Nic Douglass was a guest of Tourism Whitsundays for Airlie Beach Race Week
As a "Sailor Girl" I am lucky enough to see some incredible places around Australia and the globe.
In the past twelve months I have swum with Parrot Fish in Bermuda, travelled by boat to Waheiki NZ, scaled rocks in Virgin Gorda, eaten Lobster under eerie fog in Newport RI, strolled beaches in the Netherlands, watched all three Canard Queen's parade down the Solent, cruised on catamarans in French Polynesia, and held my breath when Wild Oats XI and Comanche battled up the Derwent at sunset.
With all of these amazing memories, and opportunities, I am so often told "you must love to travel" and then comes the follow up question, "so what is your favourite place?"
I am the opposite of not appreciating what is in your own backyard. I guess you could say I am spoilt. Because I am an Australian and I have the best possible backyard, and hey one of the biggest.
In August this year, I travelled to the Whitsundays, my sixth time to the region, and definitely not my last.
I flew straight in from Lendy Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight, via Hong Kong landing in Brisbane with a set of snow skis (long story!), which I managed to offload before flying directly into Proserpine, just a short drive from Airlie Beach, thanks to being picked up by the lovely Donna from Tourism Whitsundays. I have to say, all the way in the car my smile just kept getting bigger as we approached Airlie… and even jet lag and almost forty hours in transit couldn’t stop it.
The Airlie Beach Hotel welcomed me into room number one (another good sign if you are even a little bit superstitious), and I quickly unpacked and headed out onto the lovely palm tree lined streets of Airlie Beach for a little bit of down time.
Only a block from my hotel I came across the Airlie Day Spa, and even through it was late in the day by this point, they were lovely enough to squeeze me in for a well-overdue mani-pedi and massage. What a way to start my trip!
For the next two days I was on the water watching some of the best yacht racing that Australia has to offer, intermingled with trips to the Sidewalk Café, one of my favourite spots on the main Esplanade at Airlie Beach.
On the last day I was totally spoilt with a trip on board Alani, one of the superyachts for charter in the region. Greeted with a glass of bubbles, I climbed aboard to chat with a number of guests, and explain to them the racing that was happening, right on the beautiful waters of Pioneer Bay.
My trip to the Whitsundays didn’t end at Airlie Beach, I also visited Hamilton Island for a week of adventures, on and off the water; from close encounters with baby whales, snorkelling at Whitehaven Beach and even racing on Wild Oats XI to a luxurious massage at the on island spa, beautiful food at Romano’s, and champagne on the deck as the sunset at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club.
So yes, you can say I am spoilt, spoilt by the white sand, the turquoise water, and the friendly faces (of the people and wildlife) that the beautiful Whitsundays have to offer, not just to those who are visiting for the first time, but for many who choose to return often, like myself.
On that note, I am looking forward to returning to the area for a bareboat charter in 2019, and hopefully every other year or year if I am lucky enough to do so.
Nic Douglass – Sailor Girl
Photo credits: @sailorgirlhq
