Competitors could not have wished for better weather for the finale Jeanneau Yachts presented by Mooloolaba Yacht Brokers and 74 Islands Airlie Beach Race Week (ABRW) 2026, the breeze returned with 25 knots and gusting under a sunny sky, a sparkling day with whales present on Pioneer Bay, as a Bay Race decided the final outcomes.
The 38th running of Whitsunday Sailing Club’s (WSC) regatta could not have been better. Beautiful conditions all week, including one light day at this tropical regatta.
Rating Passage divisions
Division 1 Ray Roberts and team on Team Hollywood (NSW), put on an exemplary performance winning six of seven races. Grant Pocklington’s Bakewell-White 40, Anarchy finished second, despite retiring from the final race. The Malcolm Dean skippered TP52, Frantic, took third overall. Kiwi TP52, V5 (Brian Petersen), missed the podium by one point.
Roberts said, “The best way to train is to race and the problem with racing yachts is we don’t race in competition with each other enough. So coming to Airlie Beach is part of the plan and organisation to sail well at Hamilton Island in tough competition.
“The standard of sailing takes a step up at Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island, two of the most competitive regattas in Australia. Both put you under pressure and that’s a good thing. The other part of doing well is to make the boat safe, leaving less chance for error and accidents,” he said.
Since 2015 (except 2021 when Covid prevented him travelling here), Roberts has competed with various boats. He has won all but three times - 2015, 2018 and 2019, when he placed top three. He won in 2025 with a clean slate, a win utilised as a drop. In his other victorious years, Roberts has not finished a race worse than third. This record is worth acknowledging.
Division 2 Paul Heyes’ Thompson 920, Road Runner, ran quickly today, placing second in the race to claim the series from Bruce McCraken’s Beneteau 45, Ikon by two points, despite Ikon winning the final race. Locals, Kate Leeson Garth Riley with Wazza Red Boat claimed third overall. Road Runner and Ikon were the top boats all week, the odd couple you might say – a sporty Thompson design versus a Beneteau 45.
Heyes said, “We had a horrible start. We dropped a winch overboard and had to get it back. Down the first run we lit up and overtook everyone. We carried an A3 from Pioneer to Grimston, sitting on 18 knots the whole way. Then upwind in 20 knots, Ikon was faster. We’re very happy with our win and very happy to have a light breeze yesterday, it made the difference in the end.”
Heyes ended by thanking his crew - and not just for racing: “Brett Scott who made the sails, Mark Wilson and my son Zac for helping me bring the boat up.”
Performance Racing Tim McCall’s Barracuda and Iyas Shaheen’s Smooth Criminal went hard at it all week, Barracuda the victor in the end. Hughie Lewis’ Hartbreaker (Tas) won the final race to claim third overall. Lewis hit a reef early in the series and it cost him.
“We’re pretty happy with the racing and competition,” McCall said. “We thought Hartbreaker might have hurt us a bit more. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s our second win at Airlie and the six of us work well together as a team, including one my sons, Bronson.”
Multihull Racing divisions
Division O The Extremes battled it out from start to finish. Seven races and Joel Berg’s Hooligan hung on to win the final race and defeat local Paul Mitchell’s Ullman Sails by one point. They could have ended on equal points, except Hooligan dropped a third place, Ullman dropped a second. Mike Peberdy’s Irens trimaran, Rare Groove, was third.
“It’s great to win. Those guys (Ullman Sails) sail so well and we sailed well. It’s very even. It’s nice to get one over them – it wasn’t easy though. There is a real camaraderie between us and someone had to win and someone come second. We don’t sail that often at home, so it takes us a couple of days to regroup,” Berg said.
Division 1 was a close battle between four. A trio of Queensland multis got there in the end. Stuart Cox’s Cut Snake took the win from Troy Forrest’s Mint and Steven Humphris’ Stealth Mode. New Zealand’s Cat+Ion (Graham Catley) missed the podium by one point.
“We had a really lovely week. We love coming to Airlie Beach,” Cox said. “It’s a well-run regatta. The organisers do a great job and we appreciate that. We want to say thank you to them and the volunteers who do such a good job. And thank you to the sponsors.”
On today’s race, Cox said, “It was a bit windy and very gusty, but down at Grimston it was very light. We had a reef in, but at times we wondered if we should have had it in,” adding, “We had a fantastic crew this year.”
Division 2 came down to the wire between ABRW Chairman, Terry Archer and his Grainger 075, G’Nome versus Peter Hackett’s Intrigue (Qld) who pushed each other to the end. G’Nome led coming into the final race, then Intrigue won the final race from Darren Simmonds local Corsair 28r, Trojan and G’Nome, meaning second overall for the latter and third for Trojan.
Multihull Passage Bill Kennedy’s Freedom Express (NSW) led Trevor Dean’s Ocean Blue by one point before the final race. Positions were reversed, the latter finishing today’s race third, one place in front of her adversary, to claim overall victory. Resolute II’s (Kenneth Gibson (NSW) second place allowed her to claim third by one point. Local, Sean Nichol and his ‘Room With a View’ won the final race.
“It feels pretty good to win,” Dean said. “I’ve only had the boat about 18 months, so to come up here with the smallest boat in the fleet is a good feeling. It’s more remarkable because Monday we pulled out our rudder, it had bent 15 degrees, so we had to get an engineer to straighten it out. We’re not even sure when it happened, we think on the way up here.
“Pretty windy today, with winds up to 25 knots further out on course, on the first leg, before it eased off a bit throughout the race,” Dean shared.
“In our fleet, we had a close call with Earthling (it subsequently retired) at the start and nearly took out the start boat! From there, it was just trying to sail in the right lanes and keep in touch with the other boats. Once again, fantastic work from my awesome crew.”
Performance Cruising
Division 1 Mal Robertson’s Eureka II (Qld) won overall, his second place today meant he finished on equal points with Ian Frankhanel’s Salt (Vic) which had i’s worst day with a 12th, out of character with his other results. Ben Davidson’s Sea Fever (Tas) was third.
“I’ve been competing at Airlie for the last 34 years,” Robertson said. ”I run an international yacht master training program and my crew are from WA from the offshore fraternity in Fremantle. They’re absolutely ecstatic, I think they want to come back next year already!”
Robertson has won and placed here before. “We’re always having a crack,” he said, adding, “I’m remembering my friend Hugh Treharne (a past Eureka II co-owner who passed away last year). A great guy who taught me how to trim a mainsail.”
Division 2 Went to local Charles Wallis’ Reignition from Matt Doyle’s La Troisieme Mitemps (NSW) by two points. Third was Matthew Kingsberry’s Amaya II. However it, was Tony Hammond’s Knot a Diamond (Vic) that won the final race.
“Good consistence team work, preparation over the season and the boat is going pretty well,” Wallis said. “The crew certainly enjoyed the week. It’s a big event for them. We had 12 aboard today which helped in the big conditions. And it was a good crew. We benefitted from new tidal information too!”
Division 3 Phillip Cormie’s Dreamtime Solutions (Vic) won from Craig Piccinelli’s local boat Wobbly Boot – on equal points. Geoff Adams’ Rampallion (Vic) was third – just one point behind – that is how close it was!
Non Spinnaker divisions
Division 1 Terrence Stevens from WSC named his Matchless well. Stevens won the final race to come over the top of Remco Pen’s The Bigger Day Out to win overall from Pen. Michael Martin’s Namadgi 3 (ACT) finished third, on equal points with Pen’s boat.
Division 2 Went to Mark Strobel’s Krystal (Qld) from Peter Wadley’s Fordplay (Tas) on equal points. Alan Campbell’s Lama from the host club was third – just one point behind.
Trailable Yachts & Sports Boats
Division 1 David Davenport/Ken Stevenson made the trip from Western Australia with their Bethwaite 89er, Don’t Panic! They won every race. Jesse Frisch’s local Kiss was second and John Rae/Gary Smith’s Vivace third. The trio were all Julian Bethwaite designs.
Division 2 Burke Melia and his No Mercy (NSW) prevailed after taking the lead yesterday. Local Greg Hammon and Rossgo, always up amongst it, finished second, just one point behind. Jack Buchan’s Two Fifteen (NSW) was third on equal points with Rossgo.
VX One Dollop, Rob Douglass and crew from NSW, including daughter Nic, successfully defended their win of last year. The Scott Day skippered Great XCape finished a close second and David Williamson’s Willpower (Vic) was third.
Off the Beach multihulls
Kiwi Terry Bailey scored a pair of wins with Teal Spirit to take the lead yesterday. He backed up with victory in the final race to win the series overall. Bailey had not sailed for a year, but got his eye back in quickly. The Bandicoot, Stuart House’s Qld Nacra stayed in second place overall, while third went to Steven Nelson with Blade Runner (Qld).
At this morning’s Race Briefing, Regatta Director Jenni Birdsall said, “A big thank you to all the staff at Whitsunday Sailing Club and to all the volunteers for everything they do here every year.”
Principal Race Officer, Kevin Wilson, reiterated Birdsall’s sentiments. The event went very smoothly.
Boss Hog Trophy
A highlight of the week is awarding the Boss Hog Trophy to the competitor/crew that best sums up the spirit of Race Week, displays sportsmanship and stands above the rest. This year the award went to Ian and Annika Thomson from Ocean Crusaders J-Bird.
The sailing couple are passionate about the environment. They arrived at the Club early every morning to collect all the empty cans which they sell, with funds donated to the WSC Junior and Youth sailing programs. WSC also hosts a Festival of Music each year and the Thomsons return to do it all over again.
At ABRW, the Thomsons also organise a Clean Up Day on Lay Day, to help keep the local waters pristine. This year 27 volunteers helped. The rubbish is put on Ocean Crusaders’ barge. Hats off to the Thomsons – there should be more like them.
Terry Archer, Event Chair and President of WSC, thanked competitors for supporting the Club’s annual event: “Without the many competitors we would not have such a great event. We look forward to welcoming you back next year and to welcoming newcomers,” he said.
Archer also thanked naming rights sponsors, Jeanneau Yachts presented by Mooloolaba Yacht Brokers and 74 Islands Distillery. “Competitors who won during the week enjoyed 74 Islands Distillery packs and all competitors had the opportunity of enjoying their cocktails and sampling product after sailing,” he said, going on to also thank the many ABRW partners.
“I particularly want to thank our volunteers on the water and ashore, who freely give their time, a lot of them for many, many years. This event could not be run – and run smoothly - without them,” Archer acknowledged.
The volunteers arrived early every day ready to do their jobs. They were once again co-ordinated by WSC Commodore, Heather Sutton, who fits in where help is needed during Race Week, be it working in the comms room, handing out prizes or filling in on reception and pulling in volunteers – she enjoys being busy and does it all with a smile.
We look forward to seeing you all here again next year – bring your family and friends along and make a real holiday of it!
Please find all full results in all divisions, news, photos and more, at: www.abrw.com.au
