Sandgate Yacht Club

Following the successful Opening Day and Blessing of the Fleet, SYC’s first event of the 2021/22 season, races 1&2 of the Summer Series point score, will be run tomorrow. The first warning signal scheduled for 12:00.

Se you there!

Sunday was the Opening Day and Blessing of the Fleet, marking the start of the sailing season. Many thanks to Chaplain David Taylor for conducting the Blessing and some meaningful words. David also conducted the Blessing of the Fleet in 2019. Many thanks to Stirling Hinchliffe MP and Councillor Jared Cassidy for taking time in their busy schedules to join us on such a beautiful morning. A sail past was led by SYC’s MV Cape Moreton and included the club boats as well as VMR Brisbane Inc vessels.

After the formalities and festivities a fun race was held starting and finishing in Cabbage Tree Creek from the pontoon. Once clearing the very shifty winds in the creek, crews were met with solid bay swell blown up by a building 15kt NNE’er. Refreshments were served after sailing and the winners of the Winter Series were announced. Congratulations to Neil and Graeme for winning the winter series again. A fitting farewell to Saffron.

6 boats took to the race course yesterday for the final races for this years Winter Series. The fleet were bracing for the forecast 15-20 NE and storms but neither eventuated. 2 windward/leeward races was the race officers selection and these were conducted under a fading 10 knot NE’er and mostly clear skies. Close starts and close finishes kept the RO’s busy.

Final results will be announced at the Opening Day and Blessing of the fleet 12 September.

This Sunday SYC are running the final two races of the Winter Series 2021.

A later start this week of 1300hrs to suit the high tide of 1.90m at 1403hrs. The current forecast looks good for 15+knots of NNE and possibly a little rain.

Any assistance to the starters would be greatly appreciated. Hope to see you Sunday.

Sandgate Yacht Club is proud to host the 2021 Flying Fifteen Queensland State Championships on 23 and 24 October. All the necessary information and entry form can be found in the Notice of Race.

We are excited to host this event once again and look forward to welcoming you all once again.

Todays racing has been cancelled due to the weather conditions. Next race day is August 18.

Racing again this coming Sunday – this is day 4 of 6 event days planned for the Winter Series. First warning signal is scheduled for 11:00.

Let us know if you want to get involved and we can find a place for you. We have positions available on the start and rescue boats.

Link to event on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/ZXGE04DY

Races 5 & 6 of the Winter Series are ON this Sunday (under current Covid regulations).

This means that masks have to be carried and worn while moving about the grounds and clubhouse. Not while sailing.

Register with the QR code to enable contact tracing.

Warning Signal for the first start at 1030hrs.

The 1st race of the Winter Series is being run this Sunday. First start is scheduled for 11:00.

Let’s hope the forecast improves or we might have to do some boat maintenance!

Starting from 11:00am tomorrow morning (Sunday) will be the AGM, followed by season trophy presentation and lunch.

Another shifty day on the water again today for the last 2 races for the Summer Series trophy.
5 boats took to the start line in a variable 5-10kt breeze that was anywhere between SE and SW’ly. At times all 5 boats were next to each other. Great racing today and thanks to the starters team 👍
Photo of the boats returning to the club thanks to Amelia Brown (Happy Birthday Amelia!)

Next race event is 30 May – Club Championship (final) races 7 & 8.

Last weekend SYC conducted 2 races for the Ted Rice Shield. During the briefing we welcomed many visitors – Gary Richardson from Darwin and crew Mark Holmes from Lake Macquarie, Nicky Magyar from Tin Can Bay and crew Les Kearney from Tewantin and Crofty recently returned from Gladstone. Bill Wheatley gave an emotional history of Ted Rice and the important contribution he made to the club right up until the time of his passing.

On the race course there was a lengthy delay waiting for the breeze to appear. When the breeze did appear it was light, shifty and unpredictable generally from the southwest. The race officers realigned the race course after race 1, but they needn’t have stressed as Hughy hadn’t mind up his mind if the breeze should come from the East, the southwest or anywhere in between.

Refreshments, a sausage sizzle and socialising were enjoyed in the clubhouse after racing.

The next race meeting is 16 May for the final 2 races in this years Summer Series.

Thanks once again to the many volunteers that made the day possible.

Ted Rice Shield 2021 Overall

Another great day on the water today. Breeze ENE 8-15 in the gusts. The breeze was not shifty but also not stable and again there was a right shift after the start. Results of today’s racing as well as last weeks event following.

Also BIG welcome to Brownsea Water Activities Centre members Naomi and welcome back to Ethan Harvey with a win in the second race. Great work guys and hope to see you back soon.

Next race is the Ted Rice Shield on 18 April.

Summer Series Races 5 & 6

Club Championship Races 5 & 6

Racing again this Sunday – Summer Series races 5&6, warning signal set for 13:00.

All boats welcome (our handicapper likes a challenge!)

It’s been a little while since the last update, so here are a few items to catch up:

⛵️ SYC held the 505 Qld State Championships over the weekend of 27th and 28th February. It was great to catching up with some familiar faces as well as meeting some new ones. 15 year old Chris Gregg has had good results at Sandgate but couldn’t pull off the State Championship win this year with the victory being awarded to Nigel Lott & Bob Franks, one point in front of Mike Quirk & John Warlow. See more and read more here

⛵️ Sunday the club held the Bramble Bay Shield in conjunction with the second day of the 505’s championship event. 23 competitors including Sharpies, Windsurfers, Flying Fifteens and the 505’s faced up to 2 races held in light conditions. Although Chris and Ian Gregg may not have won the 505 trophy, they had a good day on Sunday to succeed in winning yet another SYC event, this time the Bramble Bay Shield. Full results can be found on the results page

⛵️ This Sunday racing continues in the Club Championship series. 2 races are scheduled with an early start time of 10:00am.

Results from last race meeting can be found here

This coming weekend SYC are hosting the 505 State Championships. More details soon…

Sunday saw the running of 2 races of the Summer Series. The forecast was as predicted and the weather was tricky with very light, shifty and patchy conditions. We were joined by Josh, another member of the Brownsea Water Activities Centre who helmed with JP and did very well in the tricky conditions. Results coming soon.

Next event is Saturday 27 February, the 505 Queensland State Championships. We welcome the 5-0’s, Sharpies, and LT Queensland Windsurfer Class back again to join in on the Bramble Bay Shield event on Sunday.

Summer Series racing again this Sunday. First warning signal is scheduled for 11:00 and a high tide of 11:19. Current forecast is for at least 4 or 5 Flying 15’s, a Sharpie and a Status580.

👉 See you there

Club Championship races 3 & 4 are to be conducted this Sunday at Sandgate YC.

With high tide (2.60m) at 1127hrs, the first Warning Signal is scheduled for 1100.

The first General Meeting of the year will be held next Monday evening at 7:30 at the Clubhouse – all welcome.

3 races decided the Verdon Shield today. The races were windward/leeward courses, 2 laps each with a downwind finish conducted in 4-8knot ESE’ly breeze.

There were oscillating shifts of around 15 degrees allowing for many passes over the race course. The race officers moved the start line further to the south for race 3 and after a hotly contested start there was large gaps between the fleet at the first top mark. The gap to the lead boat kept getting smaller but Relience 17 could not quite get the hat trick today.

No official results yet, but ….

1st Relience 17 (1,1,2)

2nd SNAffU (3,3,1)

3rd Saffron (2,2,3)

4th Criss Cross (5,5,4)

5th Patrick Kills Oysters (4,4,dns).

Happy Birthday to Amy! We all shared in some party food after racing to celebrate. Also thanks to Tom and Chris Noonan for setting the courses and running the starts.

Next race day is 31 Jan for legs 3 and 4 of the Club Championship.

2 events have taken place at SYC in the past few weeks.

The Excelsior Cup was run with competitors visiting from other clubs. There were 6 wind surfers, a Sharpie and 3 (or 4?) Flying Fifteens competing in strong 25 knot winds. The course set was Windward/Leewards and only 1 race was completed due to the strengthening winds. The race was won by David Larter and Laurie Williamson in Criss Cross and runners up were Neil Lestor and Graeme Dobson in Saffron. Thanks to all the visitors and we hope you return to SYC again soon – it’s not always strong winds and rough choppy seas…. honest! Refreshments were provided after racing with sausages, kebabs, salads and Christmas Cake for all the competitors and volunteers.

The final event for this year was held on Sunday. The Christmas Fun Race.

The committee of the Sandgate Yacht Club would like to wish all a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2021!

This coming Sunday is the first ever Excelsior Cup. This single race day will be run annually and is open to several divisions including Windsurfers. Racing results will be based on VYC yardstick handicap.

The Notice of Race and entry form can be found here

We hope to see you on Sunday!

A challenging day was had by some crews for the Merv Anderson Sprint Series this year while other revelled.

This is normally a great lead up event for the Flying Fifteen crews prior to their State Championships the fortnight after this event. This year the breeze was a firm 15-20 knot SE’ly. 5 starters headed out to the race course, 4 finished the first race, 2 finished the remaining races leaving one boat with a lot of work to do before packing up to go to Tin Can Bay for the Flying Fifteen State Championshpis. Congratulations to David Larter and Albert Schauss for sailing safely and consistently to take the win. Great to see previous club Commodore Andrew Pearson on the water again also.

Good Luck to all the crews sailing at the State Championships 21 and 22 November in Tin Can Bay.

Full results can be found here.

Racing at Sandgate YC this Sunday for the Merv Anderson Sprint Series. This event is a series of short races with the first warning signal at 1300hrs. High tide of 2.11m is predicted for 1452hrs.

Again any assistance you can give to the start crew will be greatly appreciated.

Last race meeting was the first 2 races of the Club Championship for 2020/2021. Results for that event can be found here.

Hope to see you all on Sunday 👍

Sandgate Yacht Club is conducting the King of Bramble Bay 2-day Regatta this weekend Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October.

Early starts both days at 1000hrs with high tides at 1016 and 1048 respectively.

Please observe COVID safe-distancing while at the Club.

Saturday’s event is planned to be a long course event around fixed marks which will have crews seeing most of Bramble Bay. Sunday we have windward-leeward racing planned.

The current forecast is looking very nice for 8-12 knot Easterly breeze on Saturday and 8-10 knot Easterlies on Sunday.

Race fees for the regatta will be $30 for both days and $20 per boat for one day only.

Any assistance offered to the Start Crew will be much appreciated. We hope to see you at the club this weekend!

Races 1 and 2 of the Summer Series were conducted today and the threat of late storms held off for a perfect days sailing.

The PRO today selected a Triangle-Sausage-Triangle course from the handbook and race 1 was run with a fickle light NE breeze and made for tight first windward mark roundings. It took most of the race for the cobwebs to be blown out and the boats found their groove. PRO elected to realign the course during the break between races and the breeze built to about 10kts before the start of the second race. The starts were hotly contested today and Race 2 was no different with boats bailing-out at the favoured boat-end of the line – all managed to get away cleanly and without serious incident.

It was great to see the return of racing and while the clubhouse activities may have not continued after racing, the boat park was an active area for discussion and debrief. Results for todays racing can be found here.

Next race day is the King of Bramble Bay Regatta 3-4 October.