All aboard
Acclaimed Queensland ocean racing yachtsman, Graham “Scooter” Eaton, will put his family first when he competes in Southport Yacht Club’s Qoin Sail Paradise Regatta in January.
Photography by Adventures of a Sailor Girl
01 November 2021
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Graham “Scooter” Eaton, will put his family first when he competes in Southport Yacht Club’s Qoin Sail Paradise Regatta in January.
The reason is simple; his yacht – the famous 23-metre aluminium sloop, Bumblebee IV – is also the family home, and his family will be aboard as part of the crew for Qoin Sail Paradise.
On top of that, there is no plan to “lighten ship”: many home comforts, including the sink in the galley, will remain in place.
Making this campaign even more interesting is the fact that all members of the Eaton family are competent sailors, so they will be pushing their “home” to the limit on ocean courses set between Main Beach and the Qld/NSW border.
“Our Qoin Sail Paradise campaign will primarily be a family affair,” Eaton said. “But we will have some friends join us for the racing.”
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Built from aluminium and completed in 1979, Bumblebee IV is legendary in Australian ocean racing. Among its many victories, it is best known for taking line honours in the Sydney-Hobart race just weeks after launching.
Qoin Sail Paradise is scheduled for January 3 to 6. Early indications are that a record fleet of more than 60 monohull and multihull racing yachts will participate.
As well as promising exceptional racing offshore, regatta organisers at Southport Yacht Club have scheduled a star-studded post-race entertainment program each race day.
For more information re Qoin Sail Paradise, please contact Simon Turpin, Sailing Operations Manager sailing.ops@sycgc.com.au
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