Nat & Jules are in the beautiful Whitsundays about to go head to head in a sailing challenge … America’s Cup style!
Airlie Beach is in the heart of the Whitsundays and is a good base for exploring the area. When the sun goes down, the subtropical town becomes a cosmopolitan place of entertainment, bars, cafes and restaurants.
You can join ProSail's America's Cup yacht racing adventure at Abel Point Marina. Participants enjoy the exhilaration of sailing on the legendary 12-metre Australia or Steak'n'Kidney, racing on a replica America's Cup course in Airlie's beautiful waters.
Australia was designed by Ben Lexcen and is a veteran of two America's Cup campaigns. Steak'n'Kidney (rhyming slang for "Sydney") campaigned for the 1987 America's Cup in Fremantle, the first ever non-American defence of the Cup. Designed by Peter Cole, it was regarded as the fastest yacht in the trials. Both yachts have been meticulously restored to their original racing colours and are in excellent condition.
The challenge gets started with a safety and race briefing before meeting the start boat on Airlie's beachfront.
With sails hoisted, the yachts have a brief trial run. When the five-minute gun sounds, the excitement builds as the vessels start their circling manoeuvres in readiness for the start.
The adrenaline-charged ride begins when the start gun is fired. Two laps of the course are sailed, under full spinnaker on the downwind run, weather permitting. Sometimes the thoroughbred racing vessels are within metres of each other, which gets the pulse racing.
Guests can be as actively involved as they wish, calling tactics, grinding and protesting an offending yacht or just sitting back and watching the action.
