting list of six months, and we just have to wait for someone to move.” Ms Griffin said.

Unfortunately, even if the organisations are in the frontline, listening and finding solutions, they don’t have the resources or infrastructure to help people in these situations.

“People would go to Whitsunday Housing or Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre because they’re your local options but we don’t have the investment or the resources and capacity to support people in that situation,” Whitsunday Neighborhood Centre’s Rebecca Woods said.

“It is nothing for real estate agents to have 45 applications sitting on the email before they’ve even finished the open home for the property, so It’s a very competitive market and has contributed to locals being without shelter, without a home, and that means they live in caravans.”

The annual event took place at the Whitsunday Anglican School campus, which opens its doors to youth to celebrate writing, reading and creative thinking.

During the festival, 46 students in Years Four to Six, from Queens Beach State School, had the opportunity to meet and connect with inspiring Australian authors, such as indigenous storyteller and songwriter Lucas Proudfoot, children’s author Kate Foster, and Nat Amoore.

“It was an amazing experience for Queens Beach students to connect with real-life authors as a part of our enrichment program,” Queens Beach schoolteacher Tenille Piggin said.

Students in Years Seven to 12, from Proserpine State High School (PSHS), also participated in writing and art workshops at the event, held on July 14, where they learnt useful skills.

“They learnt some valuable skills on how to use dialogue, ‘less is more’, and using descriptive language, and the students have already been able to apply these skills to their work at school, and teach others what they learnt,” PSHS teacher Rachel Noble said.  

The experience was inspirational not only for the kids but also for the accompanying teachers who attended the festival.

“Our teachers were also able to share these ideas with other teachers and students back at school,” Ms Piggin said.

“We also purchased a range of books for our school library, and we were very lucky to meet and get Lucas Proudfoot, Nat Amore and Kate Foster to sign them. “The students and teachers were very star struck!”

During a BBQ held at the RV park, in Collinsville, the club handed a $300 cheque to Collinsville netball player Patsy Neli-Lilo.

“Collinsville Lions endeavours to assist students who are selected to represent Collinsville or the Whitsunday region in their chosen sport,” Marissa Kearney said.

“It is to assist with travel and uniform costs. Generally, it’s either $200 or $300 depending on our financial situation at the time of the application.

“All money that is raised within the Collinsville Community by the Lions is returned back to the members in Collinsville.”

Patsy – described as a competitive, athletic young girl, who always strives for the best – plays with the Whitsunday netball team, and successfully made it to the 10 to 12year-old North Queensland team this year.

“Patsy was shocked when her name was announced to be included in the North Queensland 10 to 12 years team,” Patsy’s mum Silivia Neli-Lilo said.  

“She never expected to be on the same level as other girls because she only picked up the sport last year.”

The donation will help Patsy’s family to cover some of the traveling cost for netball training.

“Patsy is extremely grateful for the donation from the Lions’ Club because two months of travelling to her Whitsunday and North Queensland netball training have been disruptive and costly to our family,” Ms Neli-Lilo said.

Other than netball, Patsy likes athletic disciplines and was successful in high jump and long jump last year, in primary school athletics, and she even qualified for North Queensland athletics last year.

“She is starting to realise that she can go further in the sport if she puts her mind into it. She also wants to try her luck in rugby league and, hopefully, one day she gets to wear a Maroons jersey,” Ms Neli-Lilo said.

Madison Taylor, Teagan Rodriguez, Chelsea Hore, Sophie Jenkins and Gracie O’Brien, are preparing for what promises be an extraordinary experience, as soon they will be traveling to New York, for the acclaimed Fashion week.

Fashion week has been a long-awaited dream for Madison Taylor, a Proserpine State High School student, in Year 9. 

Madison has been modeling for the past four years at Brooke Lee Modeling, Mackay, and has attended Deportment School, as well as participating in modeling competitions for the past three years.

This year, she was crowned Junior Miss Photogenic Australia.

“It has always been a dream of mine to model in New York Fashion Week and I am so grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime,” Miss Taylor said.

“It will be so much fun to do this with my friends whilst supporting each other every step of the way.”

Every autumn, in New York, the fashion week brings together fashion industry lovers from all over the globe and, thanks to Belle Le Chic, Madison and the other girls are about to experience an amazing lifetime event.

Belle Le Chic is a local company owned by mother and daughter duo, Jasmine and Isabelle Kratz.

“We are very excited. My daughter Isabelle will be modeling with the girls, and I will be there supporting all the models and their families and making sure they have an amazing experience,” Mrs Kratz said.

Belle Le Chic will also organise editorials, photo shoots, sessions with hair and makeup, gowns and all the accessories for the girls.

“We will be having photo shoots in Hawaii and New York,” Miss Taylor said.

“These photos will play on a Time’s Square billboard. How amazing is this! Whilst in New York, we will also compete in the hiTechMODA Model competition.”

Belle Le Chic is taking the experience to the next level, as they have arranged an amazing travel itinerary for the girls and their families, including Disneyland and Hollywood, in Los Angeles.