Off the wind magazine 2017 lr by Sandringham Yacht Club

2017 EDITION

Member of the Australian Marine Network

CONTENTS

SERVICE DIRECTORY GUEST RELATIONS DESK Sunday Monday to Thursday Friday & Saturday

09:00 – 14:00 09:00 – 17:00 09:00 – 20:00

BOATING & MARINA OFFICE Monday to Friday Saturday & Sunday (race days only)

09:00 – 17:00 09:00 – 13:00

MEMBERS’ BAR Bar Monday to Friday Saturday to Sunday

12:00 till approx 21:00 11:00 till approx 21:00

Meals Lunch Monday to Friday Saturday & Sunday Dinner Monday to Thursday & Sunday Friday & Saturday

12:00 – 14:30 12:00 – 15:00 18:00 – 20:30 18:00 – 21:00

A snack menu will be available on race days between lunch and dinner service on Wednesday, 16:00 – 18:00 and Saturday and Sunday, 15:00 – 18:00.

KEN KING CENTRE (KKC) Saturday (race days) Sunday (race days) Saturday & Sundays (non race days)

08:00 – 13:00 08:00 – 11:00 Closed

HARBOUR VIEW RESTAURANT Monday & Tuesday Wednesday to Friday Saturday Sunday

Closed lunch from 12:00 dinner from 18:00 dinner only from 18:00 lunch only from 12:00

Please note: Winter trading hours are listed. Trading times will depend on the level of patronage and may vary from the time of printing. Seasonal trading hours can be found at syc.com.au

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE

Membership: Andrea Seignior – membership@syc.com.au Admin/Finance: Helen Tetlow – helen.tetlow@syc.com.au Boating Academy: Michah Shuwalow – michah@syc.com.au Sailing: James Sly – james.sly@syc.com.au CEO: Richard Hewett – ceo@syc.com.au Events/Functions: Ashlee Patten – events@syc.com.au Club Events: Naomi Smith – naomi.smith@syc.com.au Operations: Paul Corfield – paul.corfield@syc.com.au Marina and Yard Operations: Paul Gascoigne – waterfront@syc.com.au Marina and Yard Admin: Karen Crowley – Karen.Crowley@syc.com.au Executive Chef: Kol Gemmell – Kol.Gemmell@syc.com.au

SANDRINGHAM YACHT CLUB Jetty Road, Sandringham, Victoria, 3191 (PO Box 66) Phone: +61 3 9599 0999 Fax: +61 3 9598 8109 Email: office@syc.com.au Website: syc.com.au

PUBLISHED BY Naomi Smith, Di Tyndall, Kate Mitchell & Gill Stubbs

CONCEPT, DESIGN & LAYOUT

3 5 6 8 9

General Committee Commodore’s Report Sail Report Club Champions 2015-2016 Club Champions 2016-2017 State & National Champions 2016-2017

10 Recreational Boating Report 12 Off The Beach Report 14 Sunday Sailors Report 16 Wednesday Wonders Report 18 Young Members Report 19 J24 Report 20 Women in Sailing Challenge 22 Match Racing Program 23 Race Management Report 24 Social Report 26 Opening Day 28 Club Marine SYC Boating Academy 30 2017 Mercedes-Benz Brighton Port Phillip Challenge

32 Reciprocal Club Program 34 Member Awards 38 Member Boat News 43 Sandringham Member Snapshots 47 Off Water Activities 49 Club Charity Events 52 Club Events Calendar 53 Member Benefits Scheme 54 Kol’s Kitchen 55 Weddings at SYC 56 Events at SYC 59 New Members 60 SYC Vale

Nick Richards, Privaro Design: www.privaro.com.au

DISCLAIMER

COVER IMAGE

Opinions expressed in Off the Wind are not necessarily those of the Sandringham Yacht Club. The Club does not guarantee the accuracy or accept any responsibility for the statements or comments made by the contributors in articles submitted. The Club reserves the right to amend, alter or delete any items, statements or articles which it feels is not in the best interest of the Club or its members. Please note: Sandringham Yacht Club is referred to as SYC throughout this publication.

Joust, Rod Warren

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT 29 · 32 · NEW 34 · 38 · 42 · 46

Team Windcraft Australia · Ph: 02 9979 1709 · Email: boats@windcraft.com.au New Zealand · Ph: 09 413 9465 · Email: boats@windcraft.co.nz www.windcraftdehler.com

dehler.com

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C L U B

General Committee 2016-2017 Commodore-in-Chief His Royal Highness Prince Philip K.G.K.T Duke of Edinburgh

Rob Davis

Ashley Trebilcock

Commodore

Scott Sampson Treasurer

Sue Bowes

Vice Commodore

Rowan Simpson Club Captain, Sail

Committee Member

Garry Anderson Rear Commodore

Michael Kostos

Club Captain, Recreational Boating

Paul Commins

Committee Member

Terry George Club Captain, Off The Beach

Bill Stubbs

Committee Member

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 3

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C L U B

Commodore’s Report I

t has been another excellent year for Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) and a fitting tribute to our Immediate Past Commodore, Kate Mitchell, who passed over the reins leaving a terrific legacy and strong culture of SYC being a Club for its members. Well done Kate and thank you for the tireless hours spent serving our great Club. The season kicked off in fine fashion with a Vikings-style celebration on Opening Day. This proved to be a popular theme, with much time and effort going into costumes and boat decorations, making for an awesome on-water spectacle and fun day. There were also several new additions to Opening Day including MV Kingfisher II the official Sail Past vessel, as well as some extra family activities in The Paddock. A particular hit was the dunking machine with a notable group of Club identities being sent for a swim on what was a chilly morning. Turning to more serious business, the Club’s new ten year Strategic Plan was released this year and is available for all members to view on our website. This provides an excellent overview of where the Club is heading and I would encourage all members to take a moment to read it. Pleasingly, we are already making excellent progress on a number of the key initiatives. An aspect of the plan which is always of great interest is our facilities. While we are not currently undertaking any major new building projects, we certainly are not lying idle in this area. Over the coming months we will be working on the development of the next phase of our Facilities Master Plan, taking into account the needs of today as well as the next 10 years and beyond. With regard to our existing facilities, we now have an excellent Asset Maintenance & Replacement Program and are provisioning for those things known to us that will require preventative maintenance. Of course we are always subtly improving our amenities and at the time of writing, there are various projects under way including: • Significant maintenance works to the Marina including staged replacement of the entire main walkway whaler system and some rows, servicing of the pedestals and pontoon repair works. • Various yard improvements including the installation of a solid barrier system to provide much better safety and improved weekend trailer storage, as well as interim arrangements to give our contractors more onsite storage with the addition of four new sheds. • Clubhouse works including new carpet in the Members’ Bar and a full refurbishment of the bar top and all internal and external furniture. • Replacement of the tower lights with a vastly improved system. • Working with Parks Victoria to undertake a renourishment of the breakwater directly in front of the Clubhouse which provides important protection to SYC. • Working with government and local community groups to make safety improvements at the entrance to SYC including pavements, the addition of a pedestrian gate and improved lighting, camera security and signage. These enhancements also enable us to provide a safe haven on land for local community users of the area. The real strength of SYC though and our very purpose for being, is to provide on-water activities and programs which entice our members to participate in Club life. We are working as hard as ever to maintain our status as the leading racing yacht club on the bay and to keep our fleets keen and active. Several changes to be introduced this season include a 50% reduction in race entry fees, various changes to our Race Management procedures and courses to provide safer and better quality racing, as well as some new race format options to give competitors more choice. Our Boating Department is now also providing constant on-water support during racing with a RHIB on standby at all times should members require emergency assistance. Our Wednesday Wonders fleet in particular continues to draw a consistently large fleet all year around and provides a terrific mix of competitive rivalry coupled with friendly camaraderie off the water. There is however always room for improvement and we will continue to experiment with new ideas, while welcoming member feedback or suggestions. Our membership numbers continue to be strong and have plateaued at around 2700. General Committee is very focussed on working to ensure the Club delivers the best possible ‘value proposition’ to all members. We

recognise the need to regularly re-assess and refine our membership offering to adapt to the changing needs of members and to ensure a highly satisfied, active and engaged membership. To this end, we are working on a program to better reward and recognise both long-term loyal members and volunteers and regular participants who make a substantial contribution to SYC by providing invaluable assistance and support to the Club. One thing SYC does very well is to run all sorts of events, both on and off the water. After a hiatus of some six years, last season we re-introduced the Mercedes-Benz Brighton, Port Philip Corporate Day Challenge. With a slightly different format, the new event proved to be a huge success, with 300 people enjoying morning tea on the Northern Podium, a friendly pursuit yacht race, followed by lunch and awards in the Port Phillip room. As Commodore, the most rewarding experience of my term to date has been to assist in hosting 125 kids and parents as part of our support for Challenge, Kids with Cancer. A combination of 19 SYC yachts and power boats ventured out on the bay to provide a wonderful on-water experience for a bunch of families. Our visitors were greatly appreciative and for a brief moment were able to forget their daily troubles. Looking forward, SYC will also be hosting National Championship regattas in 2018 and for now, we have more than enough happening to keep us very busy. Stay tuned for further announcements as we have several other exciting opportunities in the pipeworks for beyond 2018. Many of our members have performed exceptionally well in various races and competitions beyond SYC and further reports are contained within this magazine. In particular though, several of our young members campaigned diligently over many years for the Rio Olympics, but in the end it was not to be their time. So to Oli Tweddell, Tess Lloyd and Eliza Solly we applaud your efforts and know that your time to really shine is still ahead of you. Financially and operationally the Club is performing very well, although only a slim margin for error exists. Our plans for the future are exciting but will require careful consideration balancing the need, risk and return of each initiative. A large number of marina berths that had been on long term leases will revert back to the Club over the next few years and overall this should be beneficial to us. However it will be important to ensure our marina occupancy rate stays at 100% and that boats are being actively used. All other areas of the Club have performed in line with our budgetary expectations and this is a terrific tribute to our Management team and Finance & Audit Committee. Overall, our financial position along with good governance and risk management will be fundamental to ensuring our long term prosperity. An extension of the Club’s operations also worthy of significant recognition is our on-site contractors and concession holders. These businesses provide essential marine products and services to our members and their contribution to the Club is greatly appreciated. While preparing for this report I had cause to really reflect on what underpins the fabric of our Club and what attributes will successfully carry us into the future. In this respect, we have a uniquely friendly culture within SYC and we engage with and welcome others to our sport and Club. There is also a steadfast camaraderie and loyalty that exists both amongst our members and most importantly our staff as well. This terrific sense of community we enjoy across all aspects of the Club makes SYC a place we can all be proud. My hope is that we can play a part in breaking down the perceived barriers associated with our sport and let the broader community know what an accessible, fun and healthy pastime we all enjoy. Finally, I would like to extend my personal thanks to all our volunteers, committee members, and awesome staff members for making our Club so special. Fair winds and safe boating for the season ahead.

Rob Davis Commodore

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 5

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Sail Report

ith racing offered four days a week in summer and three days in winter, the 2016/2017 keelboat calendar provided a comprehensive and diverse opportunity for all members to participate. The Wednesday and Sunday Series provide the opportunity to beat the handicappers with stern-chasing events and the Thursday Twilight Series a competitive social event. This report concentrates on weekend events where the Club’s Champions are determined and where our best sailors compete against the best from other clubs.

Winning the Association Cup in 2016, a team’s event contested against other keelboat clubs was no doubt a highlight of the past year. The IRC team of Wicked, Bandit and More Noise together with the AMS team of Doesn’t Matter, Pacemaker and Frenzy did Sandringham Yacht Club proud. As a result of inclement weather, this year’s event was abandoned which means SYC has retained the Cup for another year. Over 50 trophies were presented at the 2017 Sail Presentation Night and there is insufficient space here to mention all recipients. However, I will concentrate on the winners of the prestigious Summer Aggregate Series, regatta performances and ocean racing events.

Division 1 Summer Aggregate 1st IRC and AMS – Joust (Rod Warren) 1st PHS – Smooth Criminal (Matt Draper)

Division 2 Summer Aggregate 1st IRC – Alibi (Dennis Hambleton) 1 AMS – Frenzy (Jon Evans) st

1st PHS – Vindaloo (John Taylor)

Division 3 Summer Aggregate 1st AMS and PHS – Watermark II (Graeme Watt and David Suda)

2016 Winter Series winners were: Division 1 1st IRC, AMS and EHS in a very dominant performance was Simply Fun (Philip Coombs)

Division 2 1 AMS – Rhiannon (Lowa Paszko) 1st PHS – First Passion (Grant and Nathan Anderson) st

Notable performances in the 2016 Club Marine Series were Wicked (Mike and Mark Welsh), who came 2nd in IRC and Sierra Chainsaw (the Mollison Family), who finished 2nd in AMS in Division 1. In Division 2, Joust capped off a very successful season with 2nd places in the IRC, AMS and YV handicap results. Daniel Edwards also capped off another successful offshore year being rewarded with the title of Victorian Ocean Racer of the Year with his well-travelled White Noise. He recently won the Port Fairy race in both IRC and AMS, the Devonport race in IRC and the King Island race in AMS. Simply Fun (Philip Coombs), won both IRC and AMS categories in the race to Stanley. Other notable achievements in other regattas were Simply Fun and More Noise (Jason Close) both finishing 2nd in their respective AMS Divisions at the Port Lincoln regatta. Also 2nd in the Rating Passage Division at the 2016 Hamilton Island Regatta was Scarlet Runner (Rob Date).

The 2016 Cock of the Bay race results saw Dream (Robert Green) 1st place in Division 1 in line honours and PHS. Alibi continued to dominate in Division 2 with a clean sweep with wins in IRC, AMS and PHS. In the Double Handed Division, Lord Jiminy (Chris Barlow and Jamie Christensen) finished with 1st in line honours and PHS, whilst Double Trouble (Jordan Sunkel-Lozell) finished with 1st AMS. There were also a few SYC boats in the Cruising Division with Chris Gendala’s Stampede finishing in 1st in line honours and PHS.

I have been very fortunate to be supported by a very experienced Sail Committee during the past season. In particular, Lowa Paszko and Mark Welsh are largely responsible for the race documentation. Their contribution to the calendar, Notices of Race and Sailing Instructions has been outstanding. The membership has also been served extremely well by the Boating Department led by James Sly and Maddie Commins. Given that we aim to provide members with what they want in the sailing calendar, we will shortly arrange a post-mortem of the past season to ascertain where improvements can be introduced, so your feedback is welcome. The trial of a day/ night Tam O’Shanter event is an example. Even though the race was concluded by midnight, most competitors felt the race was too long. In years gone by there was an overnighter every fortnight, so a sign of the times perhaps? Other feedback suggests there are too many sprint races? One significant issue is the Divisional splits

6 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

for next season. This also applies to events such as the Club Marine series. Without doubt the Division 2 provides the best fleets and Division 3 is faltering so some adjustments are required. The growth of the Super 11 class is encouraging, particularly for our younger sailors. So far as innovation is concerned, the introduction of an optional use of spinnakers in the Thursday Twilight series will continue with refinements. The introduction of boat starts in the Round the Stix events has been a great success. Safety remains a priority at the Club and consequently, the reintroduction of Safety Audits has been important. The evening with sailing legend, Michael Coxon, held in April, was well attended and his anecdotes captivated the audience. The Club is also fortunate to have an international accredited

Racing Rules expert, Rob Ware, as a Member and we are planning to utilise his expertise with a Rules Information night in May. Given yacht racing is a self-regulating sport, an understanding of the rules is imperative. Whilst available online, the Club is also investigating publishing the new rulebook which will be available for SYC members to purchase. Covered elsewhere in this publication will be reports on Women in Sailing events. Megan Aulich continues to do a great job organising these events which are gaining in popularity each year. James Sly and Jack Fullerton are responsible for the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Match Racing Program which is targeting the younger members. For a small fee match racing is a great opportunity to learn the rules and to further your sailing experience.

Championships from 19-21 January. Members are encouraged to support this event as it will showcase our great Club. Knowing this was on the radar, we trialled the SYC Regatta in January 2017 and whilst one day was blown out, the format will be similar. As well as catering for the Australian Yachting Championships, the local fleet will have the opportunity to participate in a number of different racing formats such as passage races or one design events as well as laid course events. The Club has also accepted the right to host the J24 National Championships in the New Year. In conclusion, it has been another busy year. The racing has been close and the weather mostly kind. The absence of Division 0 yachts is disappointing but a sign of the times. Given the trend to cruiser/racers, perhaps we should be looking to encourage more participation of this category in the future? The Super 11 sports boats may provide the salvation for our younger members with the prospect of fast and exciting sailing. The sailing scene is always evolving and the Club is well placed to cater for future change.

Rowan Simpson Club Captain Sail

In 2018, SYC is hosting the Australian Yachting

Off the Wind | 2016 EDITION | 7

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Club Champions 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2016

Division 1 AMS Joust Rod Warren

Division 1 PHS Dark and Stormy Stuart Mellington and Terry Kourtis

Division 1 IRC Wicked Mike and Mark Welsh

Division 2 PHS Frenzy Jon Evans

Division 2 AMS Frenzy Jon Evans

Division 2 IRC More Noise Jason Close

Division 3 AMS Watermark II Graeme Watt and Peter Loh

8 |

2017 EDITION EDITION Off the Wind | 2017

Division 3 PHS Fast Company Albert Doggett

Club Champions 2016 – 2017

Division 2 AMS Frenzy Jon Evans

Division 1 PHS Smooth Criminal Don Cameron

Division 1 AMS & IRC Joust Rod Warren

Division 3 AMS & PHS Watermark II Graeme Watt and David Suda

Division 2 PHS Vindaloo John Taylor

Division 2 IRC Alibi Dennis Hambleton

2017 Australian Laser Radial Championship Rhett Gowans, Rhett’s Rig

2017 International Finn Australian Championship Oliver Tweddell

2017 Sabre Nationals Jon Holroyd, Espresso

Photo supplied by EP

Photo supplied by Ben Hartnett

Photo supplied by Alex McKinnon

State and National Champions 2016 – 2017

2017 49erFX State Championships Tess Lloyd and Eliza Solly, Valhalla

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 9

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Recreational Boating Report W

e have hit the ground running and I will start where Immediate Past Captain, Mal Billings, finished off his last report.

The Cruise-in-Company to Melbourne City Marina at Docklands in April 2016 saw Sandringham Yacht Club utilise the whole Marina. The 2017 event was kept in-house with our Sub-committee preparing a Crock Pot Cook-Off for the members’ dinner and later we were entertained by local musicians finishing off the evening with dancing, thanks to member Teryle Kemp working her magic on the music box.

Jessica Watson and Shane Freeman

For the Melbourne Cup Cruise-in-Company long weekend we had 16 boats with 44 people registered for a BBQ dinner at Royal Geelong Yacht Club. A 52 knot westerly came through with some boats having to change pens due to insecure moorings. This weather prevented us from continuing to Queenscliff and we bunkered down in Geelong for the duration of the holiday weekend.

Shane Freeman

Our first cruise-in-company for 2017 was held on the Labour Day long weekend in March. Twelve boats headed across the bay in flat seas and warm sun to our first night’s destination of Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club (QCYC). These boats included Kaos, Halcyon, Gillian, White Pointer, Maid of Martha, Endurance, Renaissance III, 5 Rhythms, Meltemi, The Secretary and IV x VIII with Bastion Point at Queenscliff Marina. Most crews spent the night cooking designer pizzas or using the great bbq facilities. An easterly wind picked up overnight and there was discussion about destinations for the next day. At this point, day two became three cruises. Six boats enjoyed a pleasant sail across to Martha Cove and refreshments and stories were enjoyed on the dock before dinner. Seventh Heaven joined us having sailed directly from Sandringham Yacht Club and after dinner most crews found their way to Meltemi for dessert and more communing. Next morning we headed out for the trip back to SYC. Monday saw most boats return to SYC a little weary but having enjoyed their adventure. Renaissance III continued through Bass Strait to King Island, Currie then Deal Island enjoying more boating fun. Well done to them for their cruise participation.

David and Kate McCutcheon, Skipper and Navigator, IV x VIII, Winners 2017 SYC Cup NavRally

10 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Hampton, thanks to SYC Member Yves Morvan and freshly brewed coffee was supplied by Procaffe. We thank all our sponsors who generously contribute to help run this very successful event. It was a wonderful way to spend a cold winter morning with fellow members. Our Guest Speaker Nights continue to be well patronised and included Sheree Marris, a Marine Biologist, Andre Lindsay, operator of Melbourne Fishing Charters and Mark Kinder, who served with the Royal Australian Navy between 1968 and 1974. Other speakers were SYC member, Colin Miller who spoke about the Centaur, a hospital ship which sank in 1943 and SYC member Shane Freeman. Shane’s goal was to sail his Trade Winds 35 Mushka solo to the United Kingdom for the GGR2018 around the world race. Departing in December 2016 and with nearly 6,000 Southern Ocean miles behind him and Cape Horn in sight, Shane’s quest suddenly concluded on 18 February when Mushka was knocked down and dismasted by a rogue wave. With insight and humour Shane told us about his 70 day solo journey, the challenges he faced and lessons learned from what he describes as an adventure like no other. Our annual Fishing Competition was postponed due to extreme weather conditions. The rescheduled competition was held on 20 November 2016. We enjoyed a BBQ at the Ken King Centre as the catches were weighed in. The Wayne Read Trophy was won by Greg McGann aboard South Stack who caught the heaviest snapper weighing 5.18 kg. The heaviest snapper caught from a yacht was won by Steve Gall on Black Magic and it weighed 1.25kg. Zoe Liddiatt from Thunderbird 6 won the junior prize and her fish weighed in at 2.16 kg. SYC Recreational Boating donated a rod and reel as prizes to all winners. The 2016 Christmas party again proved a most entertaining evening with a brass ensemble playing festive Christmas carols all night. Thanks to George Shaw and Peter Hickey for all their work. We warmly thank our local sponsors for their support.

The 2016 Annual Presentation Breakfast was held in the Members’ Bar and it was with great pleasure we announced our Recreational Boating Club Person of the Year, Gill Stubbs. Gill continuously devotes her time ensuring all members new and old are welcomed to our Club. Executive Chef, Kol produced a delicious gourmet breakfast. We had support from SYC Member Tommy Raft supplying fruit and raffle prizes. Scrumptious French Dinner at QCYC, CIC Port Phillip Bay pastries came from Éclair Patisserie in

Guest Speaker Nights

Brass Band at the Christmas Party

Disappointingly, the mid January weather meant that our Summer-Raft Up was abandoned. Please be ready for action in 2018. A highlight in the calendar was the SYC Cup Navigation Rally, held on 26 March 2017 after being postponed due to bad weather but it was worth the wait. It was with great pride and determination that David and Kate McCutcheon on their boat IV x VIII thrilled us all by coming 1st with a score of only nine points. It had been too many years since an SYC win. Well done and congratulations to skipper David and navigator Kate. I would like to thank the Recreational Boating Sub-committee members Dawn Cleaver, Peter Hickey, Kate McCutcheon, George Shaw, and Gill Stubbs for all their hard work. I also wish to thank the SYC members who continually support and participate in our activities at our great Club. We certainly appreciate you attendance, ideas and companionship.

Michael Kostos Recreational Boating Club Captain

Martha Cove 2017

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 11

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Off The Beach Report

Metung

Cadet States

Metung

cannot believe how quickly the 2016-17 sailing season has gone following a fantastic Opening Day. Our OTB sailors made the environmental decision to ban the use of water balloons during the Opening Day Sail Past and this was adopted by the wider Sandringham Yacht Club community. Many OTB sailors decorated their boats and dressed up as Vikings as well as our Junior Captains, Zoe Rae and Jack Furey who assisted with the official proceedings and the Opening Day ceremony. Glenn Taylor and a group of volunteers successfully ran the Opening Day Ronstan Challenge which provided some short sprints for OTB sailors and some racing for members and guests to view from the Bar and the northern podium.

which has been well subscribed with around 25 optimists, 10 O’pen BIC dinghies as well as 11 international cadets. Due to the amount of interest in the Junior Development Squad (JDS) we have extended this program and it will be running until the end of the autumn/winter series. A big thank you must go to David Suda who has done a great job with Head Coach, Leigh Thorne and Nathan Goss who have been assisting David coordinating coaches on a weekly basis. Without these guys, the Squad would not happen.

OTB had a slow start to sailing season due to windy conditions, but after weeks of bad weather we finally got in some sailing, starting with Sail Sandy, Port Phillip’s premier OTB regatta. It was also was marred by heavy winds with Saturday and Sunday morning racing cancelled, but fortunately the Weather Bureau lifted the weather warning and PRO Stephen Aulich and his team of fantastic volunteers were able to get enough afternoon racing to constitute a series. Our junior captains, Zoe and Jack also successfully ran our Christmas party and a hippie-themed camp-out which was enjoyed by many.

With the end of the summer series, the OTB community prepared to head to the Metung Yacht Club for our annual Easter Regatta in the Gippsland lakes.

We have a solid influx of new sailors transitioning from the Boating Department run programs such as Tackers, into our Green Fleet program which transitions young sailors into racing their own boat or crewing on an international cadet. Green Fleet has also been running our junior development squads on Sunday mornings providing coaching, 12 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

We also made changes to our calendar and started conducting twilights on Friday nights which has proven to be popular with Juniors, Intermediates and Seniors and is also providing the Members’ Bar with some entertaining sailing.

Cadets The 2017 International Cadet Championships held in January, were hosted in Adelaide by the Largs Bay Sailing Club and Sandringham Yacht Club was well represented with 11 boats. It proved to be a tough regatta with the first day of sailing cancelled due to high winds. The balance of the regatta sailed in light to moderate breezes with tide thrown in as an added barrier making starts and mark roundings challenging for most. Fortunately Tilly Davis and Will Shepard had a great last day which proved to be their day with 1st place in heat 9, sealing a position in the Australian team for the next world championships which will be held in the Netherlands in August 2017. This will provide a good excuse for our

Cadet States

whole fleet to pitch in and train with Tilly and Will over winter months.

O’pen BIC This season we have seen many of our optimist fleet transition into the O’pen BIC. Fleet numbers have grown from a few to a keen fleet of 10 who train on Sunday mornings. The more experienced sailors, Lindon Wareing, Oli Van Der Slot, Clay Williams and Jackson Crawshaw have been attending regattas like Sail Melbourne, George Mac, Vic BIC Cup around the bay and the BIC nationals in Adelaide. With the focus on fun sailing, the kids who sail BICs are attracting more friends and they are a tight-knit group who know how to have a good time on the water. In January, 11 of our Optimist dinghies also travelled to Largs Bay for the 2017 Australian and Open Optimist Championships. I am proud to announce that Philip Cripsey and Matty Goss finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the Silver Fleet. Both boys have been selected to sail in New Caledonia later this year.

Terry George Club Captain - Off The Beach

Kingston Sprints 2016

Sail Sandy

Cadet States

Sail Sandy

Bill Stubbs civil celebrant

0417 507 563

• Marriage Ceremonies • Commitment Ceremonies • Naming Ceremonies • Renewal of Vows Ceremonies

www.billstubbscivilcelebrant.com.au

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 13

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Sunday Sailors Report T

he Sunday Sailors article that appeared in the 2016 issue of Off the Wind mentioned that: ‘At the time of writing there are three more scheduled races to go before the series ends on 3 April 2016’. More than one person read the article and commented that they could not wait to find out how the series ended. Writing about the outcome of the Summer Series 2015-16 is a good way to begin this article. It appeared that Cassandra of Melbourne was going to win the Summer Series 2015-16 aggregate quite convincingly. At the completion of race 10 she had three wins from eight races, was on top of the aggregate with a lead of seven points and there were only three more races to go. The next race, race 11, was contested by 22 yachts in a light south-westerly around a shortened course 16. Phoenix (Alex Tseberg) won the race, Antares (Grant Stewart and Darrin Pearce) came 2nd and Bon Vivant (Russell Keays) was 3rd. Copyright (Stuart Morrison Jack) went to the top of the aggregate which gave him a lead of two points. There were still two races to go. Course 16 was selected for race 12 but this time the breeze was stronger, about 13 knots and from the south-east. There were 21 yachts in the race won by Panache IV (Egils E Stokans) with High Handed (Guy Dwyer) 2nd and Shilo (Doug Jackson) 3rd, ahead of Copyright which finished in 17th place and Cassandra was back on top of the aggregate with a lead of one point over Copyright. One race remained. It was a 7 knot breeze that slowly shifted from the east to the south for the last race. A shorter course 13 was selected and although there were only 16 competitors, competition remained keen. It turned out to be a long race with only two yachts completing the course in less than two hours with two yachts failing to finish within the time limit. Winning the race was Lebrok (Theo Korbel) with Copyright 2nd and Debonnaire (Phil Gomez) 3rd. Cassandra finished 5th almost five minutes behind Copyright. Copyright finished the series on top of the aggregate with a lead of two points over Cassandra in 2nd and Dilli Gaff (Paul MacBain) in 3rd place. It was something of a topsy-turvy finish to the series.

Cassandra of Melbourne

14 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Phoenix

A Cunning Plan

The Sunday Plate is awarded to the boat having the lowest combined placing in the winter and Summer Sunday Series and the winner was Copyright. Foggy Dew won the Noelle Coram Trophy which is awarded to the boat having the lowest combined score based on their placings in the winter and summer for Wednesday Wonders and Sunday Sailors. After a three week break, the Sunday Sailors Winter Series 2016 was due to start on 1 May. A 27 knot westerly saw that race abandoned and the series commenced two weeks later on 15 May. What had started as an 11 race series was already reduced to ten races but all ten were successfully completed. Thirty yachts of all shapes and sizes entered the aggregate. Five yachts that entered the 2015-16 summer series did not enter the winter series. However, this change was balanced by five yachts not in the summer series, entering the winter series. At 65 feet Independant Endeavour (Malcolm Mohr) was again the longest, with the 23 foot Sonata Cadenza (Kenneth Foxworthy) being the shortest. The modern racer/cruiser type yachts were well represented as were some of the older ‘classic plastics’. The use of spinnakers was again an option throughout the series but this required the application of a ‘spinnaker factor’ which is in effect, an additional handicap. The effectiveness of spinnakers is probably a good topic for an endless debate. Does the increase in speed provided by a spinnaker compensate for what

Antares

Carpe Diem

can be difficulties in setting and dropping them? They do provide a good splash of colour and can provide a greater sense of camaraderie among the crews that use them. In general the breeze averaged 12.7 knots from the north-west for the series. Sunday Sailors is noted for the lighter breezes that can be found on Port Phillip in the morning. Four out of the 10 races experienced particularly light winds with 48 yachts in these races not finishing within the time limit and recording Did Not Finish (DNF). In total there were 58 yachts recording DNF in the 10 races of the series. It must have been very disappointing for the skippers and crew of the yachts concerned. The series had not produced the tussle at the top of the aggregate seen in the previous summer. The winner of the aggregate was Xpresso which had held top spot since race seven. Carpe Diem finished 2nd, a position she had held since race seven and Copyright was 3rd having also fluctuated between positions three and four since race seven. The 2016-17 Summer Series was due to start two weeks after the last winter race. However race one came with a gale warning and was cancelled, so the series began on the 23 October 2016. There were six yachts that did not continue from the winter into the summer series. However this was compensated for by nine new yachts set to contest the next 12 races.

Panache IV

Although Sunday Sailors is more recreational style racing there are prizes to be won. The yachts placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd and the yacht starting closest to its allocated start time, each receive a prize. There is a memento trophy for the series winner as well as two perpetual trophies being the Sunday Plate and the Noelle Coram Trophy. In the past the Noelle Coram Trophy was presented to the boat having the lowest combined score based on the Wednesday Wonders Winter and Summer Series and the Sunday Sailors Winter and Summer Series. This year the Noelle Coram Trophy is based only on the summer results in Wednesday Wonders and Sunday Sailors.

Winsome

There was a new set of Sailing Instructions for the summer series that included some different courses. Flying a spinnaker was again an option. However for this series, yachts were given two different start times depending on whether or not they opted to fly a spinnaker. In previous series the penalty for flying a spinnaker was an ‘on paper’ adjustment to the finish time. The final race of the summer attracted 16 contestants who all completed the 7-leg, 8.7 nautical mile course 11. The breeze varied in both strength and direction and averaged around 15 knots for the morning. The race had the closest finish of any in the series with 9 minutes 30 seconds separating first from last. Amicus II won the race

Local Leaders in New and Used Boat Sales

Xpresso

beating Scallywag by a mere 7 seconds with New Wave in 3rd place. The winner of the Summer Series Aggregate was Dilli Gaff from Lebrok in 2ndplace and Cassandra of Melbourne 3rd. After completing nine out of 10 races in the winter series and 11 out of 12 in the summer series, the winner of the Sunday Plate was Lebrok. The winner of the Noelle Coram Trophy was Foggy Dew, having sailed 10 races in the Sunday Sailors Summer Series and 23 races in the Wednesday Wonders Summer Series. Completing so many races was itself a great commitment. Winning the trophy was even greater.

Graham Furness

David Beck

Jade Cole

Nick Maddison

Boat Sales : Our team of experienced sailors specialise in selling racing and cruising yachts at Sandringham. With offices across Australia, a professional approach and our extensive network, we’re skilled at connecting buyers & sellers with the right boat. Representing world leading brands including Beneteau, we continue supporting you through our dedicated service team at Sandringham. Chandlery & Service Centre : Offering a great range of the top brand gear you need. Take advantage of 10% Off In-store as part of the Member Benefits Scheme

www.sundancemarine.com.au | 1300 55 00 89 17_SYC_Off_The_Wind_May17.indd 2

31/05/2017 3:27 PM

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 15

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Wednesday Wonders Report T

he Wednesday Wonders (WW) fleet continues to grow. Is this due to the features of the race such as the stern-chaser, the single fleet with a large diversity of yachts, that each yacht has a chance to win... or is it just because the sailors are friendly? Both the Winter 2016 and Summer 2016-17 Series had the leading skippers having some sleepless nights until the last race. They were unsure if their positions were secure for their final placing or for other trophies.

Winter Series 2016 • From the 26 scheduled races, seven were cancelled and four courses shortened. • The courses were an average length of 8.99 nm and were sailed at a speed of 5.1 knots. • Eight different courses were selected and the average wind speed was over 15 knots. • There was an average of 27 yachts in each race, the largest having 36. • Fifty-seven podium finishes were shared between 31 yachts with 14 different race winners. • Multiple winners were Pippa with three wins and Gun Boat, Nutcracker and Stampede each with two wins. • Only Gun Boat and Foggy Dew competed in every race. • Eight races had finishes with 20 or more yachts finishing within 10 minutes. • Eighteen different yachts won Start of the Day, nine on 0 seconds and there were also four ties. • The average handicap for the top 10 yachts was 31.69 minutes.

Winter Series 2016 Aggregate Top 10 Place Name

Skipper

Points

Gun Boat

Bruce Alexander

Pippa

Jeffrey Woolhouse

Wind Speed

Les Browne

Carpe Diem

The Secretary George Shaw

Paul Commins

Alibi

Dennis Hambleton

Saltshaker

Ken Gayler

Barnstormer Brian Barnes

Magic

Phil Spry-Bailey

Foggy Dew

Grahame Jones

The winter Handicapper, Rowan Simpson (alias Wind Sniffer), has moved on to become Club Captain Sail. These are some of his observations: “Handicapping is a challenge with yachts ranging from 24 to 52 feet with an average of 35.7 feet. I understand conditions influence results, but competitors who win one week and are last the next without an obvious explanation, are yachts that are viewed with caution. Some yachts have a large variation in their performance finishing 15 places either side of their average position, making it even more difficult to adjust their handicap. It is a challenge to have yachts that start over an hour apart in the same race. Hopefully all competitors will have the opportunity of a podium one day”. Thanks to Rowan for the time and commitment to Wednesday Wonders.

• Only Esprit and Foggy Dew competed in all 23 races. • Average wind at Fawkner Beacon was 1.5 knots. 15 knots in only nine of the races. • Twenty-three races provided for 69 podium finishes. Thirty-six different yachts won a podium place. Hot Chipps, Foggy Dew and Moana won four each. Nutcracker and Primo had three wins each, but did not finish in the top ten. • Podium finishes were distributed among 36 different yachts and 15 different winners. • The top ten yachts had an average handicap of 30.55 minutes and had an average of 37.3 feet.

Summer Series 2016-17 Aggregate Top 10 Place Name

16 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Points

Hot Chipps

John Chipp

Deja Vu

Peter Dransfield

INSX

Robert Sill

Esprit

Garry Anderson

Foggy Dew

Frank Hilliard

104

Moana

Stan Rankin

105

The Secretary George Shaw

109

Pippa

Jeffrey Woolhouse

113

Summer Series 2016-17

Lebrok

Theo Korbel

115

It was not until the final race of the series that the winner of the aggregate and three of the major trophies were decided.

10 Cassandra of Melbourne Bob Reeves 115

• Only two races were cancelled and only one shortened. • Nine new courses were selected. Total rhumb line was 219.4 nm. • The average race was 9.5 nm and the average time was 1:54:54. • Fifty-one yachts entered the aggregate, 37 yachts competed in 12 or more races. • There was an average of 34 yachts in each race, with a maximum of 46 yachts.

The summer Handicapper, David Lynch (alias Andy Capper), introduced a different system based on each yacht’s performance for each race. This meant there was not an instant alteration to the handicaps. If a yacht did poorly or well one week, it did not mean that their handicap was immediately altered for the following week. Adjustments were made after a few races, based on the data recorded. Overall this system produced some very close racing. The average for the series had 18.5 yachts finishing within 10 minutes of the winner and a yacht crossing

Barnstormer

Willarie

Skipper

Esprit

Close Racing

Jaffa Trophy Winners - White Noise

The Secretary

the finish line every 43 seconds. The summer aggregate top 10 had a very even distribution of handicaps. The even distribution of the range of handicaps at the end of the season reflects the close competition between yachts right across the fleet. David is handing over to Brendan Kruger for the next season. Thanks David for an enormous amount of time given to Wednesday Wonders.

Grand Prix Car Yacht Race A unique WW event is this yearly race with a Le Man’s start, initiated by George Shaw. Finish times are adjusted for yachts using various criteria such as bringing along a photo of their classic car, or the car itself. Prizes are generously donated by Red Bluff Homes. This season’s winner was Rob Davis in Nutcracker, even with penalty adjustments.

Round the Mark

Foggy Dew

is the broken tiller from Misty Blue sailed by Bruce Coram. Blair Shipwrights donated a free hull scrub to the best start of the day for every race in addition to a generous end of season prize. To win the Misty Blue trophy is not an easy task. The 2016 winter series winner was George Shaw’s The Secretary with an average of 2.89 seconds, won on countback from Barnstormer. Not far behind were Gun Boat 3.89, Lebrok 3.89, Wind Speed 5.22 and White Pointer 5.44. All under 6.00 seconds. The 2016-17 summer series winner was Andy Lynch’s Blue Tack with an average of 2.54 seconds. Five yachts had a perfect 00:00 start and they were Barnstormer (Brian Barnes), Brannew (Clive Sondheim), Esprit (Garry Anderson), INSX (Rob Sill) and Lebrok (Theo Korbel). Eighteen yachts won start of the day with an average winning time of 1.5 seconds.

My Way and Whitepointer

Shebessa Shield This shield is awarded to the highest place-getter for the winter and summer series. It was donated and named after a yacht sailed by an English couple who enjoyed their visit to Sandringham Yacht Club. The winner was Pippa (Jeffrey Woolhouse).

Century Class This class is for yachts and skippers whose combined age is at least 100 years. Thanks to Lee Windward for his/her support of the monthly mug prizes and the perpetual trophy.

This trophy is awarded to the highest place-getter for Wednesday and Sunday, Winter and Summer series. The winner was Foggy Dew (Frank Hilliard). This trophy is awarded for the best average starting times each season and the actual trophy

Pippa Trailer Sailor

2016 Winter Series Winners: 1St Pippa – Jeffrey Woolhouse 2Nd Moana – Stan Rankin 3Rd Fast Company – Albert Doggett

2016-17 Summer Series Winners: 1st Moana – Stan Rankin 2nd Pippa – Jeffrey Woolhouse 3rd Cassandra of Melbourne – Bob Reeves Lebrok

Some of the fleet

Jaffa Trophy This trophy was donated by friends of Patrick Bell whose orange yacht was called Jaffa. In memory of Patrick and past WW sailors, a race is held each year on the Wednesday closest to St Patrick’s Day. The 2017 winner was White Noise (Daniel Edwards).

Handicapper’s Notes

Noelle Coram Trophy

Misty Blue Trophy

Nutcracker

Tower Choice Award 2016-17 recipient was Dolphin Play – John Brennan

In his final speech as Andy Capper, David Lynch drew attention to the diversity of yachts and the problem successful handicapping was creating, particularly as yachts rounded the penultimate buoy, as well as the length of starting times extending to over an hour. He raised a number of questions but did not provide answers. Will Wednesday Wonders be able to retain the same format currently in place? Should the fleet be divided and the faster yachts start earlier? Should the handicapping system be changed to be more performance based? Having such a successful series of races and attracting more yachts and larger yachts, does have its problems. Given the number of smiling faces après racing, even with bigger fleets, for many sailors Wednesday seems to be a great day to enjoy sailing at Sandringham Yacht Club.

Jeffrey Woolhouse, alias Mark Windward

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 17

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Young Members Report T

he Young members kicked off the summer season with a bang, organising the Sandringham Yacht Club Movember Challenge. With thanks to several SYC members and staff who either grew a mo or entered the step challenge, SYC raised $1,364 for menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health charities. Throughout the year the SYC Young members participated in various regattas interstate and overseas including J24 fleet racing, Women in Sailing Challenge, Match Racing, i14 Worlds (France), Festival of Sails, Off The Beach racing, Thursday Twilights and weekend keelboat

racing. One of the highlights was the Woodstock Victorian Match Racing Championship where 21 SYC Young members took part. The annual Christmas party involved the standard shenanigans with dinner and a froth or two after a twilight race, need we say more? Make sure you keep an eye out on our Facebook page for some exciting events that will be taking place over winter 2017, Facebook.com/YoungMembersAt SandringhamYachtClub. Freya Vickery

Private Wealth Management Broadbent Financial, is an independent investment advisory and stockbroking business that specialises in asset management for high net worth individuals, families, SMSFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and institutions. Our core investments are built around Australian shares, listed property trusts, infrastructure and listed hybrids, all of which deliver strong and regular income. We gain international exposure via listed investment companies and we further diversify portfolios by accessing private equity deal flow. Our objective is to grow the value of your assets over time through a combination of careful structuring, asset allocation, investment selection and meticulous performance and tax reporting. The fact we invest funds directly into the market and have lower overheads means we can charge significantly lower fees than investment banks and wrap style investment platforms, which ultimately improves client returns. For more information, please contact club member Jon Holroyd Suite 105, 75 Tulip Street Phone (03) 9271 8404 Sandringham VIC 3191 www.broadbentfinancial.com.au

18 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

J24 Report T

he 2016-17 Summer Series saw a changing of the guard in the J24s at Sandringham Yacht Club. Long-time champion team on Pacemaker (Suda, Landes et al) got all old and mature, too stiff and sore to roll around the deck of a J, and headed off into their twilight years to take charge of Division 3 on Watermark II. For a minute we thought the world had ended. But no. While we miss getting thumped around the track each week, the racing over the past season has been the closest it has been for years. New winners bob up each week, the starts are more hectic than ever and the mark roundings are fiercely contested. By the Lee (Brendan Lee) saluted the judge at the completion of the Summer Series, a great result for Brendan and his crew after five years as runner-up. Close behind in second was class stalwart Bruschetta VI (Hugo Ottoway), with Vice Versa (John Neville) falling into third on countback from Crackerjack (Doug MacGregor) and Gridlock (Mark Foster) just two points back. The story of the summer though, may have been the unlucky results from boats with broken bits. We had a number of heavy days to contend with

and a number of boats lost masts, booms and vangs. The spar makers in New Zealand are rolling around in the cash while those with the damage have been sitting and watching the action. Boats from the Club have continued to impress at both state and national regattas. By the Lee brought home 3rd place in what was the first National Regatta hosted by the Cronulla Sailing Club. Congratulations also to the crews of Bruschetta VI, Jet, Crackerjack, Gun Boat, Kicking and Two Dogs who all made a huge effort and enjoyed a great regatta. The 2017 Monjon One Design winter series is looking likely to again be very hotly contested. We have new owners and crews coming into the class and boats across the fleet improving every year. We will also be welcoming boats from around the country for the Nationals in January 2018, with the aim to get the title back to Sandringham. Once again, our long time sponsor MONJON will be onboard supporting the class and we thank them.

John Neville

By the Lee at 2017 Nationals

President J24 Association Victoria

BRUCE EDMUNDS & associates

CERTIFIED PRACTICING ACCOUNTANTS

Our Services 

Anti-fouling



Sand-blasting



Fibreglass repairs



Spray painting



Yacht fit-outs



Timber repairs & varnishing



Mast rigging replacement & refurbishment



Engineering & turning



Detailing



Marina equipment



Boat builder insurance condition reports

• • • • •

taxation business advice corporate services audit superannuation

Proud Partners of

We won’t be beaten on price and quality ONSITE SYC CONTRACTOR

Phil Russell 9592 2340 or 0419 000 913 www.robstan.com.au

Professional Investment Services • direct shares • financial & retirement planning • self managed super funds • superannuation advice • managed funds • life insurance & income protection • home loans Graeme “Bear” Matthews Certified Financial Planner Credit Representative Number 410158 Professional Investment Services

13 North Concourse BEAUMARIS VIC 3193

gmatthews@edmunds.com.au Authorised Representative 245034 AFSL Number 234951

edmunds.com.au 03 9589 5488 inquiry@edmunds.com.au

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 19

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

hat a year it has been for women in sailing at Sandringham.

Not only did we host another successful year of the annual Women In Sailing Challenge (WISC), but we hosted the Inaugural Commodore’s Challenge too, the latter of which is an all-female, interclub event sailed on our Beneteau 7.5s. The WISC team has a goal and that is to become obsolete. We want women to have equal participation, representation and ownership of the boats at our Club. Until we meet all of these criteria, we will continue to proudly host our women’s events.

I think that we sail at one of the most inclusive yacht clubs in the country. As someone who grew up in the Off The Beach and has transitioned to the keelboat sector of the Club, I have always been given the same opportunities as my male counterparts. The thing is, these opportunities are not transitioning into boat ownership and that is something that we as a Club need to address. So, if you have any ideas about ways to increase female boat ownership at Sandringham Yacht Club please get in touch, the WISC Committee would love to hear from you. The Commodore’s Challenge was hosted in mid 2016. It took us a couple of goes with some questionable weather, but we got in our series eventually. We had teams from Sandringham Yacht Club, Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron and Mornington Yacht Club. With a mixed bag of results, team SYC managed to hold on to our lead to claim victory of the Inaugural Commodore’s Challenge. A huge thanks goes to our Commodore (at the time), Kate Mitchell, Race Officer, Steve Aulich and our amazing sponsor, Tom Raft. For 2017 we are looking to invite more

20 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

teams and rotate through a round-robin of races. Be sure to keep an eye out, and get behind team SYC. The 2017 WISC was held in late February on a perfect, 7 knot, sunny Melbourne day. We had 14 boats, the vast majority of which were crewed by all-female teams, occasionally with a token male thrown in. Alongside the SYC entrants we also had boats from Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron and Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, thanks in large part to the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series. The very deserving event winners were as follows: AMS Bruschetta VI (Madeleine Linton) IRC Scarlet Runner (Kirsty Harris) PHS Jungle Juice (Celia Dymond). This year we had some fabulous sponsors and supporters for WISC including: • Blair Shipwrights (Michael Blair) who continued their support from 2016 and supplied the Blair Shipwrights voucher and customised orange stubby holders • Data Agility (John Neville) and Sustainable Development Consultants (Daniel Edwards) who provided us with fabulous WISC t-shirts and prizes • Vioir Designs (Sasha Phillips and Brent Smith) for the two Vioir Crew Draw vouchers • Sandringham Yacht Club for the Harbour View Restaurant vouchers, glasses and support of our event • The Race Management volunteers, without whom we would not have a regatta (RO, Steve Aulich plus Tony, Christine, Chris, Simon and Leigh). As always, I am forever grateful to the very supportive James Sly and Maddie Commins from SYC Boating Department and the WISC Committee members, Stephanie Strong, Freya Vickery and Deb Parker. Without our team of dedicated staff and volunteers, SYC would not be the fantastic club that it is today.

Megan Aulich

**photos supplied by Alex McKinnon

Women in Sailing Challenge

The benchmark in boat repair! ‘Sandringham Marine’ is based on site at the Sandringham Yacht Club. We are a professional boat building company that specialises in the repairs and maintenance of both yachts and motor boats. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: • Spray painting • Antifouling • Collision repair • Modifications • Full rebuilds • Project management • Teak decks • New vessel commissioning • All insurance work

s Alway & dable e n e p e d ervic s e l b relia s for a call u ! quote mobile: 0418 325 129 email: dean@sandringhammarine.com www.sandringhammarine.com

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Match Racing Program

he 2016 Match Racing Program was without a doubt a huge success for Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC). The 2016 program was very fortunate in the fact that we had a large group of new faces joining the program. Using the Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fleet of six Beneteaus for our three weeks on, one week off training program, some of our best intermediate sailors from SYC took advantage of this fantastic opportunity to further hone their sailing skills in a fun and friendly squad environment. With quite a diverse sailing background amongst the squad, ranging from Lasers to 49ers and all the way through to keelboat sailors, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce a different format of sailing to so many keen young sailors. With the exception of two sailors who had previously participated in the program, it was a steep but exciting learning curve for the squad members. Whilst there are concepts that are equally important in fleet racing as they are in

match racing, such as the importance of being able to sail the boat fast and cooperate as a team to adequately execute boat handling maneouvers, match racing adds a whole new level of difficulty on top of that. Teams must work together to use the rules and tactics to their advantage to put themselves in a favourable position against their opposition in a one-on-one format. The squad trained on a frequent basis throughout the colder winter months in the lead up to the regatta season in August to November. SYC was well represented at six events across Australia in 2016 with some great results and most importantly, many lessons learned and good times had. Back home, we were very fortunate to be granted the right to host the Woodstock Victorian Match Racing State Titles in late September. Thanks must again go to Kevin Wood and his generosity in sponsoring this regatta through one of the Wood Group of companies, Woodstock. Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sponsorship enabled us to provide a high calibre regatta whilst at the same time, minimizing costs to maximise participation and it was pleasing that this was achieved. The eventual winner was Michah Shuwalow and his team flying the flag for SYC. Looking ahead, the 2017 program is set to be another standout year as we head into what is shaping up to

22 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

be a busy year for match racing at SYC. In addition to the 2017 program, SYC will be hosting the Victorian State titles again in late August and has also been awarded the 2017 Australian Open Match Racing Nationals to run in mid-September. For any of our Intermediate members who would like to get involved, we would love to have you. Simply just come down to the Club and speak with one of the staff members from the Boating Department or ask your fellow Intermediate members.

James Sly SYC Sailing Manager

Race Management Report T

here is always plenty happening on the water down here at Sandringham Yacht Club, whether that be the weekly tower-run keelboat racing on a Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday, or laid courses for our keelboat Saturday Series, our One Design Series or our Off The Beach racing on a Sunday. Regardless of the day, racing at SYC is in a great place with very active fleets for all race days throughout the week. As always our incredible Race Management team is the backbone to our racing calendar and without whom it would not be possible to deliver such an active year-round program. Our Race Management team has successfully delivered a high-quality racing schedule for both our Off The Beach and keelboat programs throughout the 2016/17 season. The sailing calendar is an extensive one to say the least, with some weekends requiring a combined 30 plus volunteers between keelboat and OTB racing. We are very fortunate that we have such an active Race Management team that we can always rely on to ensure that the various roles are covered on such weekends. The team is complemented by a highly qualified Race Management and Rules Committee made up of a number of our leading race officers and rules experts on a local, national and international scale. This season welcomes the addition of two new members to our Race Management and Rules Committee, Margaret Whitbread and Rita Hodgkins. The Committee felt that the addition of Margaret and Rita, who represent the tower Race Management team, was an absolute necessity given that there are over seventy tower run races each year. Additionally, the Committee sees the appointment of a new chairperson in Stephen Aulich. Stephen will be taking over from Craig Wiley who will be stepping down due to work commitments. On behalf of the Club, thank you Craig for the time and effort you have given to ensure that the quality of SYC Race Management is maintained at a world class level. Craig was instrumental in our 2016 winter training program

which focussed on key areas such as start boat procedures and best mark laying practices, including how to get the best out of your GPS from a mark laying perspective. This year the Club will be holding another winter training program for those who are interested in getting involved in Race Management or for those who are simply trying to improve their current skills and qualifications. Congratulations must also go to our newly appointed Race Management and Rules Committee Chairperson, Stephen (Steve) Aulich, who received his International Race Officer accreditation in late 2016. This follows a successful year for Steve after being recognised as Official of the Year both at state and national level. Both achievements are well deserved for the years of hard work he has given to the sport of sailing. We are very fortunate each year to have such people behind our key events such as Sail Sandy, where he has been the Principal Race Officer for over ten years. From all of us, a big well done and thank you for all you do for our great Club, Steve. Looking ahead, it is shaping up to be another extremely busy year from both an OTB and keelboat perspective. In January 2018, we will be hosting the SYC Regatta incorporating the

Australian Yachting Championships which will be a great opportunity for us to showcase not only our Club, but also our world class Race Management team to the greater sailing community. As always, if you would like to get involved or learn more about how our Race Management team works, then please do not hesitate to get in contact with the SYC Boating Department.

James Sly SYC Sailing Manager

INTRODUCING Contact your local North Sails representative to learn more about 3Di RACE patented technology. Go North. Go Beyond.

RACE

MELBOURNE 23/354 Reserve Rd Cheltenham 3192

Aaron Cole 0424 191 091 Sam Haines 0403 294 228

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 23

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Social Report

t is that time of the year again when I reminisce about the events we have all enjoyed these past 12 months. I would like to thank the Committee members, Robyn Coombs, Peta Davis, Noreen Maher, Sharon Rae, Tommy Raft, Susan Tuma, Di Tyndall and Margaret Whitbread. Each one gives up their time and talents to make our functions successful. It is a very time consuming job and I am sure everyone appreciates their help and enthusiasm in making our Club events fantastic.

Our first event for 2016 was a very successful Wild, Wild West night, with members all dressed up and raring to boot scoot. Margaret Murphy’s Boots ‘n’ Us gave some brilliant demonstrations of how it is done. The Crawdaddys did an excellent job with the music and kept the line-dancing going all night. Thanks to Tommy Raft, aka Dolly Parton, for all the promotional work in the Members’ Bar on preceding Friday nights and he (she) looked stunning and quite beautiful on the night. Many thanks also to Catherine Skelton for donating the horse as a raffle prize. He hasn’t won any races yet but I am sure he has made many children happy. Thanks to all members and their friends and family who supplied hay bales and oak barrels which added to the theme and the photo booth which was a lot of fun on the night. It was a fabulous night to start our year. The winter months of June, July and August saw the return of the Annual Friday Night Trivia in the Olympic Room and the crowds had increased considerably this past year, which is fantastic. The winners of the Jaffa Trophy went to the Status Gin team led by George Shaw and friends, well done. It is a nice way to end a busy week with the chook

Starry, Starry Night Ball

SYC Social

24 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Yering Station, Winter Winery Tour 2016

raffle, key draw, dinner and a fun night answering not too difficult Trivia questions. Be sure to join us this year, last Friday night of June, July and August. Elvis was in the building on Sunday 17 July and met up with Pavarotti to entertain members and their guests over lunch in the Port Phillip Room. Elvis (Damian Mullin) was the real deal. He had the voice, moves and repartee perfect and gave several ladies a thrill by visiting their tables during his performance. Pavarotti (Angelo Falcone) was brilliant and really raised the roof. They are both excellent entertainers with wonderful voices, very different, but so good. It was a most enjoyable way to spend a wintery Sunday afternoon. The Annual Winter Winery Tour on Saturday 20 August (now a Social event formerly Recreational Boating) was a wonderful day spent at the stunning Yering Station in the Yarra Valley. 40 members and guests travelled with our regular trusty bus driver Keith. On arrival we were treated to a private wine tasting and a tour of the huge and most impressive underground Barrel Room. We were then escorted to the restaurant overlooking Mt Buller alpine region and other lovely vineyards. The lunch was excellent and after an extra good quality wine or two we strolled through gardens and visited the shop stocked with lovely gourmet locally produced jams, chutneys, biscuits, etc. By the time you read this, the 2017 Winery Tour to Oakdene Vineyards would have already been and gone, so you can look forward to reading about it in 2018. The main event of the Social calendar, the Annual Ball, was held on Saturday 3 September. The Starry, Starry Night theme was carried through from start to finish and the Port Phillip Room looked magical on the night with fairy lights strung across the ceiling. The Crawdaddys once again had the dance floor full all night. Thanks to all who came along in

Events for your 2017 diary: > Saturday 22 July, SYC Ball, Beatlemania theme > Friday 28 July, Friday Night Trivia Round Two > Friday 25 August, Friday Night Trivia Final Round > Saturday 2 September, Dusty Springfield Dinner and Show > Tuesday 7 November, Melbourne Cup Day in the Members’ Bar Please check syc.com.au, posters, eNews and all other marketing material for further information on the above events. their formal attire and celebrated another great night at Sandringham Yacht Club. The largest attended event on the social calendar that keeps on getting bigger and better, is Melbourne Cup Day in the Member’s Bar… which now seems to be also in the Members’ Lounge, Northern Podium and Harbour View Restaurant. 2016 saw over 300 members and guests enjoying lunch, champagne and the racing spirit. The Members’ Lounge looked magnificent done up as the ‘Birdcage’ and the Restaurant covered in flowers, looked delightful, many thanks to Sharon Rae’s contact, Kate Mackie from Bed, Bath and Table for the donation of birds and flowers. Tom Raft, our resident bookie, looked more the part than ever with his Stirrer of the Year gift, his very own Bookies Bag. This is a real family day with face painting and colouring competitions to keep the kids entertained. Thanks to Noreen Maher from World Wide Ticketing for her donation of Stakes Day tickets, to Oakdene Vineyards, to Tom Raft’s Fruit World for the raffle prizes and to everyone who assisted in making the day a fantastic one for all. Keep this day in mind for this year as it is one on the best family days at the Club. Last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to the lovely Naomi in the office. She is a great help to the Committee and always comes up with a solution to any problem we come across.

Eryl Harris

Smithy and the Girl (Woody from Toy Story and Calamity Jane)

Carolyn Strong, Dolly Parton (aka Tommy Raft) & Sandy Adolfson

A dancefloor full of eager line dancers

2016 Trivia winners - Status Gin

Don’t mess with Dee Telford!

Elvis

A busy day in the Members’ Bar

Pavarotti

Members’ Lounge as the Birdcage on Melbourne Cup Day

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 25

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Adrenalin, Best Dressed Keel

Rob Davis Officially Opening the Season

Opening Day 2016 The Vikings were here!

hat a fantastic day we had for Opening Day on Saturday 1 October. It was great to see so many of our members down at the Club in their Viking gear and getting into the spirit of the day. The day was filled to the max with great entertainment from start to finish with the bungy run, jumping castle and dunking machine. I do not know if I should be thanking those members who were successful at dunking me and others into the extremely cold water of the dunking machine, but what fun that was. It was fabulous to have Haley White on stage entertaining us in The Paddock and her beautiful rendition of Advance Australia Fair before sending us

Junior Captains, Zoe Rae and Jack Furey making their Opening Day speech 26 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

off to our boats for the Sail Past with Katy Perry’s Roar. Despite the not so perfect weather conditions, it was wonderful to get out onto the water for the Sail Past. Member’s and Club guests were also treated to watch the Sail Past aboard the spectator vessel, the magnificent, MV Kingfisher II. The effort that went into decorating boats to the theme was amazing with some spectacular Viking boats and Viking crew. Congratulations to our best dressed boat winners: Keelboat – Adrenalin (Andrew Molnar) Recreational Boating – George (Steve Aulich) Off the Beach – Dash (Scarlett Zerbe)

Haley White performing the National Anthem

We were back in the Clubhouse just after the first bounce of the AFL Grand Final, the Port Phillip Room was filled to the brim with Member’s and guests cheering on the Western Bulldogs to victory against the gallant Swans. For those who were not interested in the footy, there was still plenty going on with Fabian and Broc belting out the tunes on the Northern Podium and for the little people, Max the Magician and Crystal the Clown kept them entertained in the Olympic Room. After the footy, Soul Sister took to the stage and kept us up dancing till the evening close. Another successful SYC Opening Day.

Rob Davis

Super Soakers where the preferred amunition on the day

Dash, Best Dressed OTB

Wicked

George, Best Dressed Recreational Boating

Archimedes II

CEO, Richard Hewett taking a splash on the Dunking Machine

Esprit

Commodore, Rob Davis looks like he is enjoying himself

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 27

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Club Marine SYC Boating Academy

n the past 12 months the Club Marine Sandringham Yacht Club Boating Academy has hosted over 2500 participants in an array of programs ranging from the core Learn-to-Sail programs, powerboat courses, Discover Sailing days and school groups, making it one of our busiest years on record.

Retention of our students has always been one of our highest priorities. We put great importance on the engagement of participants between their courses, as this has been one of the biggest factors in transitioning the participants to being fully integrated Club members. Joint initiatives with our Sail Committee such as the Day Pass scheme and Online Crew Register have assisted in increasing the rate of participation in Club activities from our students. During the last year 27% of the 208 new members who joined the Club started out in one of the Boating Academy courses.

progressing to Green Fleet with 46 participants attending one or more Green Fleet programs throughout the year. The Green Fleet program introduces students to racing while consolidating the skills they have learnt. It also teaches the kids a sense of independence and gives them confidence to make decisions for themselves. They can practice in a safe and fun environment while forming new lifelong friendships along the way. Green Fleet also plays a pivotal part in helping the transition from using the Club Optimists to sailing in their own boat. The amount of time it takes for a student to be ready to transition really depends on their age, skill and confidence. Some fly through all levels and purchase their own boat with help from mum and dad, where others may spend a little longer learning the ropes.

Rhan Harris and I became accredited as Senior Dinghy Instructors making us the only two to nationally hold both senior dinghy and keelboat qualifications. Between us we have run four separate instructor courses for 33 new instructors.

Linking up with the OTB Committee, we have conducted class-specific demonstration days to give these new members an opportunity to trial a variety of classes to ensure we match the right boat with the right child.

The Tackers program continues to grow in popularity with our largest ever number of bookings of 340 over the summer period. In addition to this we had an additional 31 little tackers participate in one of our two hour sessions. The Tackers program teaches students the fundamentals of sailing such as parts of the boat, basic boat handling techniques and the difference between tacking and gybing. We endeavour to satisfy everyone’s needs by scheduling over 100 different courses throughout the year including afterschool programs, weekend programs and holiday intensives. The true indicator of the success of this program is the number of participants

The young kids bring energy and a passion for the sport that is amazing to witness. They are the lifeblood of the Club. So the next time you see a colourful Optimist sail out on the water, be sure to say hello.

Due to its popularity, we decided to extend Green Fleet for a further six weeks through autumn and so far, the program has been a great success with 11 kids braving the colder weather and getting out on the water. A big thank you to the parents who bring their kids down to the Club each week.

Michah Shuwalow Club Marine SYC Boating Academy

Connect Marine in Melbourne, is a one-stop-shop for all of your boang needs. Ever since 2000, we have been oﬀering ﬁrst-class boat care.

Contact Nick Russell SYC Contractor P: 0418 996 900 E: nick@connectmarine.com.au W: connectmarine.com.au

28 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Connect Marine specialise in Marine Electrical and Electronics and protecng your investment with our management and service department. We aend to you all your personal boang requirements providing a walk on, walk off stress free boang. Our experienced marine electricians take pride in themselves on their customer service and offer superior electrical services. Connect Marine undertake everything from your regular service, to providing specialist diagnosc work and customised electrical fit-ups, Marine Electrical, Vessel Maintenance and management, we look aer boats in Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Sydney and the Whitsundays.

SANDRINGHAM YACHT CLUB

A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

10 YEAR PLAN Welcome to Sandringham Yacht Club’s “A Plan for the Future” which sets our strategic goals for 2017 and beyond. The next decade heralds some exciting times and terrific opportunities for our great club, notwithstanding the many challenges we face within our sport and the broader recreational industry. If we are to stay at the forefront of our game we must move with the times, recognise the need to change, and continually challenge the “status quo”.

You can download Sandringham Yacht Club’s “A Plan for the Future” in its entirety on www.syc.com.au. This compass rose plots our future bearings by highlighting strategic imperatives, activities and initiatives that will guide the delivery of our Member services over the next decade. In doing so we will position SYC at the forefront of yachting clubs worldwide!

2017 - 2027 ON WATER

MEMBERSHIP

Member Participation & Engagement

Embrace Change, Feedback, & Trends

Introduce New & Diverse Activities

Satisfied & Engaged Membership

Recognise & Adapt to Member Needs

Reward Member Loyalty & Participation

Pursue Absolute Excellence

Engender Positive Club Culture

Embrace Change without Fear of Failure

Increased Participation

Member Satisfaction 90%+

World’s Best Practice - In everything we do!

COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Commit to True Community Engagement

2 Year Rolling Plans

Charitable Endeavours

Manage via Internal Resources

Manage External Stakeholders

Personalise the Message

Be Environmentally Responsible

Embrace the Digital World

Build Industry Relationships

Professional Racing Coverage

Accreditations and Reciprocity

FACILITIES

GOVERNANCE

Facilities Master Plan 2017-2027

Risk Management

Asset & Maintenance Plan

Funding & Debt Repayment Strategy

Ensure Lease Compliance

Financial Model 2017-2027

Appoint Club Architect

Sound Governance

Breakwater & Dredging

Succession Planning

IMPLEMENTATION

Tenancy Management

General Committee Club Committees Management Team

VISION ....OUR IDEAL FUTURE STATE To be Australia’s best yacht club, delivering the ultimate experience in competitive yacht racing, recreational boating, training, and social engagement for our members.

MISSION STATEMENT ....OUR FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE We will achieve the vision by listening and responding to our members, by providing excellent facilities, and by managing all aspects of the clubs operations soundly and professionally. Our success will be measured by the pride our members take in the Club and the standing the Club enjoys in the yachting and broader community.

Download SYC ‘A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE’ at syc.com.au

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Winners are Grinners, Congratulations Barnstormer & Swanson Corporate Solutions

he Mercedes-Benz Brighton Port Phillip Challenge was held at Sandringham Yacht Club on Friday 24 March 2017 and over 280 participants had a great day in a fleet of 26 keelboats taking part in a pursuit race. Thank you to our corporates who took part in the day including Mercedes-Benz Brighton, C.H. Robinson, hmh ADVISORY, Procaffe and Franke, Hunter Cleaning Supplies, Yet Another Spirit, Foremans, Close Commercial Services, AG Coombs, Bank of Melbourne, Port Finance, Fleetmark, Comcater, Dean World Cargo, Investible, Fisher Brothers Electrical, Clearly Frameless, Harris HMC, DSV Refrigeration & Air Conditioning and Colair Refrigeration, Kings Transport, New Horizon Maritime and Swanson Corporate Solutions. We would like to thank all boat owners and skippers who donated their yachts as well as the crew who kindly donated their expertise and time. A special mention also to our wonderful Race

Management team and of course our MC, Leon Wiegard, who put in another stellar performance. After the success of the 2017 event, we are excited to announce the date for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Brighton Port Phillip Challenge is Friday 23 February. We are thrilled to have Mercedes-Benz Brighton return as our event sponsor. We have already had some 2017 participants register their interest for the 2018 event, so if you would like to get on board simply register now with Naomi at naomi.smith@syc.com.au

Some action for the Fisher Brothers Electrical Crew on Dream

Our congratulations to those who took home the silverware 1st place Barnstormer 2nd place Terra Firma 3rd place Brannew 1st Sydney 38 Sierra Chainsaw Nautical Incident of the Day Adrenalin Start of the Day A Cunning Plan

(Swanson Corporate Solutions) (hmh ADVISOR) (Close Commercial Services) (Mercedes-Benz Brighton 3) (Mercedes-Benz Brighton 2) (Investible)

A selection of the fleet

An enthusiastic bunch in a sea of blue

The Hunters crew just hanging around

Thank you to our generous event sponsors:

Naming Rights Sponsor

30 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Event Partners

Merchandise Partner

Product Sponsors

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Reciprocal Club Program T

he Sandringham Yacht Club Reciprocal Program is going from strength to strength, emerging as a major benefit to SYC members who travel Australia and the world.

We have reciprocal arrangements in place with many prestigious yacht clubs around the world, enabling our members to visit and typically enjoy clubhouse access and a warm welcome from host clubs. Most importantly our reciprocal program also welcomes many wonderful visitors to Sandringham from around the world. Above the SYC Clubhouse stairway there is a fabulous display of the clubs with which we have formal relationships and we are continually adding to the list. We request that all SYC members who enjoy reciprocal visits provide us with feedback from their visits and also of visits to SYC by visiting club members. A few recent stories:

World renowned yacht designer Ron Holland, SYC Commodore Rob Davis & Alistair Murray

• SYC member John Brennan recently visited the Irish Yacht Club in Dublin with his daughter, Isabelle and two brothers, David and Peter. The Irish is the oldest yacht club in Dublin. It is one of three yacht clubs situated in Dun Laoghaire, a suburb south of the centre of Dublin – much as SYC is to Melbourne CBD, the others being the Royal St George YC and the National YC. John and his family were warmly welcomed. John Brennan and his daughter “As Eimear had emailed my letter of at The Irish Yacht Club, Dublin introduction in advance, I was greeted with ‘We have been expecting you Mr Brennan’ and I was accorded full rights in the bar and restaurant and settled my bill at the end of the visit.” All in all, John had a wonderful experience at this very hospitable club. • Late last year we were privileged to have a visit from the CEO/ Commodore of Shanghai Yacht Club and Resort, Mr Tony Shi and his son Kelvin, who lives in Melbourne. Shanghai Yacht Club is a wonderful facility on a lake an hour’s drive west of Shanghai, featuring a clubhouse, restaurant, accommodation, marina, dinghy park and all facilities. Tony enjoyed his visit to Sandringham Yacht Club and just loved all of our merchandise with SYC on it, with Shanghai Yacht Club having the same initials.

Ji Chen

Ji Chen – Hoist Sail 160 x 150cm Oil on Canvas

320 Bay Rd Cheltenham T: 9583 7577

ry Bayside’s Largest Galle

32 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Mon to Sat 10-5pm Sun 12-5pm enquiries@withoutpier.com.au www.withoutpier.com.au

Brennan Brothers, David, Peter and John at The Irish Yacht Club, Dublin

• At times we are privileged to have Tony Shi, Shanghai Yacht Club, at SYC visitors of international renown and February 2017 was no exception when world renowned yacht designer, Ron Holland graced our shores. Ron was famous in the 1970s with his world beating 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 tonner designs such as Imp and Golden Shamrock and his production boats such as the Holland 25 and 11 Metre One Design. Ron, originally from New Zealand, spent many years in Ireland before moving to Vancouver, where he is a member of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. His latest designs have been super yachts, including Mirabella V, the world’s largest sloop at 255 feet. For information on any details of our reciprocal program or to arrange a letter of introduction to the reciprocal club, check in at the front desk of SYC or email membership@syc.com.au so we can assist you in being welcomed in an exotic location. Visiting sailors always welcome here too.

Alistair Murray

SANDRINGHAM YACHT CLUB

MARINA

› 24/7 access › Onsite parking › Excellent racing and cruising fleets › Travel lift & boat yard with 15 onsite industry tenants › Onsite chandlery and boat brokers › Onsite Fuel – ULP & Diesel

In September 2018, 100 marina berths at SYC revert from licences into the clubs rental pool. We expect some marina berths at this time will become available ranging in size from 10–20m. To secure a berth register your interest now. Membership and participation in Club events essential.

› Wide Ranging club services

Please contact Karen for more information and discuss your immediate and future berth requirements. Karen.Crowley@syc.com.au Tel (03) 9599 0901 www.syc.com.au

M E M B E R AW A R D S

Intermediate of the Year

Recreational Boating Club Person of the Year The 2016 Recreational Boating Club Person of the Year was awarded to the very popular Gill Stubbs at the Recreational Boating Presentation Breakfast on Sunday 3 July held in the Members’ Bar.

Megan Aulich was the worthy recipient of the Sandringham Yacht Club Intermediate of the Year award for 2016. Megan had had some concerns with the direction that some of our sailing programs were heading. The Women in Sailing Competition (WISC) series had just been completed with barely enough boats to race and we could not even produce a result in one division. So Megan decided to review the program and make some necessary changes to encourage more participation. She then quickly put together a Sub-committee of some of our finest sailors and the rebirth of the WISC program was underway. Megan’s passion and enthusiasm for the WISC program saw it grow from three boats to 18 in one season. Megan is also a fine sailor in her own right and is a highly regarded and respected Young Member of SYC. Congratulations Megan.

Stirrer of the Year The Stirrer of the Year for 2016 was announced at the Annual Ball on Saturday 3 September. There was a standing ovation as the announcement was made that Tommy Raft was the recipient. Before the announcement Commodore Kate Mitchell explained the award and why she made her choice. “The Stirrer’s Award is one of the most coveted awards at SYC. It is presented annually to a SYC member who is not only passionate about our Club but always cares about the wellbeing of our Club. A stirrer is a person who is not afraid to let committees know when they think the Club is going off course. Stirrers are not a whingers or negative, rather they make suggestions with humour and are upbeat and positive. Stirrers stand out from the crowd and are leaders in our Club - but in their own special way. This person certainly stands out from the crowd and has stood out from the crowd since joining our Club in 2000. This person has worked on committees and special events for the last eight years adding his own brand of expertise and humour to the event. He always thinks outside the square, often sees a different side of a problem, offers a solution no one else would have thought of and puts his own touch to an event. In fact, he adds his own brand of humour to everything he touches and certainly promotes events in his own unconventional and colourful fashion. This person is the lynchpin of some of our social events and is one of the most generous people I know.” Tommy has had his name etched onto the perpetual trophy and as our resident ‘Bookie’ for our Melbourne Cup Day celebrations, it was only apt that he was presented with his own Bookies Bag! Congratulations Tommy.

34 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

As the 2015 recipient Tommy Raft formally handed over the trophy to Gill, Mal Billings (Past Recreational Boating Club Captain) told the 100 members in attendance of the energy and enthusiasm Gill brings to all the Recreational Boating events with which she is involved, which is most. Gill thanked the Sub-committee, acknowledged she was most surprised to be the recipient of the coveted award and certainly felt humbled and honoured. Later she added that it is a privilege to be involved and to support this wonderful Club and noted that the friendships gained from participation were invaluable. Congratulations Gill.

Club Persons of the Year The Club Person of the Year is one of the greatest accolades we give at Sandringham Yacht Club and each year another worthy person joins this very illustrious group. To call this award Club Person of the Year is a misnomer, as all recipients have given their time and expertise to the Club over many, many years and this year was no exception. This year’s recipients stand out as having given so much service to the Club, not just over many years, but also over so many different areas of our Club. To this, it was dual recipients for the Club Person of the Year award for 2106 and was awarded to Di Tyndall and Margaret Whitbread. They work as a team, so they received the award as a team. Di and Margaret’s work with Race Management is a highlight and helping with social events is another. Those who sail on Wednesdays will be particularly aware of how much work Di and Margaret do. They are affectionately known as the Tower Ladies, but they do not just start, finish and record the race. After the race they, sell raffle tickets to provide ‘funny money’ to subsidise the two Wednesday Wonders Presentation Nights in which they organise including decorating the tables and trophies for the night, in fact do everything and simply hand the run sheet over to the handicapper for the night. They have been doing this as the core team for more than 10 years. But it is not just Wednesday sailors who benefit, both ladies are part of the Race Management teams on Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays on the water as well as in the tower and they also contribute to our social events as well as both being on the Social Committee. Margaret is well known as a very hard worker, someone who is willing to put up her hand to anything - even cleaning the Club’s trophies. Nothing around the Club is too hard or too much trouble and it is much appreciated. Di, also puts in hours and hours into producing Off the Wind, and is a magnificent wordsmith and a pedantic editor. So many thankless hours, but such a great result. On accepting the award, Di and Margaret were both speechless… who would have thought? Congratulations ladies.

Photo supplied by Andrea Francolini Australian Sailing

Sailing Australia’s Lifetime Achievement Award

andringham Yacht Club Member and past General Committee member Alistair Murray was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sailing Australia Awards in October 2016. Alistair was honoured with this award due to his extensive contribution to sailing and for the impact he has made on the sport over many decades, both in Australia and internationally and to the Australian boating industry. His contribution to the sport has been outstanding at all levels. This contribution includes: • competing successfully in dinghy sailing • volunteering for Committee and developmental work at a Club level • supporting the State (Yachting Victoria) and National (Yachting Australia) organising bodies • supporting the Australian Sailing Team • conceptualising and developing an international sailing forum (the International Sailing Summit) to promote and grow the sport internationally. His contribution has not only grown the sport in Australia but has also had an influence on the success of our Australian Sailing Team in becoming world champions and Olympic medallists. He is passionate about sailing and boating. His effusive, welcoming and positive character engages people from all over the world. He is nothing less than an icon in sailing and boating. In 1976, Alistair started a long relationship with Ronstan and just this last year has seen him step down as Managing Director, a role he held for 19 years. He was an integral part in building a company that is a leading marine products manufacturer, exporter and one of three leading sailing hardware companies in the world. His connection remains with the company as Chairman and is part owner of the business. Huge congratulations to Alistair for his award and thanks for all that he continues to do for SYC and the sailing community.

Stephen Aulich A Journey from Club to International Race Officer

ard work spanning thirty years has been rewarded for long time Sandringham Yacht Club member Stephen (Steve) Aulich, who has been recognised at both a state and national level and accredited as an International Race Officer. Additionally, in November 2016 he was accredited as an International Race Officer. With accolades such as these all culminating within the last six months of 2016 we wanted to get an insight into his sailing life and career. The 2016 Yachting Victoria Awards held in June at Sandringham Yacht Club proved to be eventful for Steve when he was named Race Official of the Year, recognising him for a number of his Race Management efforts including his long term involvement as Principal Race Officer (PRO) at the annual Sail Sandy Regatta. In November 2016 Steve received the call to attend the 2016 Australian Sailing Awards as a finalist in the Official of the Year category. Held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, guests were treated like royalty with the blue carpet spanning entry to exit and champagne on arrival. Mingling with guests on the hallowed SCG turf, “l had to pinch myself and say wow, l’m really here” Steve said. In the function rooms above with captive audience, the first award of the night was announced and surprised of his win Steve ventured to the stage.

“I was really chuffed to win. There were some great nominees and worthy finalists. My wife Amanda asked if I had prepared a speech. I said I hadn’t, but I don’t have a problem talking so I just made it up as I went along. The night was amazing. It was sensational to mix with the Olympians, Paralympians, officials and the staff who made such a special night happen.” A culmination of years in race management for various regattas and the successful completion of an International Race Officer (IRO) Course and exams presented Steve the opportunity to apply for the IRO accreditation. With a full CV and references from those older and wiser, the applications are forwarded to panels of experts from various countries being the first stage of the process. The final approval laid in the hands of the Race Officials Committee at the World Sailing Conference held in Barcelona.

“Well, it is a nerve-wracking process as they go through all the applicants and give them either a green, orange or red status. I was very excited when I got the ‘green light’ as it meant more opportunities would now be possible. I felt even more honoured as there have been only 10 IROs

approved this year” explained Steve. Now at the pinnacle of the Race Management hierarchy, Steve began his Race Officer career with his family and a love for the water in mind.

“It didn’t matter what I was doing, I just wanted to be in or on the water. I enjoy the community atmosphere and spirit of clubs, having previously been 20 years in Scouting and currently member of Mentone Lifesaving Club and Icebergers. When our three kids were big enough we got them sailing at Parkdale Yacht Club. As a parent I wanted to ensure my children were safe so I would go out on the rescue boat and be with them. I transitioned to Race Management in the 1980s when a program called Officer of the Day was adopted. This was where senior sailors ran the racing for a day at the Club. My first major event was the Windsurfer National Titles in 1990 where I took the role of Race Officer for the regatta.” With a growing involvement and dedication to the Club, Steve accepted the role as Commodore of Parkdale Yacht Club from 1995-1997. In 1997 the Aulich family joined SYC and Steve was immediately on the Club’s hit list for a role on the junior training and Off The Beach Committee. Accepting this role Steve helped develop the Junior Learn to Sail Program and continued his Race Officer journey.

“Sandringham Yacht Club gave me opportunities to get involved with their sailing and racing teams and very soon I became a Race Officer for regular weekend races. My involvement from there then spanned from Club to State and National events and I was able to gain my National Race Officer accreditation in 2012.” Steve is trusted and known by many to deliver an excellent regatta and although there is no secret Continued on page 36

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 35

M E M B E R AW A R D S

Stephen Aulich – A Journey from Club to International Race Officer (cont) formula to this, he explained that there are a number of elements he strives to create at each event. “The biggest point I try to create at any event is open communication. Gone are the days when the RO hides him/herself away and directs from an ivory tower. The regatta is for the competitors, not for me, so I find it an important element to know who’s sailing. I like to chat one-on-one with the competitors and their coaches and adapt the racing to their needs. I find that engaging the sailors leaves you with no surprises at the end as you constantly have feedback from them during the event. Communication is also key for the team of volunteers I have for a regatta. I think that everyone has something to contribute and the volunteers need to feel empowered to do their

job well, after all, if they do well it makes me look good. Finally, everyone’s there to enjoy themselves so I like to join them. Like for junior regattas when I don my black hat the competitors should know there’s a black flag coming!”

“Sandringham Yacht Club has been sensational. They’ve supported me through this journey and I’d like to thank them. The staff, the members and the committees have all been amazing for all these years and luckily my wife tolerates it.”

After an incredible six months and accolades galore the question of ‘what’s next’ was posed.

Steve took his old timber AT45, an ex Tug boat, George to Sydney to watch the start of the 2016 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race with his family.

“I love being a race official. You get to travel and meet people, you’re part of a great community and it can be a lot of fun. With this new title I just look forward to more doors opening.” When he was pressed on what the next big goal would be Steve replied, “Well, I’d love to go to the Olympics, even just to carry someone’s bags - I’d go!” A stickler for community, Steve expressed his delight to be involved with such a supportive Club.

SYC Commodore Rob Davis commented that “providing Club assisted training and race management pathways for our volunteers has been an important part of our strategic planning. We are delighted for Steve, and naturally as a Club very pleased to have another IRO within our ranks”.

From all at SYC – congratulations.

C LU B AW A R D S

SYC Awards

t the January 2017 Bayside City Council Australia Day awards Sandringham Yacht Club won the Environment Award for its efforts throughout 2016. In 2016 SYC was reaccredited as a Level 3 Clean Marina and this formed a key part of the award being bestowed on the Club. The Clean Marina status acknowledges the achievement of rigorous environment management systems held by a marina that is evaluated by the Marina Industry Association. The 100-point audit determines how environmentally friendly and efficient a marina is. Such criteria include, but are not limited to boat maintenance and storage solutions, emergency equipment onsite, recycling programs and boat education practices held by a club.

Then in April 2017, in front of an industry crowd of 500 at the annual Community Clubs Victoria Awards, SYC came away with great two wins. This night recognised achievements in the 2016 calendar year. Tevany Patten our Events Manager, won the industry’s Best Employee Award. This was an amazing win given the field of finalists and it is a real credit to Tevany who is the ultimate professional. Congratulations Tevany. SYC also won the Environmental Award for a range of initiatives outlined above. In a very competitive club field of some 1800 clubs, SYC came close in two other categories,

36 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Rob and Richard

being announced as finalists. Firstly, in the Metro Chef of the Year category, our congratulations go to SYC Chef, Jimmy Mains. Jimmy is our Harbour View Restaurant Chef and overall second-in-charge of kitchen operations. An awesome effort, Jimmy. Secondly, in the Metro Club of the Year award, SYC was also one of the three finalists. Whist we did not win, we take our hat off to the winner and it will make us try that little bit harder in 2017.

Tevany and Richard

A full list of the awards won by SYC, its members and Staff are listed on the Club website. All members, Staff and our many stakeholders should be proud and congratulated. Well done to all.

Richard Hewett

PEACE OF MIND AND MORE WITH CLUB MARINE At Club Marine, we know your boat is your pride and joy and we want to help you protect it. You can enjoy quality cover, as well as other membership benefits, including Club Marine Assist, Club Marine TV, our mobile app and Club Marine magazine. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget that as a SYC member, if you insure your boat with Club Marine, SYC will receive a 15% rebate. To find out more go to syc.com.au and check out the Membership section.

Insurance is underwritten by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (Allianz) ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL No. 234708 of 2 Market Street, Sydney. Club Marine Limited (Club Marine) ABN 12 007 588 347 AFSL No. 236916 is a related body corporate and issues boat insurance as agent of Allianz. Club Marine Assist is provided by Club Marine Limited. Assistance services are provided by AWP Australia Pty Ltd trading as Allianz Worldwide Partners ABN 52 097 227 177. Terms of service are available on clubmarine.com.au.

M E M B E R B O AT N E W S

2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race – A Wicked Experience Despite preparations, the radio decided to stop working during the delivery to Sydney and after further frantic phone calls, a replacement radio was secured with thanks to Simon Weston of 33 South Marine Electronics. Finally Boxing Day arrived and after final preparations at CYCA, Wicked set off toward the start line and completed the pre-start check-in with storm sails set. Tensions built as the start approached. The day was fine and sunny with a nice 12 to15 knot north-easterly, which meant a beat up the harbour. Molly and Krystal positioned Wicked well at the start, at the western end and we were off to a clean start accompanied by our primary competition, being the other Beneteau First 40s Bravo (Qld), Ariel (NSW) and our rival Two True (SA). Two True narrowly defeated Wicked to win the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and we have continued to enjoy some close racing with them since, including the Adelaide to Port Lincoln Race/Regatta.

Wicked

ive of Sandringham Yacht Club’s keelboat fleet made the trip to Sydney in December 2016 to participate in the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA).

Challenge (Chris Mrakas), Dark & Stormy (Terry Kourtis and Stuart Mellington), Simply Fun (Phil Coombs), Terra Firma (Nick Bartels) and Wicked (Mike and Mark Welsh) represented SYC in this iconic event, with 2016 memorable for the record-breaking run by line honours winner Perpetual Loyal. This article provides an insight into Wicked’s campaign. Preparation for a Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race can be at least a 12 month exercise. Wicked’s 2016 campaign started in 2015 when Krystal Weir approached me to do her first Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on Wicked. Careful planning of crew composition for this race is essential given what the weather gods can throw at you. Depending on the boat, taking a couple of relatively inexperienced ocean racing crew is ok as long as the balance of the crew is experienced, particularly with unpleasant conditions. It is also recommended that your crew get plenty of time sailing together in order to operate effectively as a team. Wicked’s crew comprised Mick Blair (13), Chris Disney (9), Dick Ford (5), Kate Goss (1), Andrew

38 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

‘Molly’ Mollison, Andrew ‘Nico’ Nicholson (8), Mark ‘Skid’ Rogers, Andy Rowley, Krystal Weir and myself – Mark Welsh (5). (Numbers represent Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races completed.) This year my father Mike decided to pass on the race and handed over the keys, although he continued to provide much needed preparation and background support. Apart from crew selection, other preparations include accommodation planning, update / upgrade of safety equipment (boat and personal), rig checks, insurance, (extensive) documentation, delivery planning (there and back), food planning and preparation. The list goes on. With thanks to Brett Averay and Phil Coombs, this year some SYC boats got together to share a support van that carried race and delivery gear between Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart and back to Melbourne. This is highly recommended and we thank Graeme Ainley for being our van driver. In mid December, after some careful weather routing, Wicked took off for the four day delivery to Sydney. A mixture of conditions was experienced, including an exciting downwind period near Wilsons Promontory, where we hit an impressive 21 knots in a squall. Unfortunately the number 4 jib was destroyed during the delivery, resulting in some frantic phone calls to sail makers for a replacement in time for the start. Another pre-start requirement that proved challenging for Wicked was the HF radio sign-in.

With a number of tacks up the harbour in close racing and a large fleet, keeping clear air and avoiding other participants was our primary focus. Wicked rounded the first mark at Sydney Heads in close company with our opposition and headed out to sea on a close reach. At the second turning mark, the S2 spinnaker was hoisted and we set off towards Hobart in a 15 knot north easterly making for very pleasant conditions. Of the First 40s, Two True was slightly ahead with Wicked, Bravo and Ariel all bunched in close company. We worked our way down the NSW coast on the first afternoon, concentrating on positioning ourselves offshore to maximise the benefit of the southflowing East Australian current. Later in the afternoon the north-east wind built to 20 to 25 knots, providing exciting downwind sailing conditions, not ideal for our design but pleasant nonetheless. The wind continued to build above 25 knots as the evening progressed and we changed down to the new ‘secret weapon’ fractional A4 spinnaker, bought specifically for this race. This proved to be a good move and we made excellent ground on our competition. The weather forecast had the next 12 hours as critical, as conditions lightened off and boats positioned themselves to cross the zone of light wind as effectively as possible. Wicked gybed back towards the coast as night settled in, still enjoying the strong downwind conditions with the A4… then the first set-back. After a minor round-up in a gust the A4 got caught behind a spreader and shredded itself down the luff. The crew jumped into action, dropped the sail and replaced it with a poled-out Jib top. Sadly, after close inspection, the sail was deemed not repairable so we continued on with the JT.

As predicted, the wind started dropping in the early morning of 27 December, so the S2 was re-hoisted before the wind dropped further and became variable as we reached the transitional weather zone around dawn. A number of sail changes followed with multiple wind shifts between NE to E to SE to S directions. At the morning radio position report, we were thrilled to hear that we had made excellent progress and were strongly placed not only against our peer group, but in the race overall. 27 December was generally light to moderate downwind sailing down the southern NSW coast and as we entered Bass Strait. Sailing conditions were challenging with a southerly sea state against a light N to NE wind. Unfortunately in the early evening the spinnaker halyard broke, likely due to the extreme pumping action of the spinnaker in the sea state. Wicked was now down to a single remaining spinnaker halyard, with downwind conditions forecast for the remainder of the race. At this point, we elected to sail conservatively, with a fractional Code 0, with less stress on the halyard, rather than the S2 spinnaker until the sea conditions improved. This eventually proved costly, but was a considered decision. The crossing of Bass Strait was a remarkably benign affair with generally light to moderate downwind conditions. The weather was extremely humid with some light drizzle. As the sea state improved, the S2 spinnaker was the sail

of choice as we moved into the next phase of the race down the Tasmanian coast. Navigationally, we had positioned ourselves well offshore to get the best of the breeze. Within our division, with our conservative decision, Bravo had moved ahead of us, Ariel was still close-by and Two True was a few miles behind.

downwind sailing continued past Cape Raoul down Storm Bay, before going light / variable as we approached the Iron Pot at the entrance to the Derwent River. As we entered the river on the afternoon of 29 December the wind filled in again from the east to south-east, providing a nice reach/run down the river towards Hobart. Wicked finished at 18:03 on 29 December, with the other First 40s Bravo and Ariel ahead, but Two True behind. In the final results Wicked just missed a podium with a 4th in IRC3 division and 25th overall. For other SYC participants, results were: Terra Firma 4th IRC1 31st IRC overall Simply Fun 6th IRC2 39th IRC overall Challenge 11th IRC3 44th IRC overall Dark & Stormy 16th IRC3 60th IRC overall.

Wicked crew

As we moved further down the coast, the wind strengthened to 20 to 25 knots from the east. Overnight we went back to a Jib top for a period before re-hoisting the S2 as we approached and rounded Tasman Island, then headed into Storm Bay. Unfortunately for our first-timers, the weather was fogged in and drizzling rain, obscuring the sensational scenery of this part of Tasmania. The

Overall, a very different race to what is considered normal for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with mostly downwind sailing in moderate conditions, which certainly contributed to the record-breaking run by Perpetual Loyal. My thanks to crew of Wicked for an extremely enjoyable race. Finally, I would like to also thank our sponsor Nautilus Marine Insurance for their generous support of Wickedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign.

Mark Welsh

Sandringham Farr 40s Compete on the One Design Circuit D uring the season from October 2016 to March 2017 two Sandringham Yacht Club Farr 40s, Double Black (Rob Pitts) and Nutcracker (Rob Davis and Andy Baker), took on the might of the established New South Wales fleet competing across regattas held in Sydney, Pittwater and Newcastle. Our SYC teams are relative newcomers to this competitive one design fleet, while most of the Sydney teams are seasoned campaigners. The racing was mostly conducted on Sydney Harbour as well as offshore in front of Manly. As most will know, a typical Saturday afternoon on the harbour gets very busy with all sorts of boating traffic. A particularly windy day had the Farr 40 fleet contending with dodging Manly ferries, while doing speeds in excess of 18 knots downwind and also having to pull off clean kite drops with a sheer cliff face just 100 metres to leeward. The offshore course area presented a whole different challenge with big swells and shifty conditions making for some inconsistent results.

In Australia the fleet is very well run by Class Administrator, Jennie Hughes, who provides terrific assistance and support to all the crews. A highlight of every event was to come in from racing to be greeted with pizzas and drinks awaiting us on the dock. The class enjoys good social camaraderie Nutcracker off the water and advice is shared amongst teams along with plenty of friendly banter after racing. Perhaps this might change when the Melbourne teams start beating the NSW guys more consistently? There are many champions amongst the crews, such as Tom Burton who is a tactician and current Laser Olympic gold medallist. It is certainly exciting just to be competing amongst this calibre of sailors. The owners and skippers are generally very respectful and sensible while racing and there

were no protests throughout the season... Jennie saw to that anyway. Pleasingly, our teams learned a lot and improved over the course of the season. Overall it was a fantastic series of regattas and both SYC teams will be back to compete on the Farr 40 One Design circuit next season and perhaps with a point to prove.

Rob Davis and Andy Baker

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 39

M E M B E R B O AT N E W S

A 50th Birthday Party to Remember T

o mark a monumental birthday (yes the big Five O), Sandringham Yacht Club member Daniel Edwards embarked on an adventure to sail north on White Noise, a Beneteau First 35 and participate in the Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race, Airlie Beach Race Week, Hamilton Island Race Week and Magnetic Island Race Week. On the morning of Sunday 17 July 2016, White Noise left SYC with a crew of six, in what was a memorable start to this journey, given there was a reasonably strong northerly breeze. With a crowd of family members waving goodbye from the SYC podium, White Noise did their ‘sail past’, while at the same time a yacht participating in Sunday Sailors was being towed back to the Club, with a mast horizontal across her deck. Was this a sign of things to come? Luckily not. It turned out that the weather window chosen for the start of the journey was just perfect and we were able to sail almost to Newcastle with minimal motoring, before needing to motor into Newcastle in no wind, to get in to port before a severe storm hit the NSW coast. The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (reciprocal club) was very hospitable and we really appreciated their great marina where we were able to escape the storms for a couple of days. From Newcastle, we were able to sail straight to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (reciprocal club), having taken the offshore route and sailing to the east of both North Stradbroke and Moreton Islands. Sailing into Moreton Bay was just awesome, as it was late afternoon, we had perfect conditions and we were joined by many whales. It was a huge relief to get to Brisbane, in preparation to start the first of the racing legs. The Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race was just an awesome experience, but with strong southerly winds and large following seas, it favoured the big yachts with Wild Oats beating the race record by over six hours. White Noise being the smallest yacht in the race and being only one of two Victorian yachts in the fleet of 30 starters, finished in just over 41 hours, with a 9th on ORCi, 16th on IRC and 20th on PHS. After a couple of days of celebrations in Keppel Bay, we continued our journey north to do the back-to-back regattas of Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island and Magnetic Island. Being a first time entrant in all these regattas and a first time sailor to the Whitsundays, I was blown away by beauty

40 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

of the locations, by the type and quality of yacht racing, the number of participants and the awesome fun on water and on shore at each of these regattas. I was also amazed by the number of SYC members who were participating and who it turns out, are regular participants in these regattas. It was also great to see SYC being so well represented by so many of our yachts including Scarlet Runner, Terra Firma, Dream, Oasis, Silver Lining, Journey, Ciao Bella and Jemson. I am sure to have left some off this list. Some of the White Noise highlights of these regattas included: • Attending the SYC BBQ on the lay day at Airlie Beach - what a great party that was. • A 3rd in the Australian Yachting Championships racer-cruiser division at Hamilton Island. • A 1st at Magnetic Island - Cruising with Spinnakers, Division 2. • The parties on and off the water and the great food and drinks enjoyed with so many friends. After the celebrations at Magnetic Island ended, the next phase of the party being the journey home, started on 8 September. The northern part of the journey home was just awesome and included a lot of exploring and some great stops for snorkelling and exploration including

overnight moorings at some really exciting locations. These included Cape Upstart, Gloucester Eco Resort, Blue Pearl Bay (Hayman Island), Great Keppel Island, Fitzroy Reef and Lady Musgrove. After some 10 days of exploring we reached Southport Yacht Club (reciprocal club), where White Noise got a rest for a week, while I had some time on the Gold Coast with my wife and kids. The next part of the journey south was very exciting, albeit more challenging and a lot slower than the expected as it involved lots of stops in port between storm fronts. We needed stops at Newcastle, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (reciprocal club), Wollongong, Ulladulla, Eden, Lakes Entrance, Hastings and Queenscliff before getting back to SYC on Saturday 29 October 2016. Although, this party was intended to only last for 10 or 11 weeks, it went a little longer than expected with White Noise getting back to SYC after 104 party days. This party involved over 50 persons on the water and lots more persons off the water and it was an awesome adventure and one that I look forward to repeating. So the only question is, which birthdays warrant such a monumental family leave pass?

Daniel Edwards

Lincoln Race Week – A Little Boat’s Journey

n February 2017 More Noise found its way onto the back of a truck and heading to Adelaide for the start of the Adelaide to Port Lincoln Race which leads into the start of race week.

After setting up the boat in offshore mode, we were met with an unusual weather forecast of 20 to 30 knots straight on the nose for the whole trip and large seas, not the most ideal situation in a 31 footer. Some 25 hours later after dodging fishing trawlers and being belted by some of the largest seas I have seen, we arrived a bit worse for wear, but we made it safely and the slab of South Australia’s finest beer was well received by the team. Our result was not great which was expected, but no-one seemed to mind. We were just happy to arrive in one piece and we were told that this is usually a downwind race and that these were the worst conditions seen in 25 years. The regatta kicked off with a couple of windward/leeward races which proved quite challenging. The locals took full advantage of a fickle breeze, however we still managed to finish in the places. The next few days of racing saw a combination of windward / leeward short and long passage races. We were very happy to finish the regatta

equal first on AMS but second on count back beaten by a very well sailed local Sydney 32. The only downside was that there were not enough Division 2 IRC boats for us to race in our favoured rating division.

seen to be believed (great work thanks Phil), a beach bbq, an annual feed and drink at a location near the completion of a short passage race and the fun presentation night at a flash local pub.

Some of the regatta highlights included the daily crayfish draw which funnily enough, only the visiting boats seemed to win and each boat got a cray at some stage, the More Noise and Simply Fun epic seafood feast which had to be

This regatta is a lot of fun with great racing at a very nice location. The locals were fantastic and made us feel right at home so as Molly says “do yourself a favour “and give it a try.

Jason Close

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 41

M E M B E R B O AT N E W S

Cruising Bass Strait and the Tasmanian East Coast T

he trip had been planned for some months and after a completely upgraded boat fleet, the idea of a Tasmanian east coast sojourn to Freycinet Peninsula and back had almost immediate acceptance amongst the skippers and families of the very successful 2015 fleet. The April 2017 fleet consisted of 7th Heaven, a Princess 88 Motor Yacht convertible on its maiden cruise, Allure, Keeper II, Perfect Mix and Ti Amo and we left on Friday 7 April. 7th Heaven’s trusty Skipper, Mike Percy issued the following day’s forecast and passage agenda via email, a practice he maintained through the entire trip. Saturday’s weather was right for a predawn start at 04:00 hours for the 223 nautical mile (nm) haul to Lady Barron, at the southern end of Flinders Island. Relative calm and an easy exit through the heads in darkness calmed the initial nerves of all skippers and we all settled down to an average of 19 knots. A tanker awaiting our arrival pumped a few thousand litres of fuel into all boats and after a visit to the pub and the ever-important weather briefing we went to bed very pleased with ourselves. Next day the fleet moved into the east channel between Flinders and Cape Barren Island, one of the most treacherous sections of water in the region and averaged 17.4 knots for the run to Freycinet Peninsula’s Wineglass Bay. Cruising past the spectacular Bay of Fires, St Helens entrance and Scamander, massed schools of bait fish surrounded us and the water was literally boiling with activity and then came the dolphins. The fleet anchored at Wineglass Bay and an amazing sunset awaited us. Many went ashore while others enjoyed refreshments on their boats. The next day was overcast with some rain but walks across the peninsula to Hazards beach, up the steep goat track to the lookout, some fishing and frequent refreshments filled in a very relaxed time. The weather improved after the first morning and two days just disappeared in a flash. After a leisurely start, we moved on to Schouten Passage where we anchored on the north side of Schouten Island in Morey’s Bay. Calm seas and no wind allowed us to travel at about 10 knots, so it was a very relaxed 12 nm run and the day was spent exploring the beach fishing, relaxing with some fellowship and briefings on the beach and we certainly were getting used to the extraordinary clear and mild weather. The fleet departed the next day for the 29 nm run down to Triabunna via Ille Des Phoques or Island of Seals, otherwise known by the Tasmanians as White Rock. This outcrop is an imposing whitewashed monolith which juts out of the Tasman Sea approximately midway between Schouten and Maria Islands. More spectacular coastline and a large fur seal colony on White Rock entertained us as we circumnavigated the 42 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Tribunna

rock and the amazing sight of bull seals weighing up to a ton perched high on the rock face. We needed to move on as we were advised earlier that a truck hauling a 15,000 litre fuel tank from Hobart was awaiting us at the fuel jetty in Spring Bay. Another friendly pub, with talkative locals, an excellent fish and chip vendor near the wharf and a great little coffee vendor van, solved our cravings and the locals were certainly impressed by this incursion of spectacular boats into their sleepy, relaxed town. With the weather forecast predicting some strong south-westerlies, we stayed put for a day or so and enjoyed Triabunna’s hospitality over Good Friday. A beautiful day greeted us on Saturday and this weather stayed with us for the next five days. Each of the fleet had different plans for the trip back to Schouten. 7th Heaven had a look at the settlement on Maria Island, Allure cruised out early, Keeper II went out to the shelf to chase some tuna and managed a catch of two reasonably sized albacore some of which was later served up as a succulent appetiser. On the Sunday we motored even more slowly at an average of 7 knots through Great Oyster Bay around into Coles Bay. What a magnificently pretty place, blue skies, azure seas with a clarity almost beyond belief and a backdrop of massive granite peaks and a warm 22 degrees. We spent two nights here exploring the surrounding bays and beaches and had a fabulous dinner at the Freycinet Lodge. The next day, the realisation that the return trip was now truly underway hit us. We cruised around to Wineglass Bay with a fishing stop on the way drifting in Schouten Passage on an oily sea with 22 degrees of warmth - just perfect weather. Our average speed was 5.8 knots that day. Departing for the 63 nm run to Binalong Bay, we averaged 8 knots in superbly smooth conditions and travelled close to the coast absorbing the picturesque terrain and observed a substantial bushfire which had closed in on the small community of Beaumaris, north of Scamander. Part way to Bicheno only three of the fleet were in view of each other with Allure, Keeper II and Perfect Mix out of radio range. The hydraulic swim platform on Perfect Mix had locked up in a partially raised position causing significant drag. After three hours with Keeper II and Allure’s crew assisting, the problem was temporarily fixed enabling Perfect Mix to continue the cruise. It was a safe outcome from a potentially very dangerous

situation, again exemplifying the benefits of cruising in company with the right emergency equipment and willing support from your fellow seafarers. Despite this, the fleet anchored safely at Binalong Bay. A stiff north-easterly had sprung up but settled later in the day but a moderate swell kept many awake overnight. On Thursday we departed Binalong with glassy seas and a dying breeze for the 92 nm run to Lady Barron for refuelling. An eerie sea mist surrounded the fleet as we crossed Banks Strait bringing forth thoughts of Moby Dick and sea monsters. Thank heavens for GPS navigation because visibility was less than 20 metres at times. Tracking to the west of Clarke Island and Cape Barren Island we then headed to Trousers Point, a little bay sheltered by the mighty Strzelecki Ranges. Here one of the crew of Ti Amo caught a 2.5 kg flathead – his biggest ever. Talk about the Roaring Forties, from no wind and glassy conditions as we retired for the night, we were woken sometime after midnight by 30 knot north-easterly wind streaking down the face of the Strzelecki Ranges and smashing into the moored boats. This scary autumn phenomenon has to do with land temperatures and cool air creating a micro climate over the mountains staying until the sun rises, but ends with a beautiful autumn day. We departed Trousers Point for the 63 nm run to Deal Island where we dropped anchor in the quaint little bay of East Cove which has an historical jetty. A lusty climb up the hill path, a visit to the museum, more fellowship and refreshments on the beach finished off another perfect day. On Saturday we sadly realised that it was nearly all over as we pulled anchor at 06:00 and pointed the boats towards Cape Pillar for the final run home through The Rip to Sandringham, 176 nm at an average of 17 knots. 7th Heaven took the lead as mother duck with the four cruisers like her little ducklings in convoy though the heads in perfect conditions with slack water, brilliant sunshine and a shimmering sea. As 7th Heaven peeled off to the east channel towards her Blairgowrie berth, the others hammered up Port Philip for the last blast to Sandringham. All in all, a magnificent 912 nm journey to one of the world’s most pristine natural wonders that will never be forgotten.

Team Ti Amo

SANDRINGHAM MEMBER SNAPSHOTS

Cynthia Hunt Returning to Sandringham in 1985, I joined Sandringham Yacht Club with a view to rekindling my joy of sailing and introducing my children to the sport. Because my brother Selwyn was a cadet at SYC in the 1950s, my sister Bev and I joined the Victorian Ladies Yacht Club, which was affiliated with London and existed to give the wives of SYC sailors the credentials to crew in races. Since those days the Club has progressed to female membership and our first well qualified lady Commodore. The late, great Roy (Hoffy) Hoffert was very supportive of women in sailing and of encouraging children into the sport. He invited me to assist with the Sunday morning Off The Beach beginners courses, where some of our Club champions like David Suda and Claire Hunting cut their teeth. Assisting with junior racing on Sunday afternoons was great grounding for the Yachting Victoria Race Officers Course and race management at the Club. Over the years I have been invited onto committees and groups, which has added another dimension to my membership, so rotating members onto committees for limited tenure, as with Flag Officers, could benefit the Club with fresh ideas and invigorate member involvement. Taking the opportunity, members can experience some truly thrilling events, from yacht racing (particularly the start of a well attended Twilight) to on-water race management at regattas, or all of the above.

Peter Dransfield I joined Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) about 30 years ago after some 15 years at Carrum Sailing Club. On returning from a year in the USA in late 1985 we accepted that we were staying in Melbourne and decided to move closer to the bay. We did so, with Nevillie finding us a fine home in Beaumaris. Son John was moving on to international sailing and Lisa and Kimberley were dropping out in favour of netball. Some good friends had moved to SYC, so why not us? We did, with our Castle 650 Chatelaine, me as a Senior Member and Nevillie as an Associate Member. This was the start of something big, as we took part in Saturday Division 3, Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings, while keeping up the fantastic huge trailable yacht races around the state. I retired in 1994 after 50 years full-time work and Nevillie opined that a slab of my superannuation could well be spent on a keel boat. No arm

Sailing, Marriage and Family

ike many of us I fell into sailing quite by chance and in my case it was a scout camp in Western Australia at about the age of 12 on a Hobie Cat and I was instantly hooked. From there it was a combination of little boats and other bits and pieces that lead me to Sandringham Yacht Club. Having sailed dinghies for a long time my first keelboat racing experience was a Thursday night twilight on Miluna with Peter and Loraine in the late 80s or early 90s. Without really thinking about it I drifted from dinghies to keel boats racing until I eventually ended up sailing with the great Lou Abrahams on a three of his Challenge boats. This was a very special period in my sailing adventure and is filled with many great memories. One of Lou’s great strengths was to bring the right people together and get them to stay, building a great team of sailors. For more than a decade the core of the Challenge crew remained largely the same and we experienced much success over a number of Challenge boats. Sailing with Lou was more than just racing it was about friendship and family. The friendships I have made through sailing are some of the most important in my life. If it had not been for sailing with Lou the most important part of my life might never have occurred. Ironically it was after a Thursday Twilight that I fell head over heels in love with the woman who would become my wife. Emma took up sailing after having to give up a very promising rowing career after serious injury. She started sailing while working at Airlie Beach on legendary maxis such as The Card and

twisting from me and Deja Vu, our lovely Cavalier 37 was acquired in Sydney and sailed to 255 E West at SYC. We were off and running - Saturday Division 2, Sunday mornings, Thursday evenings and now Wednesday Wonders. There were also trips around Tasmania, north to the Whitsundays, to Sydney, to Wilsons Promontory and to King Island. We had great crew/friends like Uwe Pieske, Max Ross, the Simpsons and more lately Russ Kemp, Mike Kenyon, Paul Hardie, Graham Lyon, Bob Keller, Jacquie Hope, Dessie Hristava, most of whom also came on Robert in France and some on the yachts in Croatia. We have also had fine rival/friends Stan Rankin, Bernie Moore, Bob Reeves, George Shaw, Kate Mitchell and many others. After Nevillie passed away at the end of 2003 my sailing at SYC retracted to Wednesday Wonders where it still lies as I get on towards 90. Our Club’s WW is a year-round delight that has gone from strength to strength. Our Tower Ladies have been the backbone on which it hangs. My memory has Fay, Denise, Eryl and Christine earlier and now Margaret and Di who are holding it together. Not an easy thing given the nature of male racing skippers! What great nights they now produce

sailed with some colourful former Victorians like Davey Haynes and John Graham. Emma returned to Sandringham and sailed with many of the most established members of the Club on boats including The Owl and the Pussy Cat (Rob Davis), Bacardi and the two Cougar yachts. We met at the Club, have sailed together and against each other and yes, the scorecard leans in Emma’s favour. We are so thrilled that our children are now active members of the Off The Beach community. This is such a vibrant part of the Club and it is great to see the future of the Club grow before your very eyes. At the time of writing the buzz around the house is getting ready for the annual Easter pilgrimage to the regatta at Metung. Whether it is going out with Robbie, Andy and the Nutcracker crew, doing duty at the OTB or just watching your kids laughing and smiling as they head of for a sail, the Sandringham Yacht Club is huge part of our family’s life. Sailing is one of those unique sports that caters for all ages and abilities that brings together a range of people from all walks of life. We have met so many people and made such wonderful friendships through our membership at Sandringham Yacht Club and look forward to seeing where our sailing adventures take us next.

Rowly Richardson twice a year with Summer and Winter Presentation Nights, dance bands playing, fun Fun FUN. Go Girls! Add the best chips in the world after the race and the occasional bar meal and Wednesday Wonders lives up to its name. In my time we have been blessed with outstanding commodores culminating with Kate, committees and CEOs and their staffs who birthed the floating marina, then the new yard and finally our spectacular Clubhouse. We have had outstanding sailors and no-one is neglected if I mention only Lou Abrahams, a gentleman to boot. Current staff who have similar longevity or more to me include Paul Gascoigne, Ralph White, Teresa and Macca. Yes, our Club has been a major part of my life for 30 years and will continue to be so even though I have Deja Vu up for sale at the end of the 2016-17 summer season. Our Monday BBQ at the Ken King Centre, led by Geoff Wright and Barry Read, at which we Old Pharts, as my lovely daughter refers to us, affectionately I think, demonstrate every week that between us we know everything, have been everywhere and have every intention of going on. Thank you, Sandringham Yacht Club, our members and staff. Outstanding.

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 43

SANDRINGHAM MEMBER SNAPSHOTS

Rob Ware – My Life at SYC

ife at Sandringham Yacht Club began in 1959 as a 12 year old when I crewed for Bruce Watt, the younger brother of Graeme, in the International Cadet, Perri. Lots of sailing followed and I became a member of the Junior Committee then Cadet Captain.

Our Lives at Sandringham Yacht Club

oming from sailing families, we were both introduced to sailing at a young age. When we say introduced, we feel we were given very little choice in the matter; but would not have it any other way. Our parents knew exactly what sport we should love. It seems that occasionally parents do know best, as almost 20 years on we both remain active participants in sailing.

We began our sailing careers as crews on International Cadets, a 2-person youth boat with 3 sails. Steph was on Fast Charlie and Megan on Hullabaloo. Our time in cadets is something that we both look back fondly upon. We were given so many fantastic opportunities to develop our sailing skills through training and competitive racing and also made many life-long friends from various sailing clubs along the way. However, the best thing about learning to sail on a boat with three sails is that now we can confidently jump on any keelboat and find our way around, as sailing with a kite is now an ingrained skill. During our time at the Off The Beach, we were both nominated to represent the junior members in the role of Cadet Captain. Leaving our International Cadets behind as we grew older meant that we both tried a number of different classes including the 420 and Europe Dinghy. Eventually we found ourselves at home on the SYC Beneteau 7.5s, as members of the Youth Match Racing Squad. We were lucky enough to represent our Club at various events around the country, as we honed our match racing knowledge under the watchful eye of John Middleton. Not long after, we successfully applied for one of the J24 youth boats, owned by SYC members John Neville and Simon Grain. This was another fantastic opportunity as we were welcomed into the class with

44 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

open arms and continued to race the boat for a number of years. Through our time match racing and on the J24 we learnt that we could tackle the ever-changing crew rotations by having Steph on the helm and Megan up front with various team members jumping on over the years. More recently, we have been involved in many of the women’s keelboat events around the bay including the SYC Women In Sailing Challenge, the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series and the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta. We have been lucky enough to be supported by various boat owners at SYC, in particular Jon Evans and Jason Close, who have generously lent their boats to us on numerous occasions. Without this generosity competing in these regattas would not have been possible. Until a few years ago our involvement at the Club was all about participating in sailing, until the inevitable happened. We started joining committees. Steph is a member of both the Intermediate Committee and Women In Sailing Challenge Committee and Megan is the Chair of the Women In Sailing Challenge Committee and a member of the Women & Girls In Sailing Committee (Australian Sailing). Our involvement in the Club now includes keelboat racing, twilight sailing and plenty of committee meetings – and we love it. Sailing is such an important part of our lives, it has given us opportunities to travel the country and the world, taught us the importance of learning the rules properly so you know how best to work within them and introduced us to lifelong friends of all ages. Without sailing, we would have far too much free time and who would want that?

Megan Aulich & Stephanie Strong

Then followed a series of experiences on keelboats including crewing on a Bluebird and a Daydream with John and David Stampas and I began my first short ocean races as a 16 year old. Crewing on various keelboats followed including Tom Stephenson’s half tonner, Ron Langman’s Seaway 25 and S&S 39 and Lou Abraham’s Vittoria. All that experience culminated in sailing with Paul Jacka for 25 years in Club races, Sydney to Hobarts and Sydney to Coffs Harbour to name a few. Our family involvement at SYC began when I introduced my sons, James and Andrew, to sailing at the Club. I served on the Off The Beach Committee and then became Club Captain OTB. In 2002 I became Club Captain Sail and also represented SYC on the Yachting Victoria Keelboat Committee. Involvement in match racing and Race Management followed. I am an Internationally Accredited Race Official and have travelled the world serving on International Protest Committees, which is an eye-opener and makes me appreciate what we have at SYC.

Bruce Coram

Paul Gray

ruce has been a member of Sandringham Yacht Club since 1976 and he and his late wife Noelle have been integral in our Club.

joined Sandringham Yacht Club as a crew member in June 2003. At that time my brother and brother-in-law owned a yacht and my father, a power boat. Four years later I became a Senior Member, Sheryl joined as an Associate Member and we purchased our own boat. We wanted to be involved in the Club and to meet more people so decided to join a Recreational Boating Cruise-in-Company to the Anchorage at Williamstown. This was our first cruise and overnight stay at another club. It was a huge success under the guidance of Bill and Gill Stubbs who made sure we were welcomed and introduced to everyone. A short while later I was invited onto the Recreational Boating Sub-committee which lasted seven years. With many overnight stays we quickly outgrew our boat and upgraded to a 35 foot power boat Midges. A lot more cruises and late nights of music and dancing onboard have seen wonderful friendships formed within the Club. It had always been my dream to venture beyond the Heads and the support from Recreational Boating gave us the

confidence to join cruises to Apollo Bay and Western Port Bay, where the highlight was an overnight stay at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base. We also enjoy participating in fishing competitions, Nav Rallies, Recreational Boating Christmas parties and many other Recreational Boating events. We volunteer our time and boat for Club charities and this support gives us satisfaction in helping others. Our involvement in the Club activities has helped us to meet both sail and power boat owners and to create very close friendships that have extended outside the Club. SYC has become a major part of our life and we would encourage members to get involved and enjoy your Club.

One of the most sought after trophies in the Wednesday Wonders series is the Misty Blue Trophy which is a beautifully mounted, broken tiller from Bruce’s Misty Blue, which every Commodore finds slightly awkward to hand and over to the recipient. Noelle spent many years in the tower running the Wednesday Wonders and Sunday Sailor races and the Noelle Coram Trophy is a series trophy that is much coveted. Bruce and his boat Misty Blue are part of the fabric of our Club. There have been countless members who have left Sandringham on a Misty Blue sitting very low in the water, circumnavigated Tasmania and returned to Sandringham minus a lot of ballast. Almost 20 years ago some senior members including Geoff Smart and Bruce, decided to have a regular Monday BBQ. Should you wander past the Ken King Centre around lunch time you will always get a friendly hello from the gentlemen who meet there every Monday and solve the problems of the Club and the world.

Stan Rankin – From the shores of the Baltic Sea, around number 5 and back to the finish

n 29 March 2017 Stan Rankin sailed his last race with the Wednesday Wonders, declaring that he was taking a wellearned retirement from competitive sailing. With over 600 races to his credit spanning 15 years and many podium finishes, Stan stands out as one of the most successful Wednesday Wonder skippers.

Stan’s modesty conceals many achievements. Without doubt, his greatest boating feat was sailing to freedom, literally. In the years immediately following WWII, Stan and a young companion who were desperate to escape the turbulence and repression of Soviet controlled Poland, set out from the shores of the Baltic Sea in a five metre sailing kayak, surreptitiously fitted with a little keel, destination Sweden. They were equipped with a hand compass, a one-page map taken from a school atlas, a desire for freedom and a thirst for adventure. After an encounter with a German trawler close to the coast, they reached Sweden and freedom. Stan spent five years on a number of Swedish merchant ships which took him to many parts of the world. His second circumnavigation brought him to Melbourne where he had to

undergo a small operation. Stan says the ship sailed and he was left behind, so Australia is where he stayed.

His early association with Sandringham Yacht Club was as a crew member, sailing with some of the better-known warriors, including Bob Chapman, Eddie Wall-Smith and Peter Dransfield. With retirement in 1992 came the opportunity to achieve a childhood dream of owning and cruising his own boat. After a lot of research, Stan built the Blue Water 400 Moana. Through the 1990s, with wife Suzanne, friends and family, Stan cruised the coast of Australia and the South Pacific, making trips to the islands of Bass Straight, Tasmania, Queensland, New Caledonia and Fiji. Now whereas all of Stan’s sailing adventures and experiences may not have been generally known, his performance in the Wednesday Wonders fleet certainly was known. At every rounding mark, competing boats would ensure they were a respectful distance from Moana, not being sure of Stan’s likely move, as this short anecdote from a friend of Stan will attest. Quote: “Some years back, I was a guest on Moana and on approaching a rounding mark,

I sensed that Stan was about to sacrifice his advantage to another boat which was required to give way. My expression must have conveyed bewilderment. As Stan steered Moana behind the other boat, he said in an apologetic voice ‘I have to drink with those fellows in the Bar after the race’.” Forever a gentleman, may Stan enjoy reflecting on his lifetime of sailing. Written by a good mate of Stan

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 45

SANDRINGHAM MEMBER SNAPSHOTS

SYC Smurfs Amanda and Martin Bridgman Gill Stubbs

Leaper d Rowan (Disco) Brett Averay an

Amanda and Martin Bridgman

Annette Miller, Martin Pow er

and Paul Quennell

Dean Robson and Sue Lary

Geoff (Middo) Middleton and

Cooke Chrissy and David

Dennis Jeffries

Sue Matthews

Bill Stubbs

Carolyn Strong Colin Wilkinson

Ray Batty

Rob Ware

Hugh Pilsworth and Steve (Harpo) Harper

Ken and Jasmine Dixon

46 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Mal and Gill Billings

Di Doig

O F F W AT E R A C T I V I T I E S

Glenfarclas Whisky Masterclass On Sunday 25 September 2016, 40 members and their guests were treated to a Glenfarclas Whisky Masterclass hosted by Glenfarclas Brand Ambassador, Darrius Cheesman. Sipping on six smooth Glenfarclas Whiskys and nibbling on antipasto, participants learnt a thing or two about these fine whiskys and enjoyed a civilised afternoon in the Harbour View Restaurant. After the success of this event, Rick, Sandringham Yacht Club’s Bars Manager has pencilled in a few more of these events for the future purely for educational purposes and of course, your enjoyment.

SYC Seafood Cookoff The fourth annual Sandringham Yacht Club Seafood Cookoff was held in the Harbour View Restaurant on Friday 12 August 2016 and as per all special events Executive Chef, Kol Gemmell runs in the HVR, they just get bigger and better. For those unaware of how this event runs, Kol asks his team of chefs to come up with their own seafood dish and then prepare and cook it on the night. Patrons are unaware of which dish has been prepared and cooked by which Chef and are asked to rate each course to determine who will be crowned King Prawn. Dishes featured in the 2016 event included; Southern fried Oyster Po, Dom Yum Blue-eye fillet, Crab meat filled zucchini flower, Seafood Paella and Opera glass Garfish. On arrival guests were treated with Kevin Ko’s winning 2015 winning dish of Lime-cured Blue-eye with coconut, pomegranate and chili, served on betel leaves and topped the meal off with a refreshing dessert of Lemon custard meringue and vanilla bean ice cream.

Kol happily took back the crown in 2016 with his winning Southern fried Oyster Po. So the big question now is who, if anyone, will steal the crown from Kol in 2017? Be sure to find out for yourself and put Friday 11 August 2017 in your diary. Call reception on 03 9599 0999 to book from 29 June 2017.

King Prawn winners: 2013 – Luke Saliba (Sous Chef, Members’ Bar) 2014 – Kol Gemmell (Executive Chef) 2015 – Kevin Ko (Sous Chef, Port Phillip Room) 2016 – Kol Gemmell (Executive Chef).

Twilight Entertainment

Japanese Feast This annual event in the Harbour View Restaurant continues to get bigger and better every year. Since its inception in 2010, over 850 members and guests have enjoyed Executive Chef, Kol Gemmell’s famous Japanese Feast. 2016 saw a sell-out on both Friday 1 and Saturday 2 July, with 165 diners enjoying the Kol’s sevencourse degustation menu which incorporated unique Japanese dishes and a Yuzu Sake on arrival.

hat a fabulous line up of quality musicians we had once again for our Thursday twilight season which ran from October 2016 to the end of March 2017.

The list of entertainers included: Steve Ely & Tim Watson; Aimee Francis; The Andy Wilson Triad; Andrew Healy; Jason Mohi; Field, See & Mason; Peter Chapman; Fabian, Broc and special guests; Hornets Duo and Gary Eastwood. For the last race of the season, known as the Last Blast, we had The Crawdaddys. If you are a regular twilighter and stayer, you will already know the calibre of these musicians. For those who are not regulars, these friendly talented musos are well known in the Australian music industry and we are very privileged to have them playing in our Members’ Bar at the Club.

Kol is very passionate about this event as he gets to showcase his talents in Japanese cooking, having trained in Japan for a number of years and run two Japanese restaurants, so of course the patrons were not disappointed.

Once again, we hope you all enjoyed the entertainment we organised for this season. We try and mix it up a bit to please all tastes, so if you have any suggestions of good musicians for future events, please do not hesitate to approach Naomi in the Club office or myself.

This ever popular event will again be held over two nights, Friday 7 and Saturday 8 July 2017.

Do not forget, if twilight sailing happens to be cancelled the bands will still play come hail, rain, or shine, so still make your way down to the Club

with your mates to soak up the wonderful atmosphere. The line-up for the 2017-18 Thursday Twilight season, entertainment will be announced in August or September.

Robyn Coombs

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 47

O F F W AT E R A C T I V I T I E S

2016 Victory Cup T

he Victorian Combined Yacht Clubs Annual Victory Cup Golf Day has been played since 1947. History shows it has been previously held by Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, Mornington Yacht Club and Sandringham Yacht Club. Over the years the Victory Cup has been played, participants have always enjoyed a great social day of golf, meeting or catching up with members from other yachts clubs. On Friday 28 October 2016, SYC was victorious in bringing home the 69 year old Victory Cup.

Top 6 Sandringham Yacht Club Individual Results 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ashleigh Trebilcock –40pts Michelle Trebilcock – 35pts Ross Wilson – 33pts Garry Anderson – 33pts Susie Kidd – 33pts Andy Allsep, Marilyn King and Robert Kerr – 32pts

Overall Club Results 1 2 3 4

SYC – 206pts MYC – 202pts RBYC – 184pts RMYS – 165pts

Individual Results Mens 1st Ash Trebilcock (SYC) – 40pts 2nd Garry Gosling (MYC) – 38pts 3rd Ash Hunt (RMYS) – 37pts

Ladies

1st Michelle Trebilcock (SYC) – 35pts 2nd Susie Kidd (SYC) – 33pts 3rd Marilyn King (SYC) – 32pts

Longest Drive Men – Leigh Dorrington (RBYC) Ladies – Michelle Trebilcock (SYC)

Closest to the Pin Men – Geoff (Joffa) Goldsmith (RBYC) Ladies – Bev Donnellan (MYC) The 2017 event is scheduled for Friday 20 October.

Garry Anderson

“Hi I’m Manfred, We finance all your business needs from private vehicles, commercial fleets, office equipment and software, commercial developments, property and fitouts, factory machinery, boats, aircraft and anything you require.

how do you like me so far?”

Call 0418 310 154 email Peter@PeterMcAdamFinance.com.au or visit PeterMcAdamFinance.com.au

48 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

LEVEL 2, 493 ST KILDA ROAD, MELBOURNE, VIC 3004

C LU B C H A R I T Y E V E N T S

SYC Events for Charity SYC’s primary charities are the Sandringham Hospital and Challenge – supporting kids with Cancer.

Challenge Sail Day On Sunday 19 March 2017 a group of Sandringham Yacht Club members had the privilege of taking out Challenge kids and their families for a glorious day of fun out on the water. Challenge, supporting Kids with Cancer, assists families affected by cancer by providing a range of support services and creating a community for these families to interact, relate and confide in one another and is one of SYC’s charities that we are proud to support. You could not have asked for a better day. Blue skies, 32 degrees and 10 knots of breeze. Consisting of 13 yachts, six power boats and one RHIB we took out 125 kids and their families. After a scrumptious BBQ cooked by volunteers, the kids were allocated to their boats. Whilst some of the children were nervous and hesitant at the beginning, by the time the yachts reached Fawkner Beacon they were absolutely exhilarated. Roaming the decks and taking turns on the helm and on the power boats, they had an exciting time checking out the local sights.

Huey was even kinder to us by dropping to wind under 5 knots which was perfect for our raft up at the end of the marina where, along with inflatable

toys and super soakers, many of the kids and parents jumped in for a swim, whilst others had an exciting ride zooming around on the SYC RHIB. To give you a little insight of this event, John Chatham started this annual event approximately 20 years ago with Challenge and it has been going ever since, getting bigger and better every year. It is a privilege to be able to offer such a wonderful experience to those who are going through tough times. To see the excitement, the smiles on the kid’s faces and to see the parents happy and relaxed makes it all worthwhile. An enormous thank you to all the boat owners, skippers, crew, cooks, SYC and those who volunteered their time to ensure another successful event! If you would like to be involved in the 2018 event, please contact me on 0419 561 565.

Robyn Coombs

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 49

C LU B C H A R I T Y E V E N T S

Challenge Casino Night Saturday 25 February 2017 was the Club Marine Series Keeping Cancer at Bay Race and after a great day’s sailing, members and their guests were treated to some after race celebrations complete with a gold coin donation BBQ supplied by Challenge and their trusty volunteers and live music entertainment from the fabulous Velvet Corporation trio. But the fun didn’t stop there.

Tournament took place. Sandringham Yacht Club’s resident rookie, Jenny Vickery, took home the accolade of Texas Hold’em Tournament Champion. The dynamic duo of SYC members Mike Smith and Jill Burness were the Casino Experience winners from all who took part in the games in the HVR, having won the most chips on the Blackjack table. Musician Steve Wade entertained those in the HVR through to the close. Carolyn White had been busy selling raffle tickets, assisting with acquiring silent auction items and spruiking the event in the lead up and was there to draw the raffle. Congratulations to our winners.

The Harbour View Restaurant (HVR) was transformed into a casino offering Blackjack, Roulette and Poker. A silent auction raised some interest with some fantastic and highly sought after items up for grabs. Well done to those who secured their desired item. Meanwhile, the Olympic Room where the serious players had a flutter, the Texas Hold’em Poker

A great night was had by all who attended and participated in raising money for one of our major charities, Challenge. Just shy of $10,000 was raised from the Keeping Cancer at Bay race and Casino Night. A huge thanks to the Challenge Volunteers, Poker Times Fun Casino and Velvet Corporation who donated their time and services to the event, the individuals and companies who generously donated to the raffle and silent auction and special thanks to Carolyn White, Robyn Coombs and Kate Mitchell for their assistance and prize donations.

»» Antifouls» »» Detailing»

Specialising»in»all»Repairs/Maintenance»» of»Power»and»Sailing»Boats

AN 10% (C T »O on I dit FO F ion U F sA L » pp S ly) »

»» Resprays» »» Gelcoat/fibreglass»repairs» »» Upholstery/covers» »» Rigging» »» Diving» »» Signage/graphics» »» Sandblasting» »» Insurance»claims»

Onsite»@»SYC» www.theboatclinic.com.au» Office:»9521»8066 Mob:»0418»177»822

50 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Oaks Day Luncheon

hursday 3 November 2016 saw the beverages flowing, the sun shining and the ladies looking stunning in their race wear and fascinating fascinators at Sandringham Yacht Club’s third annual Oaks Day Luncheon. The Port Phillip Room was filled with just over 250 ladies who enjoyed a fun day out with scrumptious food, a Pimm’s cocktail on arrival, beverages, auction items, spot prizes and gorgeous views, all whilst raising some money for our friends at Sandringham Hospital. Our MC, former Bayside City Council Mayor, Felicity Frederico, kept formalities to a minimum to allow maximum catching up and chatter amongst the guests. The ladies then continued in the Harbour View Restaurant and danced on the deck in the afternoon sun to Fabian, Broc, Pete and friends who entertained until early evening. Collectively, all were extremely generous on the day and the luncheon raised more than $18,000 which went towards Day Procedure Centre at the Hospital. Ladies, mark Thursday 9 November in your diary for the 2017 event. Tickets go on sale from Friday 28 July 2017. It gets bigger and better every year and you do not want to miss it.

The Mad Paddle 2016

n Sunday 20 March 2016 the third bi-annual Mad Paddle event was held.

For the uninitiated the Mad Paddle is an event where 50 plus stand-up paddleboard enthusiasts, from a predetermined position on Port Phillip, paddle all the way back to the Sandringham Yacht Club to raise funds for Sandringham Hospital. The Hospital is one of our Club’s primary charities and to that end we supported last year’s Mad Paddle event by providing nine support boats to the paddlers, free meeting rooms and a barbeque lunch back

Rob Davis with Judy Reeves, Director of Nursing, Sandringham Hospital

Oaks Day, a great day to get your girlfriends together

at the Ken King Centre at the conclusion of the event. The Mad Paddle commenced at Frankston Pier at 07:20 and the paddlers concluded the 13.5 nautical mile trip in light south easterlies arriving at SYC between 11:30 and noon. The 2016 event saw in excess of $25,000 being raised, which goes towards the Sandringham Hospital’s proposed new Day Procedure Centre. The support boats did an amazing job and after very early starts, all were in position at the end of Frankston pier at 07:00 which was followed by a four hour trip back to SYC. Some paddlers were in relay teams and paddler change-overs

Most Fascinating fascinator

were made en route. The change-overs were facilitated by the support boats’ skippers who accommodated this requirement with great seamanship. Many thanks to the SYC skippers who volunteered their time and boats: Steve and Amanda Aulich - George, Gary Finemore - Perfect Mix, Paul and Sheryl Gray - Midges, Michael Kostos - Ti Amo, Paul Liddiatt Thunderbird 6, Arthur Naomidis - Archimedes II, Nigel Prince - Last One, Bill and Gillian Stubbs - Gillian and Bruce Williams - Rib Eye.

Bill Stubbs

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 51

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Club Events Calendar Friday 7 & Saturday 8 July

Sunday 1 October

Friday 24 November

Japanese Feast

Daylight Saving Commences

Recreational Boating Cruise in Company

Sunday 9 July

Saturday 7 October

Recreational Boating Presentation Breakfast

Opening Day

Saturday 22 July SYC Beatlemania Ball Bookings now open

Sunday 3 December Kids Christmas Party

Thursday 12 October

Bookings open 23 October

Twilight Sailing Commences

Wednesday 6 December Friday 13 October

Rec Boating Christmas Party

Friday 28 July

Wednesday Wonders Winter Presentation Night

Trivia Night – Round Two

Saturday 16 December

Bookings open 23 August

OTB Christmas Party

Friday 11 August

Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 October

Monday 25 December

Sail Sandy

Bookings open 19 October

Wednesday 23 August

Wednesday 18 October

Rec Boating Guest Speaker Night

Sunday 31 December

Annual Seafood Cookoff Bookings open

July – Dec 2017

Christmas Day Lunch (PPR & HVR)

New Year’s Eve Dinner (HVR) Bookings open 26 October

Friday 25 August

Friday 20 October

Trivia Night – Final Round

Victory Cup (Golf Day)

Sunday 31 December New Year’s Eve in the Members’ Bar

Saturday 2 September Dusty Springfield Show Bookings open

Sunday 3 September

Rec Boating Annual Fishing Competition Bookings open 8 September

Father’s Day Breakfast & Lunch (HVR)

Saturday 4 November

Bookings open 21 July

Recreational Boating Cruise in Company

Tuesday 19 September

Tuesday 7 November

Annual General Meeting

Melbourne Cup Day in Members’ Bar

Friday 22 September

Thursday 9 November

OTB Pie Night

Oaks Day Luncheon

Bookings open 10 August

Bookings open 28 July

Friday 29 September

Wednesday 15 November

AFL Grand Final Eve Public Holiday

Rec Boating Guest Speaker Night

Saturday 30 September

Sunday 19 November

AFL Grand Final Day

52 |

Sunday 22 October

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Discover Sailing Day

Please check syc.com.au, posters, eNews and all other marketing material for further information on the above events.

MEMBER BENEFITS SCHEME

As a SYC Member show your membership card to any of the following scheme partners and receive a range of member only benefits including discounts, special offers and rebates.

Bill Stubbs civil celebrant

0417 507 563

• Marriage Ceremonies • Commitment Ceremonies • Naming Ceremonies • Renewal of Vows Ceremonies

www.billstubbscivilcelebrant.com.au

Visit syc.com.au/membership/members-area/members-benefit-scheme/ to view the offers available to you Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 53

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Kol’s Kitchen

Sandringham Yacht Club’s Executive Chef, Kol Gemmell shares an easy, winter warming dish which is a favourite at Kol’s house. Kol likes to make this at home as a treat for the family or when entertaining.

Braised Daube of Beef Cheek Ingredients

– Serves 4–

Next day

• Strain the beef cheeks reserving the red wine and herbs. • In a hot pan seal the beef cheeks, brown the vegetables, add 50 mls of tomato paste and deglaze with wine, season to taste. • In a deep oven dish add: »» beef cheeks, vegetables, tomato paste and remaining red wine mixture »» beef stock to cover • Cover oven dish with aluminium foil • Place in the oven at 180° C and for 1 to 1.5 hours until tender. • Drain liquid and reduce for jus. Serve on a bed of mash and crusty bread.

• 4 x beef cheeks

Marinade

• 300 mls red wine • 1 onion, chopped • 4 garlic bulbs • 1 carrot, chopped • 1 celery stick chopped

• zest of ½ an orange • 6 stalks fresh thyme or rosemary • 5 black peppercorns • 1 bay leaf

Method

• Marinate beef cheeks overnight.

This recipe can also be used for lamb shanks.

‘Off the Wind’ is proudly designed by Privaro Design.

DR – SAN

INGHA

CLUB –

HT M YA C

DITIO 2015 E

2017 EDITION

Proud pa

2016

rtners of S

For all your visual communication needs, Proud partners of SYC. call 0408 159 355 or visit privaro.com.au of SYC. d partners

$500

Donatio n Junior Sail to the SYC ing Pro gram.

• New, Demonstrator and Pre-Owned vehicles. • Genuine Service, Parts and Auto Body Repairs. Club. and Insurance. • tFinance ringham Yach of the Sand requirements. partners d automotive your Mercedes-Benz ton are prou for all -Benz Brigh edes-Benz Brighton Mercedes at Merc *Onor Furthermore when you purchase a New, Demonstrator Approved selec ted mode Visit the team ls. Cond vehicles. Pre-Owned vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Brighton we will provide the itions apply Pre-Owned Repairs. . Body nstrator and SYC Junior Sailing Programme with a donation of $500.* and Auto New, Demo

$500

to the SYC e. Donation g Programm Junior Sailin

DESIGN FOR PRINT & WEB

LMCT443

*On selecte

BRANDING

54 |

WEBSITES

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

nz Brighton

Mercedes-Be

s-Benz Br

ighton

Furtherm Pre-Own ore when you purchase ed vehi cle the SYC a Junior Saili from Mercede New, Demonst s-Be rator or ng Prog Approve ram with nz Brighton Simply we will d a donatio present n of $50 provide proof of team on 0.* SYC Mem enquiry. bership to a mem ber of our sales

988 Nep ean Hwy www.mb Moorabb brighton in .com.au (03) 8506 989 8

*On selected models. Conditions apply.

LMCT443

ions apply.

Condit d models.

Mercede

Simply present proof of SYC Membership to a member of our sales team on enquiry. LMCT4

$500

Prou

Approved tor orSYC Donationnstra to the the a New, Demoton we will provide purchase Junior Sailing Programme. re when you Mercedes-Benz Brigh of $500.* Furthermo a donation vehicle from amme with Pre-Owned of our sales r Sailing Progr a member SYC Junio bership to SYC Mem of proof nt Simply prese ry. team on enqui

ION

airs.

Mercedes-Benz Brighton are proud automotive partners of the Sandringham Yacht Club. Visit the team at Mercedes-Benz Brighton for all your Mercedes-Benz requirements.

• Service, Parts • Genuine ance. and Insur • Finance

EDIT

YC.

Merced es-Benz Visit the Brighton team at are prou Merced d es-Benz automotive partners • New Brighton , Dem of the for all you • Genuine onstrator and r Merced Sandringham Yac es-Benz • Finance Service, Part Pre-Owned vehicles requirem ht Club. s and Auto and Insu ents. rance. Body Rep .

Mercedes-Benz Brighton

abbin (03) an Hwy Moor .au 988 Nepe righton.com www.mbb

P U B L I C AT I O N S

988 Nepean Hwy Moorabbin (03) 8506 9898 www.mbbrighton.com.au

8506 9898

ANN UAL REPORTS

LOG OS

P R E S E N TAT I O N S

Photo supplied by Truphotography

Weddings at SYC

Photo supplied by Vanilla Images

Veronika and Leo GAZi Photography

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 55

E V E N T S AT S Y C

Functions, Conferences and Private Celebrations Located on the foreshore of Port Phillip, our Clubhouse boasts three dynamic, flexible event rooms to suit any need. Whether for work or play, let our dedicated Event Managers create the perfect setting for your next special occasion.

Port Phillip Room When you step into the Port Phillip Room you are immediately captivated by the magnificent bay views and sleek design of our modern Clubhouse. With such a stunning backdrop, this flexible space can host your next conference, cocktail party, lunch, dinner or wedding. Whatever you desire, events of any style are effortlessly accommodated in our spectacular Port Phillip Room. Speak with Ashlee on 03 9599 0940 to book your Christmas event. â&#x20AC;˘ Cocktail packages from $65 (based on a 3 hour duration)* â&#x20AC;˘ Seated Dining packages from $90 (based on a 4 hour duration)*

Located on the foreshore of Port Phillip, our Clubhouse boasts three dynamic, flexible event rooms to suit any need. Whether for work or play, let our dedicated event managers create the perfect setting for your next special occasion.

*member prices quoted

Olympic Room Elegantly designed with views over the boatyard, the Olympic Room is a special setting for an intimate gathering. Adorned with invaluable Olympic Games memorabilia from years gone by, this is an event room favoured by guests looking to engage in a friendly atmosphere. It is perfect for meetings, lunches, dinners or cocktail parties. 56 |

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

Harbour View Restaurant Whether you are looking for a peaceful place to enjoy a wine over lunch or a romantic setting to indulge in a more traditional dining experience, our premium restaurant is the perfect destination. At the Harbour View, guests enjoy a relaxed, stylish dining room setting with views of the bay, the SYC marina and the Sandringham harbour.

Do not forget that as a member of SYC, you receive a 10% discount on food and beverage. Contact Ashlee for a tailored quote on 03 9599 0940 or events@syc.com.au

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 57

Be industry ready with Sandringham Yacht Club’s

MARINE INDUSTRY PREPARATION PROGRAM

Administration Boat Broker / Boat Dealer Shipwright Cabinetmaker Chandlery Retail Coxswain Deckhand Electrician Marina Attendant Upholsterer / Trimmer Marina Manager Mechanic Metal Fabricator Naval Architect Production Manager Rigger Sailmaker

•

Access to Club Marine SYC Boating Academy’s courses for 12 months

•

Concurrent employment opportunities within the hospitality department at SYC

•

Includes work experience opportunities within the marine industry

•

Includes Training Membership at SYC during course times

•

Be assigned a Mentor

•

Networking opportunities with SYC Members

•

Race Management opportunities including training and team building skills

•

Industry apprenticeships may also be available

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

WORK EXPERIENCE

PLACEMENT

APPRENTICESHIP

Please contact Michah for more details. 9599 0922 or michah@syc.com.au Program partners :

New Members

March 2016 - May 2017 SURNAME NAME Abramowitch Mikael Accardi Vince Accardi Sam Adamson Trent Alexander Charlie Anderson Liz Armstrong Gary Attridge David Atyeo Michael Auger Chris Aylward Amanda Ballantine Ian Barbury Max Barnes Brian Batacchi Alessandro Bates Casey Beer Stan Beresford Thomas Bird Mackenzie Blunt Henry Boarder Richard Bocci Gianluca Bolger Jack Bonezzi Mattia Boon Lily Boshoff Carien Brand Tony

Brennan Diana Briggs Anthony Broadhead Chris Broders Inga Bryant Karen Buchanan Renee Burns Sofia Burrell Rose Burridge Richard Butler Michael Butler Mylene Butler Milani Butterss Peter Butterss Naomi Butterss Austin Byrnes-Robertson George Cameron Donald Campbell Brendan Campbell Jude Campbell James Canner Philip Carmichael Tim Caspersz Johann Castley Myles Castro-Cruz Sergio Castro-Cruz Mariza Castro-Cruz Brooklyn Castro-Cruz Ava

Cavanagh Leora Cave Dan Chambers Trevor Charlie Felicity Chick Cameron Chruszcz Hannah Chruszcz Max Clapham Alan Coombs Christopher Corso Sam Corso Catie Cosolo Walter Cosolo Finn Cotter Louise Cox John Cozens Phillip Cutts Darren Da Costa Rowan D’Arcy Robert Date Bridgette Davies Tim Davis Adam Davis Jennifer Davis Sophia Davis Nicholas Dawson Robert De Beukelaer Christiaan Adriaan Den Dulk

Derricks Nigel Derry Louis Dilena Simone Disney Ella Disney Oliver Dixon Frank D’Junus Mezwyn Draper Matthew Duell Felix Dugan Craig Dumaresq Geoffrey Dumaresq Jennifer Dwyer Mick Dyer Michael Eger Jeanti Eger Michael Eger Moreen Eichhorn Con Eichhorn Ferdi El Hila Ramzey Elliott Geoff Esposito Sienna Esposito Montana Evans Reza Evans Yazeed Ewing Sandra Farrell Helen Farrell Nicholas

Farrington Matthew Farthing Simon Fearn Sarah Fehsenfeld Eoin Fencaros Albert Feore Matthew Fergadiotis Kula Foger Karl Foreman Andrew Foster Tim Foster Harrison Fox David Freeman Jacob Garra John George Salacia Gernandt Julia Ghani Tabish Glenister Tim Goff Peter Goreux Barthelemy Gorfolova Linda Gourlay Sam Gourlay Rachel Gower Paul Grant Turei Grey Robert Griffin William Grimshaw William

Grinter Mark Grollo Leonardo Gully Julian Guymer Joyce Hale Stephen Halim Cynthia Hammond Tony Hand Rob Hanna Brian Harding Hayden Harding Laura Hargreaves John Harper Harry Hartley Chris Healey Edward Hearne Aidan Hearne Kyle Helweg-Mikkelsen Tallulah Hewat Andrew Hewat Diann Hibbert Dom Hodder William Hoffman Kasper Hollway John Holroyd Jonathan Hudson Neil Hunt James Hutchison Casey Continued on page 60

European Car Service Specialists Kilpa Motors are specialists in prestige car services including Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, and more. Since 1966, we have been successfully providing prestige car repair service. We are specialists in servicing to all prestige german vehicles to manufacturer’s specifications, and all maintenance requirements ensuring a top class result. Our services include: • • • • • • • • • •

Log Book Servicing Fuel Injector Cleaning Power Steering Repairs Transmission Service and Overhaul Engine and Cylinder head Repairs Exhaust Emission Check Fuel Injection Diagnostic and Repairs Radiator and Cooling System Repairs Electronic Recoding Kleemann Performance Upgrades

SPECIA OFFER!L

10% OFF

All serv icing Exclusiv& repairs SYC me e to mbers!

For general enquiries: Kilpa Motors, 15 Roberna Street, Moorabbin, VIC Ph: (03) 9555 9229 or visit www.kilpamotors.com.au

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION | 59

S A N D R I N G H A M YA C H T C LU B

Hutchison Mitchell Inns Darryl Jacobs Jack James Lucienne Jefferyes Sally Jenkins Kate Jerabek Jakub Johannsen Bradley Lilly Anne Johnston Johnstone Leigh Jordan Lang Tabitha Kelly Andrew Kemp Gaile Kepper Hugo Kerley Lachlan Kerr Robert Keyes-Tilley Finn Keyes-Tilley Rose King Amelia Kirk Glenn Klein Paul Kneebone George Kostos Vikki Krapivensky Natalie Labagnara Anthony Laing Daisy Lake Jodie Lamond David Lamond Marika Lamond Lex Lamond Mia Lamont Dell

SYC VALE 31 March 2016 – 30 April 2017

60 |

Lancaster Donald Landgren Anthony Lane Rob Langdon Charlie Langdon Freddie Larkin James Latina Joseph Law Emma Lawes Warren Lee Damien Lee Cindy-Jane Lee Stephanie Lee Courtney Lee Daniel Leonard Peter Leonard Richard Link David Link Miriam Link John Link Gabriel Linnell James Lynch Karen Mahoney Albert Manning William Manton Chris Maz Alvaro McCauley Samuel McLeod Leigh McMahon Joseph Mellon Jacques Mellon Linda Mentiplay Oscar

Meulman Phillip Miller Brodie Minogue Robert Moller John Moseley Catriona Murray-Arthur Rupert Myors Peter Neales Tim Neave Randall Neilson Angela Nelson Nami Newbigin Richard Newman Chris Nguo Henry Nicol Colin Nikakis Carol Nockles John Noonan Louise O’Brien Jennifer Ortiz Claver Jorge Papatsaras Lusia Papatsaras Natalie Pearce Hayley Pettit Noel Petty-Sampson Michelle Pickard Kishani Pigott Felix Potter Tim Potter Philip Pullen Zac Puttick Janina Rainsbury Garth

Rajak Kelly Rance Chloe Raven Mary-Anne Reaby Brett Reek Adrian Ridgway Amelia Ridley-Whittle Felix Ridley-Whittle Sebastian Ringe Judith Ringe Paul Robertson Peter Rogers Andrew Roper Andrew Rosima Xhandre Rouch Mike Ruszkay Steve Sakal Jolan Sampson Wayne Sampson Ellen Sandy Nick Savage Robert Schilling Juliet Scholz Gerlinde Skellern Tim Skellern Lucy Skellern Jake Skellern Zebedee Skellern Alba Skelton Catherine Sly Susanne Sly Susana Smallman Rodney

Smith Karl Smith Andrew Smith Philip Smith Ewan Somaia Yllona Spasovski Damien Spensberger Clemens Spinks Wayne Spinks Benjamin Spitskaia Zlata Stevens Brian Stewart Ross Stewart Graeme Stewart Melissa Stewart Tomas Stewart Hailey-Jane Stewart Jordan Strahan John Strohfeldt James Suda Emma Sutherland Mark Swarbrick Murray Symons Kate Taplin Chris Taylor James Terry Simon Thorne Leigh Tingay-Smith Tracey Toporkov Alex Vandertop Michael Vandertop Kristine Vasardani Maria

Vigo Natalie Vitiello Lee Wake David Wake

Massoomeh

Watling Michael Watson Andrew Watts Michelle Welch Di Wellink Joachim Welsh Fiona Westphal Sven Wicks Phil Wilkes Richard Williams Lily Williams Scott Williams Peter Wilson Clare Withers Russel Withers Rhonda Withers Dimity Withers Hope Woodman Heath Woodroffe Angela Woodruff Keith Woodruff Susan Wright-Goodwin Shane Xu Gary Yorke Kyle

SYC MEMBER

Member for

John Armstrong

27 years

Ronald Kelly

21 years

David Cockburn

76 years

Brian Cooke

27 years

Alan Eccleston

20 years

Herbert Lesser

24 years

David Cockburn OAM, JP

John Armstrong

David began sailing in the Club in 12 square metre Sharpies. He helped his father-in-law, A D Mackenzie, build the 34 foot Tam-O-Shanter and crewed on that yacht until he built his own yacht, a Top Hat, Brig-O-Doon. He sailed and raced Brig-O-Doon successfully, winning the Anonyma Cup (1964/65), the A D Mackenzie Trophy (1966/67), the SYC Cup (1969/70) and the Dorothy Cup three times between 1967 and 1971. He then purchased Bikini and won the Dorothy Cup (1972/73). He later owned a Salar with Rob Venner. For many years he conducted coastal and celestial navigation classes with the late Tom Buzza and was also a regular contributor to Off the Wind. He served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War and saw active service aboard a Corvette in the waters of Papua, New Guinea. David was a Councillor of the former City of Sandringham from 1960 to 1966 and was Mayor in 1964/65. He was a well-known optometrist and the practice he established is one of Hampton Street’s longest running businesses. He was a great Club member and will be sadly missed.

John was a Club Member for 27 years where he sailed on many different yachts, including his own yacht Shamrock, as part of the Wednesday Wonders Series, while wife Fay (dec.), was a Race Management Volunteer in the Tower. John made a great contribution to the Club both socially and financially when he joined John Stewart to run Friday Night raffle and Key Draw in the Members’ Bar.

Off the Wind | 2017 EDITION

John will be sadly missed and fondly remembered for his big smile.

Graeme Disney Club Historian

Delivering innovative solutions across water, waste and energy in Australia and New Zealand for more than 40 years. Veolia can expertly provide sustainable solutions for the marina industry. With more than 4000 highly trained and skilled employees, national safety, quality and environmental certification, as well as national coverage; our aim is to allow you to focus on your core operations by providing flexibility, transparency and reliable service delivery. Offering solutions 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the areas of waste management, materials recovery, water treatment and reuse and energy management, Veolia is the right choice for sustainable solutions within the marina and boating sector.

www.veolia.com/anz

Resourcing the world

Proud partners of SYC. Mercedes-Benz Brighton are proud automotive partners of the Sandringham Yacht Club. Visit the team at Mercedes-Benz Brighton for all your Mercedes-Benz requirements. • New, Demonstrator and Pre-Owned vehicles. • Genuine Service, Parts and Auto Body Repairs. • Finance and Insurance.

$500

Furthermore when you purchase a New, Demonstrator or Approved Pre-Owned vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Brighton we will provide the SYC Junior Sailing Programme with a donation of $500.*

Donation to the SYC Junior Sailing Programme.

Simply present proof of SYC Membership to a member of our sales team on enquiry.

LMCT443

*On selected models. Conditions apply.

Mercedes-Benz Brighton

988 Nepean Hwy Moorabbin (03) 8506 9898 www.mbbrighton.com.au