Hamilton Island Day 1 – from the Sailor Girl

The Audi Hamilton Island Race Week is on again and racing got underway yesterday in a comfortable breeze. The island has been hit with a fair bit of torrential rain lately and there was still some lingering for the first race however hopefully things fine up soon.

Nic Douglass from Adventures of a Sailor Girl is on the ground at this year’s Hammo Week and she caught up with a number of sailors on the first day of racing yesterday… Check it out.

Amazing to be back on Hamilton Island for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. A record-breaking fleet of 252 boats, a stunning location, and catching up with so many of my sailing mates from around the world, what could be better?

First up I caught up with Matt Owen, aka “Pillow”, in the Tavern to chat about his success at AHIRW over the past ten or so years. He has won a few times, not placing out of the top three in nine out of the last 10 years… Huge! On a new boat for his team this year, Sydney 32 Onyx, they are still on top of the leader board. Matt Owen has been a great friend for a while and is a true lover of sailing and sailors, so as always it was a great pleasure to talk to him!

Next up (from 2:19) I spoke to two lucky honeymooners who were lucky enough to go sailing on Scallywag (nee Ragamuffin 100) yesterday. Amazing to hear about their day – can anyone remember their first day sailing and when you fell in love with it? I think I managed to capture a bit of that energy!

I am covering the racing live on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (@sailorgirlhq) with plenty of pics and high-res photos, so be sure to follow on over the week… Will get out for a sail at some stage too hopefully!