Opportunity for Australian Sailors - 16th China Cup International Regatta
The 16th China Cup International Regatta is held in the first week of November and is open to all international sailors. It is professionally run and is essentially the equivalent of HIRW in Asia. The event has been attended by many famous figures in the Australian sailing community.
Held in Daya Bay, which is very easy to get to, about 60 km northeast of Hong Kong. The conditions and scenery are very similar to Whitsundays sailing. It is a spectacular venue with several developed marinas and accommodation options in close proximity, ranging from twin-share Airbnb to six-star luxury resorts.
Registration fees are as low as USD $422 per boat and $85 per person for early bird entries before mid-August. Divisions will include IRC and PHS, Beneteau 40.7, TP52, Far East 28R, J/80, and Bavaria Cruiser 37.
China has recently announced visa-free entry for Australian tourists for up to 15 days. English-speaking university student volunteers will be on hand to assist visitors. There has never been a better opportunity to experience the famous hospitality of mainland China and meet other sailing enthusiasts from the region.
View the utube video of last years event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8mAhjGzDEc
For more information and assistance contact:
Paul Bradley
m: (+61) 0420924728
e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Read more: Opportunity for Australian Sailors - 16th China Cup International Regatta
Combined Clubs Prizegiving
The 2023-2024 Sydney Harbour Combined Clubs Series attracted 59 boats for the seven races and MHYC boats dominant performances were rewarded at the prizegiving hosted by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron last Friday 14 June.
Toy Box 2 (Ian Box) was first in Division 1 on ORC and IRC and second on PHS. Wailea (Neil Padden) finished on top of Division 2 on ORC and PHS, while Stormaway (Jack Stening & Colin Gunn) took the series win on IRC. Innamincka (John Crawford) and Waterborne Again (Marc Tromp) finished first and second respectively on both the ORC and PHS series scores. Not only was Marg Fraser-Martin on the water for most of the racing but was at RSYS to capture the prizegiving moments too. Thankyou Marg!
To view the Combined Clubs Inshore Series Results – click here
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Combined Clubs Inshore 2023-24 Prizegiving
It's time to gather the crew and celebrate the conclusion of the Combined Clubs Inshore series with a presentation of prizes and an informal dinner at the Squadron.
MHYC boats put in some dominant performances over the season and Toy Box 2, Stormaway, Wailea and Innamincka were all multiple winners across the PHS, ORC and IRC handicaps in their respective divisions. View the results here.
Prizegiving details...
Friday 14 June, 2024
6pm: Drinks at the bar
6.30pm: Award presentation
7:00pm: Informal dinner in the Careening Cove Anchorage (choose and pay as you go)
Parking will be available in the RSYS carpark.
Non-members, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 9955 7171
RSYS Members book for dinner here
Sydney Harbour Sprints Winter Series Underway
The Sydney Harbour Sprints Winter Series kicked off on Saturday with competitors battling the light and shifty breezes. Race were progressively shortened as the wind evaporated – four legs for race one, three legs for race two and just up and back for the final race. Across the three races, Wailea (Neil Padden) and Innamincka (John Crawford) claimed the ORC and PHS overall win in their respective divisions 2 & 3. Artemis (Tracy Richardson) was the best Adams 10 on One-Design, while Contentious (Brian Lees) claimed the PHS win. Thanks to Marg Fraser-Martin for the photos. Results are at https://app.sailsys.com.au/.../208/results/series/2541/races
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Annual Prizegiving and Awards Night
Middle Harbour Yacht Club's Annual Keelboat Prizegiving and Awards Night will be held on Saturday 4th May.
Trophies are awarded and achievements recognised for Inshore and Offshore competition, the Twilight Series and Cruising Division. The hard work of officials, volunteers, committee members and staff are recognised along with the wonderful support of the club's sponsors. Tickets are $30 and include a welcome drink and canapes. Prizegiving will commence at 7pm sharp.
Places are limited, so book now via TryBooking.
Sydney Harbour Sprints Finale
The final round of the Sydney Harbour Sprints Spring Series was sailed on The Sound on Saturday, with the Super 30 fleet from Sydney Amateur Sailing Club joining in to boost Division 2. A light to moderate south-easterly persisted throughout the afternoon, enabling the full daily program of three races and the series of none races to be completed. While Toy Box 2 (Ian Box) and Innamincka (John Crawford) made a clean sweep in Divisions 1 and 3, Small Gains (Don Colantonio), Very Tasty (Al Chase) and Mr Mojo (George Kompolthy) each took a Division 2 race win.
At the conclusion of the nine race Spring Series, Toy Box 2 claimed the Division 1 win from Bluetack (Brent Lawson) and Nine Dragons (Bob Cox). In Division 2, Neil Padden’s Wailea finished ahead of Sirius (Garth Riley) and Artemis (Tracy Richardson). Brett Churcher’s Plan B snatched a single point victory in Division 3 from Innamincka (John Crawford) with Waterborne Again (Oloff Tromp) third. View the race and series results - click here
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Inclusive Sailing Easter Regatta
An Inclusive Classes Regatta was conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club over the Easter weekend attracting sailors from four Australian States and Territories and a team from New Zealand.
The Hansa 303, Liberty and International 2.4mR are all small keelboat classes enjoyed by sailors of all ages and abilities around the world.
Twelve of the 31 sailors who competed in the regatta have some form of disability. Sailors who are blind or have low vision, with deafness or hearing loss, wheelchair users and those with limited mobility – all raced with and against non-disabled sailors for four Open State Championship titles. An acoustic buoy was provided for vision impaired competitors sailing solo in the 2.4mR and Hansa 303 one-person divisions.
The event incorporated the NSW Championships for 2.4mR and Hansa classes and was the inaugural NSW Para Sailing Championship with scores for eligible para sailors extracted from the open results.
While Sydney turned on some beautiful autumn sunshine across the weekend, the north-easterly breeze was slow to arrive on the first two days of racing. On Easter Monday, racing was finally able to get underway on time, enabling all divisions to complete a good number of races for their series.
Peter Russell (ACT) posted five race wins from six starts to claim the NSW 2.4mR Championship. Charles Weatherly (VIC) finished with a two-point margin to daughter Ali Weatherly to win the NSW Hansa Liberty Championship. Chris Symonds and Manuela Klinger (TAS) had a perfect scorecard in the Hansa 303 two-person Championship and Symonds backed this up with five wins from seven starts in the Hansa 303 one-person to secure two NSW Championship titles.
In the NSW Para Sailing Championships, Chris Symonds took out the Hansa 303 one-person and two-person competition, Ali Weatherly (VIC) was best in the Hansa Liberty and Peter Coleman (VIC) claimed the 2.4mR title.
There was a great atmosphere of friendship and cooperation between all the competitors and volunteers at the regatta, but one example of kindness stood out. After two days of racing, vision impaired Kiwi Paulien Chamberlain was hot on the heels of Chris Symonds in the 303 one-person division and striving to keep ahead of Victorian Stephen Griffiths. The breeze was freshest on the final day; 13-14 knots and increasing when this group started racing in the second session. On the first upwind leg, Chamberlain suffered a mast failure and with just one further race to complete the series was destined to tumble down the order with a DNF and DNS to finish. In a generous display of sporting spirit, fellow New Zealander Rhonda Ritchie retired herself from that race so Chamberlain could change into her boat to contest the final heat of the championship. Chamberlain went on to secure her only race win for the series and maintained her second place on a tie-break from Griffiths. Ritchie’s gesture was warmly celebrated at the prizegiving ceremony later in the afternoon.
An Inclusive Sailing Forum was also held at MHYC on the Sunday evening following racing, attracting an audience of sailors, officials, administrators and other interested people.
Ali Weatherly outlined the makeup and activities of Australian Sailing’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Advisory Group, Sarah Ross provided an update on World Sailing’s Para Classification Working Party and David Staley described the work of World Sailing’s Inclusion Development Working Party. The open forum generated discussion on a range of topics with Hansa Sailing’s Chris Mitchell emphasising the importance of inclusive design and Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club Vice Commodore Julia Hornsby highlighting the value of sailing clubs taking a more inclusive approach.
Thanks to the race management and shoreside teams, especially the Sailability Middle Harbour volunteers, the event ran smoothly on the water and at the dock. Gratitude also to photographer Marg Fraser-Martin who was on the water every day to capture the action.
Major inclusive classes events to be held in Australia over the coming year are:
- October 2024 – Asia-Pacific Hansa Class Championships at Southport Yacht Club QLD.
- November 2024 - Sail Melbourne and Australian Para Sailing Championships at Royal Brighton Yacht Club VIC.
- January 2025 - 2.4mR Australian Championships at Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club VIC.
- March 2025 - Hansa Class World Championships at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club NSW.
For links to the MHYC Inclusive Classes Regatta results, NSW Para Sailing Championships results, photo galleries and event information, visit the event webpage: https://mhyc.com.au/sailing/regattas-championships/inclusive-classes-regatta
Photos by Marg Fraser-Martin
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Pacific Rigging Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series
The Pacific Rigging Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series 3 Finale was sailed on a mild sunny day that became even nicer with the arrival of a moderate northerly whichenabled the fleet to enjoy a very comfortable sail around the harbour on a Course 6. With a slightly adjusted course, Division 2 boats were first home and led by Steve Chiodo’s Manu from Innamincka (John Crawford) and Let Loose (Paul Saunders). Best in Division 1 was Brent Lawson’s Bluetack from Exile (Rob Reynolds) and Austmark (Gunther Schmidt-Lindner).
This week’s race was the finale of the Series 3 and the Division 1 series score came down to the wire with Bluetack’s race win securing the series by half a point! Austmark was second and Garth Riley’s Gambler claimed third on a tie-break with Zen. Paul Saunders’ Let Loose finished well ahead on the Division 2 leader board, ahead of Graeme & Chris Lee’s Farr N Away and Charles Caskey’s Onya. To view the race and series results – click here
Marg Fraser-Martin sailed with Innamincka to capture the action ashore and afloat - thanks Marg!
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Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge for the final race of SHWKS 2024
The Helly Hansen flag was hoisted at Manly Yacht Club over the weekend for the 29th anniversary of the Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge. There was a record number of entries for the yacht race on the Sunday with 42 boats listed across the two divisions. Conditions were looking dire in the morning with the fleet bobbing around with no wind in the Sow and Pigs starting area fifteen minutes before the scheduled start time. A call on the radio from maritime announcing a huge tanker coming in the heads created another difficulty for the race committee. As the breeze filled in there was a sigh of relief with the starting gun set to go off at 1pm for division 1 just half an hour later than planned in a moderate easterly breeze. Competition was tight on the start line with boats jockeying for position but both divisions managed a clear start with only one OCS across the fleet despite the outgoing tide pushing boats closer to the line.
The Overall results in Division 1 Bridget Canham took out first place on It Happens with Esprit (Christine Mah) coming in second place and MHYC boat Jambo taking third spot skippered by Stephanie Cook. In Division 2 Catherine Thornton-Rofe came in first place on Kaotic followed by Melody (Marike Koppenol) in second spot and Ace (Tegan Franklin) in third. Tracy Richardson took out first place for Division 1 in the All Female category in her Adams 10, Artemis.
The MYC Women’s Challenge was the fifth and final race of the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series, now in its third year. The collaboration between Sydney Harbour Clubs CYCA, MHYC, RSYS, RANSA and MYC is now a popular staple amongst the women’s sailing fraternity.
Congratulations to MHYC’s Katie O'Mara and the crew of Birubi J70 Racing taking the overall win in Division 2 of the female helm. Tracy Richardson and the Artemis crew winning Division 1 of the all female crew. Thanks to the combined efforts of all the clubs hosting this year and a huge round of applause for Marg's Yacht Photos and her great shots out on the course.
We look forward to seeing more boats participate in the series next season.
To view Marg Fraser- Martins photos click the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rh8tlmhaen6usmovjh5v0/h?rlkey=ztn30p0co70v6qvxipb8ohf84&dl=0
For full results of the HH Women’s Challenge click here https://app.sailsys.com.au/club/23/results/series/3520/races/24190?handicap=5
For the SHWKS click here https://app.sailsys.com.au/club/27/results/series/2715/races
Read more: Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge for the final race of SHWKS 2024
2024-25 Sailing Program outlined at Forum
A Keelboat Sailing Forum was held at MHYC on Wednesday 22 May to outline the proposed 2024-2025 Sailing Program, seek feedback from members and discuss any topics of interest. Vice Commodore Racing Mitch White welcomed about thirty keelboat owners and skippers before Sailing Manager David Staley reviewed this year’s calendar, summarised feedback from owners and presented the program that has been developed for next season.
There will be little change to the midweek programs for 2024-2025, except that the Friday Twilight Series will have three more races and the catering arrangements for Thursday and Friday Twilights are likely to change.
MHYC’s Saturday racing program is also similar to the current season, with twenty races scheduled in the Annual Inshore Pointscore (one less) six races in the Ocean Pointscore (unchanged) and eleven Feature Races (also unchanged). Opening Day and the Commodore’s Cup has been moved later in September to enable more boats and people from the diverse activities of the club to participate. Mark Saturday 21 September 2024 in your diary to be at MHYC.
The big difference from 2023-2024 is that MHYC will cooperate with Manly Yacht Club in the coming year to run a Combined Sunday Series. This series incorporates five passage races starting and finishing in the vicinity of The Sound, and two sprint days with three races each day. Middle Harbour Divisions 1 and 2 will be combined into Division 1 for this series, with Division 3 boats being promoted to Division 2. This will align the Middle Harbour and Manly fleets. The aim is to provide a series which has competitive racing for a larger group of boats, is sailed on a range of good courses located in the northern part of Sydney Harbour, activate a new group of boats who are not attracted to Saturday racing, and be able to share the race management resources of both clubs.
During Winter 2025, MHYC will conduct three days of the Sydney Harbour Sprint Series and three Feature Events (one of each in May, June and July) and the Leading Edge Pursuit Series of five races held in August. The Winter Pursuit Series will be discontinued and boat owners at MHYC will be encouraged to enter either the Combined Clubs Winter Series (Saturdays) or the CYCA Winter Series (Sundays) instead.
The Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta is the club’s biggest event each year and will be contested on 1 & 2 March 2025. For the offshore racers, the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship on 23 & 24 November 2024 is the event to kick off the summer. MHYC will also deliver a number of regattas for one-design keelboats and five charity and corporate regattas are also planned.
So, another busy season (ten more races than this year) is coming up and we encourage owners, skippers and crew to start now on planning the events and series in their individual sailing programs. The program outline will remain draft until July when final adjustments are approved by the Sailing Committee. The overall schedule, along with schedules and sailing instructions for the different series, will be published on the website during August and the Sailing Handbook will be published by early September.
To view the Keelboat Sailing Forum Presentation – click here
To view the Overall Sailing Program outline – click here
For any questions, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Combined Clubs Inshore finale
Saturday’s Combined Clubs Inshore Series finale, also part of MHYC’s Inshore Pointscore, was sailed in some testing conditions. A gentle East South-Easterly breeze changed direction and strength as it passed over the harbour’s headlands and fanned out of the bays.
At the conclusion of the Combined Clubs Series that attracted 59 boats for the seven races, MHYC boats dominated the leaderboard. Toy Box 2 (Ian Box) was first in Division 1 on ORC and IRC and second on PHS. Wailea (Neil Padden) finished on top of Division 2 on ORC and PHS, while Stormaway (Jack Stening & Colin Gunn) took the series win on IRC. Innamincka (John Crawford) and Waterborne Again (Marc Tromp) finished first and second respectively on both the ORC and PHS series scores.
In the MHYC Inshore Pointscore Division 1, Toy Box 2 claimed the trifecta on ORC, IRC & PHS handicap. In Division 2, Contentious (Brian Lees) took the win on ORC and Adams 10 One Design, while Small Gains (Don Colantonio) was best on PHS and Wailea took IRC. In Division 3, Innamincka won on ORC and Waterborne Again on PHS.
MHYC Inshore Pointscore Results – click here
Combined Clubs Inshore Series Results – click here
Thankyou to Marg Fraser-Martin who was on the water for the final day of racing and captured all the action.....
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