Sailing

Coffs Harbour Yacht Club has set course for an exciting new era which will focus on growing sailing and associated water-based activities for the community.

Austinn Lane. A large crowd gathered in Port Victoria and Wauraltee over the weekend to celebrate the community's 150th anniversary, marking a major milestone in the district's history ... locals, former residents and visitors from across the region, came together to recognise the town's heritage and close-knit community.

Greg Twelftree. SA author and journalist Max Fatchen wrote: "It's not hard to imagine the square-rigger days when the sou'wester sweeps up Spencer Gulf, hustles past Wardang and sends whitecaps racing and fishing boats rolling at their moorings by Port Victoria jetty" ... From the 1870s to 1949, farmers toiling in the dry, dusty paddocks of Koolywurtie and Wauraltee would glance seaward as 100-metre long, four-masted barques filled the horizon.

Greg Twelftree. Celebrate 150 years of Port Victoria and Wauraltee over the March long weekend, Friday 6th to Sunday 8th, with a jammed-packed program offering something for everyone. We will welcome a flotilla of two Tall Ships and other sailing vessels from the Port Adelaide Sailing Club, the Cruising Yacht Club of SA and the Wallaroo Sailing Club at 3pm on Friday, March 6.

Austinn Lane. It was a big week on the water in Wallaroo, with the 51st Tasar national championships held at the local sailing club from January 12 to 17. The event attracted 37 teams of two sailors each, who travelled with their craft from around Australia.

There was a blue sky, low temperatures and a cool breeze for Cairn Curran Sailing Club on Saturday 6 July, when this glorious photo was taken. The reservoir was aflutter with local sails for its Winter Series Club Race, which also included members of the Impulse Sailing Association who were visiting for a two-day training session.

Gina Lopez. Last Saturday night, we had the privilege of hosting Martin Lartigo live at the Port of Yamba Yacht Club - and what an incredible night it was. In our intimate clubhouse setting, Martin wove together intricate, delicate pieces with passion and vigour, looping sounds into a rich, moving performance that brought the crowd to tears, laughter, and cheers.

Wilson McShane. Wallaroo Sailing Club was in the spotlight over the weekend of January 25-27, hosting the Tasar state heats where two of its crews placed in the top three ... Wallaroo Sailing Club commodore Margaret Pope said Clayton Bay’s Craig McPhee (skipper) and his crew, Wayne Hale — who recently also won the 50th national Australian Tasar title — claimed a relatively comfortable victory.

Helen Whiteman. Saturday was the second part of the ‘Pacer Series – Tony Kean Challenge’ for new and novice members and it was very well attended. Again four short races were scheduled, but the conditions were light and shifty and somewhat challenging.

The Tchum Lake Aquatic Club has ushered in a new era of leadership, with Alex Noonan taking the helm as president following Andrew Lee’s dedicated eight-year tenure ... One of the first challenges facing the new executive team is tackling the lake’s significant weed problem.

The annual LHI Yachties BBQ Cruise is a rare example of the alternative outlasting the original. It owes its existence to the limited number of visitor moorings in the Lagoon. Two decades ago, when the annual Gosford-Lord Howe Yacht Race was at its peak of popularity, the Race Committee had to turn away many entrants every year simply because they could not be accommodated. In response, some of those excluded entrants decided to cruise over from the mainland a week or two after the race as an informal group.

The Sailing Season officially started … and was scheduled to begin with the Alan Carson Memorial Commodore’s Cup ... the weather gods intervened. In the interest of safety the Race Officer of the Day declared racing abandoned ... The following weekend (12 October) there was a marked improvement in the weather conditions and 13 boats took to the water and racing was successfully completed.

Christine Webster. The owners of about 30 boats found themselves moored around Renmark after a build-up of silt and low River Murray levels in two areas prevented them from travelling to Wentworth, in south-west NSW, for a popular rally. Owners of the PB Curlew, Jim and Heather Maywald, from Good Hope Landing, east of Waikerie, said it was disappointing for the boat owners ...

During a visit to Sun City Yacht Club reporter Betheney A’vard talked to club members about their focus on introducing people to sailing but also found out about the Two Rocks community rallying together to seek heritage status for the area.

It was a great result for yacht Oroton Drumfire and her crew in the last Sydney-Hobart race.  Vincent Kennedy ... was part of the winning team, taking out the PHS division and coming in 30th over the line in a fleet of 85.

A new local event on the Australia Day weekend is certain to attract participants and spectators. The Khancoban Lakefest incorporating the Khancoban Cup Raft Regatta will be the first of its kind on the picturesque waters of Khancoban Pondage.

The countdown is on for the 2023 South Australian Wooden Boat Festival (SAWBF), which is set to take place this weekend (29-30 April). Thanks to major sponsors Coorong Quays, this year’s festival will be held at Hindmarsh Island’s – Alexandrina Cove, providing visitors with front-row seats to the action.

Cairn Curran Sailing Club is delighted to receive funding from Bendigo Bank for shade cloth ... Club members had been hoping to provide access to shade on the deck for many years and were thrilled when Bendigo Bank generously provided a grant of $12,000 towards the cost of the purchase and installation of the much-needed shade cloth.

We are thrilled to announce one of the SA Wooden Boat Festival's most iconic vessels, the PS Oscar W is back on the water this week and just in time for the launch of the festival’s official program. The final count-down is on towards the 29-30 April South Australian Wooden Boat Festival (SAWBF) weekend.

It was a lifelong dream of a lifelong sailor and though it was to be a solo journey, his waking and sleeping hours were spent in the ‘company’ of his memories and erstwhile companions and friends ... When at his lowest ebb, along came the ghost of Sam, a friendly old sailor who kept Peter entertained through the long, lonely hours of the dog watch.

Helen Whiteman. Last Saturday saw the third and final race in the Pacer Series, designed to introduce our new and novice sailors to the rules of racing and competitive sailing ... Rob Champion also took the opportunity to bring along a friend and bring his father's Fireball out of retirement to race with the rest of the fleet.