WINTER TRAINING AT MHYC with FLYING FISH SAIL ACADEMY

MHYC have arranged a generous 20% discount on some Flying Fish training courses for MHYC Members over the Winter Period.

20% off any of the courses listed below for MHYC members. 

To get the discount you need to book online and enter the promo code below.

MHYCFISHOFFER

RYA Diesel Engines – September 3

This course gives you an overall awareness of the main systems of a marine diesel engine. We teach you how to take simple measures to prevent mechanical

breakdown at sea and to rectify defects which do not require workshop support.

Click here

ACMA Marine Radio License (VHF, HF, GMDSS) – July 24 and September 4

This one day Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) approved course teaches you to use VHF (Short Range) as well as MF and HF

(Long Range) radio for distress, urgency, safety and general calls. The course includes GMDSS and DSC

Click here

AS/ISAF Offshore Safety and Sea Survival - September 5 & 6 or October 10 & 11

This two day course meets the requirements of ISAF, RYA and AS for crew planning to take part in offshore yacht races like the Sydney to Hobart race.

The course is also highly recommended for anyone going to sea for any purpose.

Click here

Marine First Aid – September 2 or October 2

This course has been specifically designed for those working in the marine environment and is ideal for boat owners, watersports instructors,

yacht skippers and crew. The course leads to an internationally recognised first aid qualification.

Click here

Essential Navigation and Seamanship Online Course 

This self paced online course provides a beginner's introduction to the navigation theory and safety knowledge required to go boating safely at sea.

Click here

Flying Fish are also offering MHYC memebrs 10% off their popular crew develeopment courses RYA Start YAchting, Competant CRew and Day Skipper for booking until 30 August 2020.

Please see Flying Fish website or drop into the office next to the Sandbar cafe for more details.

https://flyingfishsailing.com.au/

Read more: WINTER TRAINING AT MHYC with FLYING FISH SAIL ACADEMY

Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series

MHYC's Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series 1 has now passed the half-way point.  A moderate southerly moved east during the afternoon for this week's race, with the course taking the boats toShark Island and then Manly.

Rob Reynolds' Exile was the first Division 1 boat home, ahead of Little Nico (Adrian Walters) and Lazy Dog (Shaun Lane).  In Division 2, Lumine Lunae (Kim Darling) took the win from Anitra May (Dion Hart) on debut, with Sirius (Garth Riley) third.

After 7 races, Little Nico leads the Division 1 pointscore and Brian Lees' Contentious is ahead in Division 2.

To view the results - click here

Read more: Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series

Free Get Checked Audit Days - Sat 26 June 26 & Sunday 22 August

MHYC holds two annual Get Checked Days for Equipment Audits, which allows Club Members the perfect opportunity to have their boats audited prior to the new sailing season commencing free of charge. For PFD checks contact Matt Pyne at the Marina Office or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  The dates for the 2021-2022 season are Saturday 26th June and Sunday 22nd August 2021.

Bookings for an equipment audit are to be arranged directly through the MHYC Sailing Office or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Presentation of a Boat for Inspection process

• Boat owners are to complete an Equipment Compliance form prior to the inspection. Audit form can be downloaded here
• The owner or his representative should carry out an initial inspection and tick/sign the appropriate box - making sure to check expiry dates and quality of equipment, as well as identifying the location of equipment that may be asked to be presented during the inspection.
• Necessary equipment should be laid out ready for inspection, including copies of service certificates and any additional safety documentation; ie stowage plans, Epirb registration, Life Raft Service Certificates, PFD Service Certificates. (Cat 1 and 2 inspections - owners should have a copy of these certificates on hand to submit to the auditor as a part of the inspection paperwork.)
• The skipper and knowledgeable crew member should be on board during the inspection.
• The owner's Australian Sailing number and vessel registration details and insurance document shall be made available to the Auditor or the Equipment Compliance form cannot be completed.

Equipment Layout for Inspection

All items required for safety inspection should be laid out prior to the Auditor coming on board. Prior preparation will significantly reduce the time taken to complete the inspection.

• Storm boards ready to be put in place.
• Sea cocks and plugs exposed, not hidden by equipment.
• Know the water and fuel capacity of your tanks
• Fire extinguishers taken from brackets so date tags can be sighted.
• First Aid kits open and items with use by dates on the top so that expiry date can be checked.
• Publications and charts on chart table.
• Emergency navigation lights with batteries fitted.
• PFD's, harnesses, tethers and flares laid out.
• Radio installation inspection certificate.
• Life Raft Certificate
• Jackstays rigged.
• Lifelines tightened.

Read more: Free Get Checked Audit Days - Sat 26 June 26 & Sunday 22 August

Entry Open for 2019 Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship

This year marks the 42^nd running of the first major keelboat regatta for the season, the Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship (SSORC), hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club over the weekend of 23 and 24 November.

Entry is open and the Notice of Race online, with some enthusiastic owners already signing up for what is shaping up to be a battle of the titans across the board, and particularly in the TP52 class, as seven owners have  confirmed early they are rigged and ready for some serious racing.

Terry Wetton, organiser for the TP52 group, advised that Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban, Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan, Gordon Ketelbey’s Zen, Craig Neil/Bob Steel’s Quest, Sailors With DisAbilities’ Wot Eva, Mick Martin’s Frantic and Sam Haynes’ Celestial could be joined by two or three others for the TP52 series, now starting its second year.

When you look at the talent, where do you put your money? Ichi Ban has won countless events, both inshore and offshore, including the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart. Quest has won the Sydney Hobart twice; in 2008 under Bob Steel and in 2015 as Balance for Paul Clitheroe. Steel also finished second to Ichi Ban in the 2017 race.

Hooligan is hard to overcome inshore. She has beaten and been beaten by Ichi Ban for the top spot and won SSORC in a small field last year. Zen has been quietly making gains, beating Hooligan at the Port Stephens TP52 event in April, which was won by Celestial, and giving as good as she got at Airlie Beach Race Week, missing the win by two points. 

Ketelbey remarked, “The long and short of it is, we hope to win. We have a fairly non-professional boat of mostly regular sailors who have been with me since the Farr 40 days. We’re proud of the fact we can knock them off.

“Ichi Ban is very hard to beat – and Hooligan. They have professionals on board, but we’ll give it a go and do our best,” said Ketelbey, who lacks the inshore rigs of his two rivals, but does swap the offshore wheel for tiller steering at regattas.      

The Sydney yachtsman confirmed SSORC is the ideal vehicle to iron out wrinkles in the boat and sharpen crew work, along with the CYCA’s Blue Water Pointscore and Ocean Pointscore (OPS). In fact, the TPs will sail the opening coastal race.in conjunction with the OPS. On the Sunday, it is three offshore windward/leeward races; all will be scored under IRC and TPR.

Expect fireworks among the rest of the fleet, particularly between last year’s Division 1 winner, Bob Cox’s Nine Dragons against Andrew and Pauline Dally’s Khaleesi. The two DK46’s regularly swap the winner’s seat at various events. Nine Dragons did the slaying at last year’s SSORC, defeating Darryl Hodgkinson’s Victoire, Khaleesi and Noel Cornish’s St Jude by seven points when the latter three finished on equal scores.

The same can be said in Division 2, where Phil Dash’s JustADash and Jack Stening’s Stormaway go toe-to-toe every year. In 2018, JustADash did the job by one point from his nemesis. 

While all the above boats sail offshore for the weekend, there is also MHYC’s popular feature event on Sydney Harbour on Day 1. The Seven Islands Race has a pursuit-style start from the Club, takes the fleet around various well-known Sydney Harbour islands, and the first one home to the Club finish line wins.

Expect to see the usual suspects and a few new players as owners and crew ramp up for the summer offshore season ahead.

All information, including Notice of Race and entry: www.ssorc.mhyc.com.au 

Di Pearson/MHYC media

Read more: Entry Open for 2019 Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship

Sydney Harbour Regatta: Conspiracy in form at Sydney 38 Australian Championship

Peter Byford and David Hudson have come out the cream of the crop on Day 1 of the Yoti Sydney 38 Championship at the Sydney Harbour Regatta, hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC), sailing Conspiracy to two wins from three races for an early lead this afternoon.

The reigning NSW champions and third placegetters at the 2018 Australian Championship, Byford and Hudson are making no bones about their desire to ramp it up a notch this year, despite a larger field than last time around.

However, the Pittwater pair by no means had it all their own way, they lead by one point from Alan and Tom Quick, recently crowned Farr 40 NSW champions. The CYCA father and son may have switched one-design classes, but they arrived fully cocked and loaded with The Goat, scoring a pair of third places and a win for second place overall

Conspiracy though, also won Boat of the Day, and proudly flew that flag, co-owner, David Hudson said.

The day of racing, Hudson said, “Wasn’t too bad. We had from 8-12 knots. It was good constant racing on a reasonably flat sea. It was close and competitive. We’ll have to stay on our toes, as we’ve got The Goat on our tails. We haven’t raced against them before; they did a good job today.”

Hudson said they were pleased with their starts and crew performance: “It all went well. No stuff ups, no accidents, good competitive racing. And I have to say that the new people in the class acquitted themselves well.”

Tom Quick agreed: “It’s a great fleet of amateur and professional sailors, like the Farr 40 class.”

With guru David Chapman calling the shots “and he’s doing main as well,” Quick said, The Goat crew went in with heads down and tails up, as some got their heads out of the Farr 40 and into the Sydney 38 – very different boats.

”It’s been five years since we sailed a Sydney 38 - so it was a bit different coming back – but it was good. We’re enjoying the boat. It was a nice range of wind – perfect really. We had only one problem; getting a jib up in Race 3 when we were leading. But we got around mark and got it up and still won - no other dramas.

“We chartered The Goat. We have a mix of crew; one from The Goat and some youth sailors from France, the CYCA and one from Lightspeed (the MC38), Zak Quinlan. He’ll go back to them for the rest of the regatta, so today was good practice for him.”

Quick added, “Seems Conspiracy is the boat to beat, but consistency is the key and will be the decider, as it always is in one-design racing. We still have six races to go.”  

Sailing windward/leeward courses on the Manly Circle, Conspiracy pipped Challenge (second at the NSW Championship), Greg Croak’s NSW Central Coast entry, by 27 seconds in the opening race. The Goat took third place, a further 15 seconds in arears.

You could feel class newcomer Peter Sorensen’s frustration, when his recent purchase ‘Advanced Philosophy’ (the former Phoenix, winner of the 2015, ’16 and ‘18 Australian Championships), with Ron Jacobs calling tactics, scored OCS in Race 1. First time jitters, I’m sure, from this local skiff and yacht champion.    

In Race 2, it was Conspiracy getting the gun again, this time from Phil Tomkins’ Adrenalin (CYCA) and The Goat in third

But in Race 3, The Goat was too ‘Quick’ for the rest, and the CYCA entry took the bullet from Richard Williams’ Calibre, (also CYCA and third at the NSW Championship) by a six second split, with Conspiracy 25 seconds adrift of Calibre.

Day 1 of the Yoti 2019 Sydney 38 Australian Championship was in limbo before the midday start time, when a wafting 2-3 knots was all that could be mustered - a moderate north/easterly breeze filtered in just in time.  

A General Recall started the day, as is sometimes the case in a first race on Day 1 in a high-stakes championship where competitors take the ‘no prisoners’ approach.

Competitors in this popular class know how to celebrate and wind down in style after a day of racing, taking in Norths Happy Hour drinks at MHYC on docking, before a dinner for all crews.

A fleet of 11 Sydney 38 One-Designs are taking part in the three-day Australian Championship, starting off this weekend’s 14^th running of the Sydney Harbour Regatta. It is one of the largest class events for many years, with some new owners and return players from around NSW joining the circuit regulars.

Windward/leeward racing continues on the Manly Circle tomorrow, when officials will aim to put three more races to bed.

Full results and all information: www.shr.mhyc.com.au   

By Di Pearson, MHYC media

Read more: Sydney Harbour Regatta: Conspiracy in form at Sydney 38 Australian Championship

MHYC sailors head over to RSYS for Ladies of the Sea Regatta

Congratulations to MHYC members who headed over to RSYS over the weekend for their inaugural Ladies of the Sea Women’s Training Regatta.

Catherine Rofe and Rhoslyn Humphries co-helmed on the Elliot 7 Steadfast with Jenny Sorenson as crew in the One design fleet.

Skye Patton joined the crew of FINN,  Janey Treleaven’s Farr 40. The event  welcomed experienced and green sailors alike and provided a great opportunity for

everyone to develop their skills. Many thanks to Marg Fraser-Martin for the phographs. For more click here.

With so many exciting women’s sailing events happening around Sydney there is no shortage of opportunities for everyone to get involved.

MHYC Women’s Helm starts on the Thursday 17^th October and we are hoping for a some solid participation.

If you would like to enter the Women’s Helm Twilight please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Catherine Rofe on 89693103.

Read more: MHYC sailors head over to RSYS for Ladies of the Sea Regatta

MHYC wins Daydream Shield

Middle Harbour Yacht Club has won the Daydream Shield Interclub Regatta between Sydney Amateur Sailing Club and Middle Harbour Yacht Club on Saturday 23 February 2019. 

Three two-of-a-kind fleet races were conducted for the J24, Farr 30 and Melges 32 classes with one of each class from MHYC and SASC.  A moderate to fresh southerly provided some exciting racing, with some rain squalls reducing visibility at times.  

Two of the races were won by MHYC and one by SASC with MHYC coming out winners overall with a score of 27 to SASC's 36 points.  There was some close inter-class racing, especially with the Melges 32 and Farr 30 pairings.  Congratulations and well done to Team MHYC:

• XC3SS, Peter Woodhead (Melges 32)
• Optimum, Stuart Jordan (Farr 30)
• Ace, David West (J24) 

Results

Team Score Summary  

Read more: MHYC wins Daydream Shield

Bronze for Archie Cropley & Max Paul at Youth Worlds

MHYC members Archie Cropley and Max Paul have claimed the Bronze medal in the Boys 29er class at the 2019 Hempel Youth Sailing World Championships in Gdynia, Poland.

409 sailors from 66 nations were racing across nine youth events including the Boy's and Girl's divisions of the 29er, 420, RS:X and Laser Radial as well as the Mixed Multihull, the Nacra 15.  The best youth sailors from 28 nations contested 13 races in the 29er Boys series.

The Australian Youth Team was selected from performances across class and youth championships last summer and with a strong mix of returning Youth World Championships sailors and newcomers, the team had put in intensive training hours to tackle the best young sailors in the world this past week.   It will be Max Paul’s last year in the youth classes, while 16-year old Archie Cropley still has a couple years ahead of him.

After three days of racing, Cropley & Paul were sitting in second place behind last year’s winners Norway. 

“It’s been pretty good so far. We started a bit slow into the regatta and had a pretty light breeze the first couple of days, but we kept it pretty consistent and stayed close with the top pack. And today we did pretty well and had a bit more breeze which was a bit more beneficial for us,” Max Paul said.

The sailors from Middle Harbour Yacht Club not only put in their strongest day so far, but also had one of the best capsize recoveries of the day, with witnesses drawing comparisons to Olympic champions Nathan Outteridge and Ian Jensen’s race at London 2012.

“We had three races in 15 knots and the last one was probably reaching 20 knots and we had a really good day with a fourth, first and a third. In the last race of the day we hit a big set of waves on the downwind in a big puff and we couldn’t really do anything except pin pole, stick the nose in. So we had a pretty big capsize, but we recovered really well and were tenth at the bottom mark and third again around the top mark. So we did recovered really well to keep up there,” Archie Cropley described the incident.

Unfortunately the stronger breezes did not persist for the remainder of the regatta and the crew from Finland posted a series of bullets on the last two days of lighter winds to overtake the Australians.

Sydney sailors Will Cooley and Rebecca Hancock won gold in the Mixed Nacra 15 with one day to spare.  The lead in the Nacra 15 changed on a daily basis but it was the Australians who ultimately prevailed.

The race for gold went down to the wire in the Boy’s Laser Radial fleet on Friday with Western Australia’s Zac Littlewood in the lead going into the final day.

The Western Australian, who won bronze at last year’s world championships, claimed two seconds on Thursday to remove local hopeful Tytus Butowski (POL) from top spot but just one point splits the pair.  In the final race, bot sailors posted disappointing results to allow the Turkey’s Yigit Yalcin Citak to overtake them to claim the Gold.  Littlewood retained the Silver medal.

• AUSTRALIAN TEAM RESULTS
• Nacra 15 (Mixed team) Will Cooley and Rebecca Hancock (NSW):  1st
• 29er (Boys) Archie Cropley and Max Paul (NSW):  3rd
• 29er (Girls) Alice Buchanan and Dervla Duggan (TAS):  13th
• 420 (Boys) Ryan Littlechild and Jack Ferguson (NSW):  12th
• 420 (Girls) Lily and Matilda Richardson (VIC):  16th
• Laser Radial (Boys) Zac Littlewood (WA):  2nd   
• Laser Radial (Girls) Maddie O’Shea (NSW):  26th
• RS:X (Boys) Hamish Swain (QLD):  19th
• RS:X (Girls) Amelia Quinlan (NSW):  20th

Youth Worlds Results - http://worldsailingywc.org/results/2019_gdynia_pol.php

Australian  Sailing Youth - https://www.sailingyouth.org.au/home

Read more: Bronze for Archie Cropley & Max Paul at Youth Worlds

NSW 29er Championships decided at MHYC

Seven races over two warm days of sunshine and light to moderate breezes decided the NSW 29er Championships at MHYC this weekend following on from the first two days held at Wangi RSLSC in November.

MHYC teams made a clean sweep of the podium.  Archie Cropley & Max Paul posted 12 first places over the 14 race series to claim the Open 29er NSW Championship in convincing fashion along with the Youth Team trophy. Max Giffney & Maddy McLeay were second overall, also claiming the Junior Team and Mixed Crew prizes.  Hugo Taranto & Hugo Darin were third.  The first All Female Team was Grace Powers & Kate Richardson (RPAYC/MHYC).

Another seven races were also conducted for the Nacra 15 Traveller Series with three boats taking race wins.

To view the 29er and Nacra 15 results - click here

Photos by David Staley

Read more: NSW 29er Championships decided at MHYC