THE WHITSUNDAY Sailing Club held the Tropical Rentals Whitsunday ‘Sail Airlie’ Regatta over the Easter long weekend, with 65 participants joining the competition.
The Regatta was open to all age groups, with the fleet sailing three separate course areas with matching boats of similar design or performance.
Whitsunday Sailing Club commodore Heather Sutton said the weekend was a hit.
“It went really well, we had people from all ages, children from seven all the way up to 70,” she said.
“They came from all over Queensland – we had people from South Port, from Brisbane, Keppel Bay, Tinaroo, Townsville, Bowen and here – so we had people from all over the coast.
“It was the first time we’ve had a regatta in North Westerly winds, so that was a bit of a challenge.”
The Green Fleet Tackers, which consists of 12 young sailors aged between seven and 12 who have never sailed in a regatta before, impressed everyone with their new sailing skills.
Whitsunday Sailing Club sailing manager Ross Chisholm said the Green Fleet was just starting out on their sailing career.
“Children as young as seven will be challenged to complete the courses located directly outside the club. These kids use an introductory set of rules, which simplifies the expectations, while the aim is to just give it a go,” Mr Chisholm said.
Darcey Kennedy from the Port Denison Sailing Club, Bowen, came first in the Tackers race.
The other junior fleets, Optimists, Sabots and O’pen Skiffs, consist of up-and-coming sailors with some experience behind them.
Ms Sutton said the children in this race were extremely competitive.
Joshua King from the Whitsunday Sailing Club came first in the mixed Laser and Aero race, as well as the Laser Radial.
Also from the Whitsunday Sailing Club was Joshua Finch and Jesse Frisch, who came first and second respectively in the Mixed Multihulls.
Kerri Southee, from Tropical Rentals, the major sponsor of the regatta, provided an MVP award that went to Robert Deards, from Kepple Bay, for the second year in row. He went home with a trophy and $200 voucher.
