Layday at Hammo

It was layday at Hamilton Island Race week on the Wednesday.

The teams decided that a visit to Whitehaven was in order we actually had the best winds of the week so far and we headed off to Whitehaven in a perfect 15 knots of breeze from the SE

Whitehaven Beach is a definite "must-see" in the Whitsundays. The crystal clear aqua waters and pristine silica sand of Whitehaven stretch over seven kilometers along Whitsunday Island , the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsundays. It defines nature at its best and provides the greatest sense of relaxation and escape.

Whitehaven is the most photographed beach in the world and once you get there it is not hard to see why.

The wind was pushing pretty hard on our arrival at Whitehaven and we chose to stay in close and travel further north around to Tongue Bay to get some protection from the building wind.

At the northern end of Whitehaven Beach is Hill Inlet, a stunning cove where the tide shifts the sand and water to create a beautiful fusion of colours.  As the tide shifts, the white silica sand and turquoise shades of the inlet blend seamlessly to create a breathtaking view of swirling Whitsunday colours.

We had timed our arrival at Toungue bay perfectly and once we had anchored took the short tender ride into the shore and take the short walk up-to the lookout over Hill Inlet and down to Betty's Beach. The view was fantastic with the tide at its low we got to see the magnificent colors and effects of the tide in the inlet.
It truly is one of the wonders of the world and I would recommend it to every beach lover.


On our return to Toungue Bay we where treated to the sight of the Square Rigger Solway Lass under sail in a very steady breeze.

There is something truly romantic about that age of sail.

We then headed further north aiming to anchor for the night in Nara Inlet on Hook Island

We put up the spinnaker and had a magnificent sail to the northern end of Whitsunday Island with John Enderby having his first ever turn at the helm of a yacht and doing a magnificent job.

We then dropped the spinnaker at the northern end of the island and took a beam reach around the bottom of Hook Island across to the inlet.

We then found a fantastic anchorage in the northern part of the inlet. and where treated to a fantastic Full Moon rising up and bathing us in a fantastic light as we enjoyed a few quite drinks and a fantastic meal of roasted Chicken and Pork.

Rob Hollingworth was celebrating a birthday and chose for us to sing him happy birthday ala Mr President style made famous by Marilyn Munro which bought us a severe reprimand from fellow travelers on other boats at anchor.

I think it would be fair to say that getting up at 6 am  to return to Hamilton Island to be ready for a 10 am start was a bit difficult considering the party from the night before.

We were treated to a fantastic display from some whales a cow and her calf  on the way back which made all worthwhile.

We had a fantastic 24 hours that helped us to build camaraderie and get to know each other a little better as a single group rather than as two competing foes.

Sailing The Winner

Yesterday started with very light winds and the threat appeared to be that we would not get a sail in. The models said otherwise and those of us with little faith in the models were proven wrong as the breeze built to a steady 7 knots and building seabreeze.

The start was in Dent Passage with the ebbing tide running north and the breeze coming from west it was going to be an interesting start. The committee gave our division course 1 which is a trip North West to White rock leaving it to starbord then around Denman Island and back to Dent Passage from the Northern end.

The start was interesting trying to hold up with the tide pushing us towards the line where we found ourselves facing the wrong way trying to hold our line.

Having a few technical (Read --Hearing Impairment ) issues, Sailing Adventures had the opportunity to start on 3 occasions as they were out of sequence so keen were they to get the race underway.

The start was fantastic for Sailing Adventures once again crossing the line just as the hooter went. CEO1 had taken a more conservative start and crossed 15 secs behind. The traffic was congested as the fleet tacked up the passage. Sailing Adventures headed towards Henning Island keeping in clear breezes. CEO1 stayed tucked near Dent Island and fell into a bit of light breeze.

Staying out on the right hand side of the course proved worthwhile for Sailing Adventures making it a single tack to White Rock with the tide carrying them clear of Pine Island.

CEO1 sailed on the breeze looking for speed and trying to take tactical advantage of the current unfortunately they had to tack out to clear Pine Island and then tack back on course They where sailing exceptionally well over a slightly longer route.

Sailing Adventures turned around White Rock ahead of all of the Sunsail fleet and a  20 minutes ahead of CEO1 the lead was to be eroded very quickly as CEO1 stepped up the  pace on the reach around Denman Island in very fluky breezes in the lee of the Islands.

From Denman Island it was a run to Dent Passage with Sailing Adventures still maintaing a lead. On the run it was noticed that the gear was stuck in reverse and there was a drag for Sailing Adventures. The rest of fleet was gaining rapidlly on the run with Avanti overtaking Sailing Adventures. As the fleet approached the bottom of Dent Island the teams had to switch it up and concentrate to maintain any advantage going to the line.

CEO1 had sailed a blinder catching up 15 minutes to only cross the line 5 minutes after Sailing Adventures with Sailing Adventures crossing the line 2nd for the the Sunsail Fleet having just held out the Helly Hanson  sponsored Team Sunsail.

The handicap results proved the theory from the day before with the CEO1 taking the race over Sailing Adventures results being CEO1 12th with Sailing Adventures 17th.

The series score is now 2 Line Honours to Sailing Advetures with One each on handicap in the duel.

For the reagatta it is Sailing Adsventures 12th and CEO1 17th.

Patience Pays Off

The Day stared with a postponement of the Long distance race due to a lack of wind. Plans where hatched for a game of golf as a backup plan but didn't need to be actioned.

The race start time was set for 9.30 and there was a breeze of only 1.9 knots and dropping. By around 10.45 the committe anounced on the radio that a breeze was filling in from the east of around 7 knots and a start was set for 12.45 over on the Eastern Start line. There was then the magnbificent sight bof 120 odd boats racing around thru Fitzalian Pass and over to Turtle bay getting ready for a start.

The breeze held and a compressed start was set for a trip south around leaving Isolation rock to port and then starboard around Ann Island and then back North East leaving Pine island to starboard and then South East to Dent passage from the south.

The start saw a little bit of confusion with CEO1 missing the start and Sailing Adventures have discussions as to where they were in the sequence which actually saw Sailing Adventures crossing the line a few secounds late and CEO1 coming upto the line 7 minutes later after having a few altercations with traffic.

Sailing Adventures went over on the left hand side of the course then tacking for the laid mark this was the only tack required 'til  Isolation Rock due to some excellant trimming from the team. CEO1 went to the left as well but the damage had been done with the breeze dropping it was hard for them to ragain ground.

As approuching Isolation  Rock the faster boats in the other divisions over took the fleet and we had the magnificent sight of large speed machines sailing past under Asymetric spinnakers. 

From Isolation rock Sailing Adventures made two tacks and was able to hoist a spinnaker just as we approuched Anne Island at this point the committee chose to shorten the course at Cole Island due to the dropping breeze and strong tidal influence we would be pushing against in Dent Passage.

This saw Sailing Advetures 2nd over the line for the Sunsail Fleet and 8th overall on handicap not a bad start to the regatta and safely out of the handicappers clutches. CEO1 will be getting some assitance with a 24th so we will see them come back up the results.

It was back to Hamilton Island for the Sunsail Sausage sizzle and a few drinks prior to getting back into our informations sessions.

The discussions were around The state of the Iron Ore Sector and what the future holds and how valuable it is as an export for Australia

We then had a presentation from our health expert on issue that are being recoginised as requiring attenmtion epecially around mens health issues. We also had some real life examples of experience of some of our participants.

Practice Day Why How and What

Yesterday was the first day of sailing and the start of the CEO1 Program.

We headed off from the dock at 10.30 for some practice in very light winds which was ideal for training and getting people used to their positions on the boat.

After several hours we kicked back and enjoyed the lunch prepared for us and got our minds steeled for the practice race. While not part of the official Hamilton Island Race week the purpose of the race was to get the spirit of competition underway and get the issues sorted.

Our course was a circuit around Henning island leaving it to port and then around Denman to port and back to the harbour.

The fleet headed off with light breezes from the north east and the tide nearing ebb as we approached Henning  Island under spinnaker the breeze started to shift with it dropping to calm as we sat becalmed moving only with the tide. 

The wind built from the south which saw saw CEO1 overtaking Sailing Adventures CEO1 chose to stay well clear of Henning  Island and Sailing Adventures taking a harder line of the breeze and staying closer to shore regained the lead. 

The wind was still very shifty with holes seeing Sailing Adventures Tacking into Henning Island and CEO1 tacking out. 

Sailing Adventures had the glory of leading the fleet for several minutes before the wind shifted once again under the influence of Dent Island with the shift Avanti took over the lead.

Several of the other 44i's got over Sailing Adventures as we approach Plum Pudding Island fortunately for Sailing Adventures they had the better line and managed to cross the line 2nd to Avanti and taking out the practice race. 

It was then back to shore a few drinks and then the first of the leadership program sessions.  

The sessions where fantastic with John Swann leading a session on understanding the power of knowing why rather than the how and what of doing business and gave real and practical examples such as  Apple. 

The second session was fun by. Jason Hawkins on the interesting changes in the use of mobile and how technology is changing in web design to meet this market.  

Arrival, Setup and Get Some Practise

All the participants have arrived and settled in on the island.

Yesterday was spent getting the boats prepared and ready for racing and ensuring we are getting to know each other. Several of the participants have been doing this for years and even though this is the case they make all of us who have not joined the CEO1 program before very welcomed and assit us to  Fit In well with each other.

Our accommodation on the island is the 13th floor of the  Yacht Harbour Towers with magnificent views across the island.


Having prepared the boats and being placed into our alloyed teams there was a general briefing for all of the team and then we huddled down into our respective teams to discuss tactics and crew positions. 

Then it was off to the Sunsail welcome party which was a great spread of nobles in including fresh local seafood and the drinks supplied by Grand Burge and Corona. 

Then it was up to the unit to enjoy a fantastic meal prepared by Tanya, Devon and our wonderful hostess Cath 

The Salmon was seed encrusted with a medley of vegetables of 5 star quality with a few great wines and some wonderful conversation we retired early ready for practise day. 

Hamilton Island Race Week CEO1 Program 2013

The Executive Development Workshop for 2013. Held at Hamilton Island, this is an intense master class designed to provide participants with an interactive learning experience that will sharpen their leadership skills and send their horizons soaring.

Based in a unique environmental setting participents will be presented with challenges they may not have faced before and that’s where the learning begins.

You’ll work together with like-minded people to tackle issues head on and come away with a fresh perspective and an ability to approach the rapidly changing and increasingly complex business environment of today.

So whats the format

The program is designed for accomplished executives, senior managers and business leaders seeking further personal growth and professional development. In addition to the knowledge gained, they will experience camaraderie with peers and the opportunity to form business alliances and build lifelong friendships.

Learning and Professional development will be achieved through a combination of techniques including:

Engaging Speakers

We’ve handpicked a diverse range of successful business professionals with real experience; their stories are exciting and inspiring.

Interactive workshops

The peer network will provide an idyllic platform for business leaders to collaborate, share ideas and discuss challenges.

Racing Yachts under racing conditions

In this rigorous, fast-paced environment (under expert guidance) individual decision making, strategic thinking and team dynamics are all put to the test. These factors are integral for achieving success in both yachting and business and it’s this unique blend that makes CEO1’s development program so effective.

We will be keeping everyone posted on a daily basis of what has been happening on and off the water so keep coming back or subscribe for regular updates.