New Guinea island trader at home in the Whitsundays

  Whitsunday coast’s Eddie Gray has two proven passions … following his father in the timber industry and revisiting his dad’s fishing ‘hot spots’ along The Great Barrier Reef.  Naturally his family and industry ties plus the experience of numerous sea miles predictably set a special search when the time arrived for Eddie and his wife Betty to buy their dream boat and join the growing number of couples and families who now spend sea time cruising and fishing around the 74 Whitsunday Islands.  Their dream motor yacht had to have a design character, be a strong sea boat with economical fuel consumption and be built with traditional timber planks roved to super strong spotted gum ribs, stringers and bulkheads.
  The third generation Timber Man would never be happy standing as the master at the helm of a modern high powered fibreglass Sports Cruiser.
  His search ended when he discovered that the former Bundaberg built Arawe was on the market.
  Arawe one of eight vessels built for the Australian Government in 1968 as a gift to the people of Papua New Guinea and commissioned as a small cargo ship for inter-island trading had been recently refitted as a family long distance coastal cruiser.
  She naturally has a heavy displacement of 53 tonnes but as her now proud owner skipper says “There is no question about her ability to handle a rough sea.”
  “Her construction, built under a strict maritime survey, includes an ironbark keel, hardwood planks secured to thick strong ribs and stringers while the interior has the added WOW factor enhanced with easy care and eye appealing New Guinea Rosewood,” Gray said.
  The super strong 18m hull powered with a 127hp Gardiner Diesel engine swinging a 4-blade propeller allows Arawe to comfortably cruise at 7.95 knots with hardly a murmur from the exhaust.
  “She will sit on that speed day and night while making little impression on the fuel dip stick which makes her the ideal boat for Betty and me to enjoy our sea time,” her proud skipper said.
  Arawe has a modern galley and an entertainment saloon which includes the same high quality appliances expected in a family home.
  All cabins plus the bridge deck are air conditioned while the electrical appliances, including a huge fish freezer in the rear cockpit, are powered with an economical 15KVA generator.
  This allows Arawe to easily qualify as an ideal ‘floating penthouse’ with her crew having all of the nice touches to explore The Great Barrier Reef and knowing that when the sun sets they will have complete comfort on board with either listening to music watching television or simply reading a good book.
  “Arawe is my dream boat and I’m happy to say she is just perfect with plenty of accommodation to complement her proven strength and sea handling character,” Eddie Gray said.
  

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Stay Tuned

  Every Sunshine Coast yacht, dinghy, catamaran and sailboard sailor is happy with the spring weather systems as they prepare to contest major ocean races and national class championships over the Christmas–New Year period.
  There has been a pleasant mix of moderate to fresh winds and generally warm temperatures as the individual aquatic athletes continue to evaluate their sails, technique, and boat speed for the challenge ahead.
  Several young Mooloolaba Dinghy Club, Maroochy and Noosa club Sabot sailors have become involved with stepping up their training sessions to be race ready when the 2008-9 Australian championship is decided over the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s Pioneer Bay course where former Mooloolaba skipper Shelly White has been named as the title favourite.
  Shelly (15) who began her now very impressive career with learn-to-sail courses on the safe and placid waters of the Mooloolah River will race under the Keppel Bay Sailing Club ‘Battle Flag’ and has already indicated she has the boat speed and form to match the expected challenges from her male rivals.
  The exceptionally talented teenager has the required tactical skill and determination to become the second female in the 44 year history of the class to win the prestigious National trophy with her dinghy Stay Tuned.  However, Shelley White is not resting on her previous results and understands that this regatta will be her last chance to win the Sabot green and gold ribbons before focusing her career on the International 420 and 470 classes in a bid to become a future Olympian.

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Volvo Ocean Race

  While Shelley and her shore crew, including dedicated parents Mal and Kelly, continue to fine tune their preparations, sun-tanned marathon ocean race sailor Casey Smith (29) continues to face more serious physical challenges aboard the Volvo Ocean Race sloop Puma Racing Team USA.
  In Late October Casey Smith along with skipper Ken Read and multiple World title winning sailors including Newcastle’s Chris Nicholson were preparing to enter nature’s gateway to the fury of South Atlantic gales as they tracked a fast spinnaker sailing course towards the picturesque South African port of Cape Town.
  At the time former Olympic Star Class Gold Medallist Torben Grael of Brazil was reported to have helmed Ericsson 4 into a nine nautical mile lead over Puma Racing while Green Dragon held third as the fleet prepared to face the fury of strong gales and growling foam capped waves.
  An email report from Puma Racing confirmed that the fresh south westerlies had closed in and the deck was awash as the power-sailing sloop faced a testing time avoiding wild out-ofcontrol ‘wipe outs’ as the wind continued to whistle through the rigging while the favourable waves combined to propel Ericsson 4 into the fast lane logging an amazing 596.6nm to eclipse the previous best of 562.96nm set by ABN AMRO 2.

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Merit lines up for Rolex Sydney Hobart

  Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Leo Rodregius has set his career ambition on gaining a top 10 line honours finish in the 2008 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race starting on Boxing Day.
  Rodregius will be the sailing master on the 11-year-old Volvo Globe Race sloop Telcoinabox Merit in the physically tough 630nm blue water classic which has attracted another high standard fleet including Bob Oatley’s defending line honours champion Wild Oats
  The older Telcoinabox Merit has a proven record as a sprint machine in fresh spinnaker sailing winds and her skipper and crew will be hoping for strong north easterly winds when they track their course across the storm tormented Tasman Sea. 
  All of her crew are experienced marine career professionals having logged numerous miles within the Whitsunday Charter Fleet.
  They collectively showed their class in a moderate south east breeze to win the line and handicap double in the final race of the Whitsunday Escape Trophy on the warm waters of Pioneer Bay in early November.
  But the Rolex Sydney Hobart will present the crew with a test of character particularly if a strong southerly ‘Buster’ roars in from the Great Southern Ocean.
  Skipper Rodregius and crew have continued to improve their understanding as expressed with their runaway result in
  The Whitsunday Escape short course trophy race. Merit was at home in the prevailing winds leaving her smaller rivals to stage their own private race for the minor places when she completed the course with a 6 minute 24 second win over Treasure VIII (Harold Menelaus).
  However, while this performance was a convincing result for the Merit crew, Craig Piccinelli’s Wobbly Boot again proved to be the more consistent performer of the five race series to decide the 2008 Whitsunday Escape trophy champion. Wobbly Boot with 24 penalty points secured her narrow win over the improving Idle Time (Kevin Fogarty) 24.5pts and the Jeff Brown skippered 007 on 25 points.
  The result has allowed the Wobbly Boot crew to retain control of the short course Club championship and their overall consistency in the complete range of winds suggests her popular skipper will need to add a trophy room to his home which overlooks his favoured course of Pioneer Bay.