As you will read further on in this magazine, the 2003 Hamilton Island Race Week was once again a highly successful event.

Hamilton Island has long been a venue that has set its reputation on being able to develop and manage some of the most spectacular events imaginable. These have ranged from most obviously, Race Week itself, through to Outrigger Week, as well as The Great Barrier Feast and the Hamilton Island Bill Fishing Tournament.

These are some of the really big events held each year on Hamilton Island. But how about some of these to raise your eyebrows? The annual Hamilton Island Jazz Festival; the Australian Judo Championships; one-off promotional concerts held in conjunction with Warner Music, as well as special interest holidays such as 'Northern Exposure' a twice-yearly photography education week and, in a similar vein, the quarterly artists retreat. There’s even an annual Bridge playing week!

These are all events that in my opinion prove the success of Hamilton Island as well as the versatility and flexibility of the island's management team.

I’m a self-confessed, absolute sucker for Hamilton Island. For me, living in Melbourne, it’s like paradise on earth. Get yourself up there and see what I mean.

Also in this issue we have a special feature taken from John Ibbottson's colourful book on The Lighthouses of Australia; we help deliver a Riviera 58 to its new home in Port Douglas; there is a special feature by Warren Steptoe on how to set up to go fishing for first timers; Graham Lloyd continues his series on ski racing with all the good info on what you will need to get started and we visit the spectacular Ningaloo Reef, famous for its whale shark population, off the northwest coast of Western Australia.

Enjoy the magazine and remember that your safety is our top priority.