Wow, what a day of racing! Forecast strong winds didn’t eventuate, instead Moreton Bay gave us a shifty 5 – 8 knots for the final days racing.

Two races were going on around the course today, the fight for first place between Cameron Miles Roger That AUS 762 and Heath Walters Matilda AUS 19. Then the battle for third place between Warren Sare Arriba Arriba AUS 1 Ian Barr Dirty Girl USA 555, Geoff Masters Jolt AUS 746 and Nick Moriarty Business Time USA 206.

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Heath Townsend Kaito knew it was not going to be his best regatta when his 110kg crew member and Australian M24 Association secretary Darren Spence advised this morning that his wife had gone into labour four weeks early and they were off to hospital. Kaito managed to replace him at short notice with 63kg Tracey Walters.

A 12-14 knot S,SE breeze provided an exciting clear start in the first race. Geoff Masters Jolt sailed well out to the right and raced to a third place. Cameron Miles Roger That and Heath Walters Matilda had some exhilarating rides, less than a boat length apart in 13 knots downwind making correct tactical decisions all the more important.

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RQYS 5 May 2010

Day two of the M24 Australian Championships and Queensland chose to turn on spectacular sunny skies and light seas breezes, we shared the course with a pod of dolphins chasing fish.

The first of three races was started in 7 knots of Sth East to East breeze on Moreton Bay. Locals Ian Barr Dirty Girl USA 555 and Nick Moriarty Business Time USA 206 sailed to the right side of the course which paid off, first and second to the top mark. Heath Walters Matilda AUS 19 was late for the start but also went right and third around the top mark. Geoff Masters Jolt and Heath Townsend Kaito headed left towards a line of pressure which faded out and eventually built in from the right.

Positions shuffled throughout the two lap race, Matilda sailed from behind to a convincing win. Business Time tussled with Dirty Girl for second and third respectively.

By race four Cameron Mile Roger That AUS 762 was finding his form from day one and it was looking like Heath Walters Matilda had found his groove on day two, Matilda was seconds behind, applying constant pressure the entire race. A clean start and 3 shorter legs kept the pack tight. In a hard fought gibing dual on the last leg Roger That held out Matilda and almost allowed Heath Townsend Kaito AUS 709 to sneak through making for a nail biting finish.

The competition ramped up for race five with a general recall at the start, boats hassling for position. The second start had two individual recalls, Malcolm Wood FoxMayWonder AUS 668 and David Farrimond Vitesse AUS 710 but it was Warren Sare Arriba Arriba AUS 1 who came out leading the race ahead of Heath Walters Matilda. Both boats battled it out for top position with Matilda taking the gun, Arriba Arriba second and Roger That third.

By the end of day two Heath Walters Matilda is leading the regatta one point ahead of Cameron Miles Roger That and Ian Barr Dirty Girl third place.

Beer was waiting on the dock for competitors and presentations were made from our sponsors Ullman Sails and Balgownie Estate Wines. The bottle of rum went to FoxMayWonder for managing to loose their Tacktick overboard, Business Time came to the rescue, going for a swim between races and picking it up.

The pressure is forecast to increase towards the end of the week, providing plenty more tight tactical racing.

Tracey Walters

IM24AA

Sunny Queensland and day one started with rain, overcast skies and about 3 knots of breeze, East /South East .

The start boat managed to get races away on time even though a delay looked possible. As the rain eased the breeze filled in to 6-8 knots for the afternoon.

Race one Geoff Masters Jolt AUS 746 and Cameron Miles Roger That AUS 762 took a shift to the left at the start line which paid off. Roger That was first to the top mark, Masters second, Ian Barr Dirty Girl AUS 555 third. Two minutes separated the first and last boats.

Downwind positions changed due to the light variable winds. Jolt went back to the left and let Dirty Girl through. Bottom gate Heath Walters Matilda chose the right hand gate and the favoured left side of the course making good gains to position themselves in third place at the finish. Roger That maintained their lead for a win and Dirty Girl second.

Race two was a competitive short start line. David Farrimond Vitesse AUS 710 nailed the start with full boat speed on the boat end of the line. Roger That was first to the top mark, Matilda hot on their heels in second and a gap to Nick Moriarty Business Time AUS 206 closely followed by Heath Townsend Kaito AUS 709. Kaito and Business Time fought it out over the course. The sun made a brief appearance in time to head back to RQ for beers on the dock. Placing; first Roger That, five seconds later Matilda followed by Kaito third.

Two bullets for Cameron Miles and his crew on Roger That, Heath Walters Matilda second and Kaito third heading into day two.

Similar light, variable conditions are forecast tomorrow, three races scheduled.

Tracey Walters
IM24AA

Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Tues 4th May, 2010

Cameron Miles takes to top job in the Australian Melges 24 Association as the class Drives forward to their 2013 Worlds in Australia.

With the experience gained through his countless Soling and Etchell Campaigns Miles is a great figurehead for the fast growing class . With the 2013 worlds being provisionally awarded to Australia a number of clubs have submitted proposals this year to hold the Worlds from Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Alfred, Middle Harbour Yacht Club to Sandringham Yacht Club and Royal Geelong Yacht Club in the south.

It’s safe to say that there is no lack of support for the class from clubs in Australia.

A class working committee has been put into place with all state delegates being involved.

Outgoing Heath’s enthusiasm for the Melges 24 class has been a driving force in the growth and success of the class to date. He has travelled from his hometown of Busselton, WA to participate in almost every M24 event with boats and family in tow. Heath is now taking on the new role of Vice President, supporting the newly elected President of the Association Cameron Miles.

Heath Walters the Asia Pacific Builder gave a report and proposed an East Coast Championship.

The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club was decided as the host of the 2011 Melges 24 Australian Championships.

It was unanimous that Darren Spence would continue on as Secretary/Treasurer as he has done such a great job throughout the past year and the Nationals.
After the handover teams kicked back and enjoyed a BBQ at the club.

Tracey Walters
IM24AA

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron was a hive of activity in preparation for the 2010 Melges 24 Australian Championships yesterday.

Crews arrived from all over Australia. David Farrimond Vitesse AUS 709 spent the weekend on the 20hr drive from Geelong, with new crewmember Ben Roodhouse owner of Go Dogs Go in WA joinging their team for the regatta. Still a true family effort mum Lyn was out washing the hull.

Geoff Masters Jolt AUS AUS 746 and his gun team arrived on Friday and spent the weekend training on Moreton Bay keen to defend his 2009 Champion Title.
Jason and Amanda from Arriba Arriba’s AUS 215 put in a hard training session in yesterdays 15-20 knots and came back with blood on the deck.

In the midst of all the activity Laila Engler arrived straight off the plane from her six months working holiday in New Zealand. Laila races Melges 24, 334 out of her club SVH-SEGLERVEREINIGUNG in Germany. Laila contacted Melges Asia Pacific keen to get a ride at the Australian Championship, Malcolm Wood FoxMayWonder AUS 668 will benefit from Laila’s experience.

After a few introductions crews were interested in her European sailing experiences and her travels. This is the fantastic thing about the Melges 24’s, show up and race anywhere in the world.

Winners of the weigh in Heath Walters Matilda AUS 19, closest to the pin 360kg weight limit after burgers and beer for lunch much to Heath Townsend Kaito AUS 709 disbelief as they had dropped 6 kg overnight.

With light to moderate South Easterly breezes today it’s up for grabs.

Tracey Walters
M24AA
Public Officer

Photo by Mike Cleveland

The International Melges Association of Australia (IMAA) in conjunction with Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) is holding its 2010 National Titles at RQYS in the week of the 4-7 May. Thanks to the assistance of generous supporters of the class, Ullman Sails (Sunshine Coast), Gill Clothing and Balgownie Estate Wines the class is able host its first stand alone National Titles.

A national fleet of 13 boats, nine on the east coast and four in WA, has grown from nothing over the last three years. All nine east coast boats are assembling in Brisbane for the four day event with crews coming from as far away as Busselton in WA and Geelong in Victoria. There are now over 800 Melges 24 boats in the world making it the biggest sports boat class in the world.

This will be the third National Title for the class in Australia with both previous national champions, Geoff Masters (Jolt) in 2009 and Heath Townsend (Kaito) in 2008 lining up again in 2010. The fleet is also boosted by the presence of Cameron Miles and crew on Roger That who won the Sports Boat division at Victoria Week in January 2010 in their first regatta.

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by Suellen Hurling 9:58 PM Mon 26 Apr 2010 GMT

After three days of racing in the 2010 Queensland IRC Championship, the Hugh Welbourne 42 Wedgetail has stolen the IRC crown away from Black Jack Too and Bribie Star.

Bill Wild said that he was overwhelmed with how well his team sailed over the ANZAC Day long weekend.

‘The guys did a great job this weekend and I’m so proud of them,’ said Wild during his acceptance speech at yesterday’s presentation.

Mooloolaba local Mick O’Brien was at the helm and was naturally happy with how the weekend panned out.
‘I’m stocked!’ said O’Brien. There were no discards in the six race series. ‘To win this you had to stay consistent. That was our goal and it paid off,’ said O’Brien.

Second went to Peter Harburg’s new Reichel Pugh 42 Black Jack Too which was only launched in Brisbane last week.

‘Considering that we were still learning how the new boat went I think he did pretty well,’ said skipper Vaughan Prentice.

Coming in to the final race Bribie Star, the Farr 40 skippered by Lucas Down, was the favourite for IRC glory.

‘I misjudged the tide and was over the line. We heard our sail number of the radio headed back to start as fast as we could,’ said Down.

Bribie Star finished the regatta in third place.

The Division 2 title was taken out by the Farr 30 Synergy.

‘We weren’t going to do the passage race on Sunday, however our results were looking pretty good so we decided to stick with it,’ said owner and skipper Alex Douglas.

‘Needless to say we are pretty happy with this result,’ continued Douglas.

Full results http://www.rqys.com.au/index.php/2010-queensland-irc-championship/

The 2010 Queensland IRC Championship was hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS).

RQYS is currently celebrating 125 Years of Sailing.

Day of the 2010 Queensland IRC Championship – the 15 entered yachts take on a 30 nautical mile passage race around Moreton Bay.

Enthusiasm was evident at the 1300 hour start with the fleet brought back the starting area after a general recall. The Farr 40 e11even (David Elliott) was the only boat over for the second start but returned when called over the radio.

Ocean Affinity (Stewart Lewis), Wedgetail (Bill Wild) and Black Jack Too (Peter Harburg) spread early from the fleet with the Farr 40 Bribie Star (Lucas Down) close behind.

The race took the fleet from just east of Green Island to the Moreton Bay Island Sandhills before turning back and heading towards St Helena Island.

Ocean Affinity crossed the finish line at 16:07:25 with Wedgetail finishing 34 seconds ahead of Black Jack Too who finished at 16:13:27.

The winner on time for the passage race was David Conway’s Reichel Pugh 36 Spirit.

Leading after four races is Lucas Down and his crew of Bribie Star.

The series wraps up today with two final windward/return races.

For more information including results visit the Queensland IRC Championship Microsite – http://www.rqys.com.au/index.php/2010-queensland-irc-championship/

The weather forecast was spot on for day 1 of the 2010 Queensland IRC Championship with the yachts starting in just under six knots for the first race of the day. And just to make it even more exciting, the rain stuck around for the afternoon forcing the sailors to get out their wet weather gear.

In Race 1 the lead changed several times with Stephen Lambourne’s Farr 40 Lambourdini leading the fleet until the gate marks, before Black Jack Too (Peter Harburg) edged in front. But it all changed in the final downwind leg with Wedgetail (Bill Wild), who rounded the top mark for the final time in fourth, took a flyer to the right which paid off famously.

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by Suellen Hurling
1:57 PM Thu 22 Apr 2010

This ANZAC Day long weekend 15 IRC rated yachts will line up for the 2010 Queensland Championship.

Hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, the yachts will race on Moreton Bay, east of Brisbane with the forecast predicting light northerly breeze for Saturday and Sunday with a south east change on Monday.

The Hugh Welbourn 42 Wedgetail (Bill Wild) will be out to defend their reputation after their recent success in the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race.

‘We’ll be racing with pretty much the same crew as we did for Gladstone, with me at helm,’ said Wild.

‘It’s great to see some quality boats in the Brisbane fleet. We have committed to competing in more Queensland events this year including Hamilton Island Race Week and perhaps even the Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race.

Wild said that Black Jack Too was going to be a quick boat with a quality on board for this weekends championship.

‘We’ll just see how it goes,’ said Wild.

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by Suellen Hurling
5:03 PM Sun 18 Apr 2010

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is living up to it’s ‘Regatta City’ name by hosting five Queensland Championships and an Australian Championship in the space of one month – with more major regattas just around the corner.

During the Easter Break RQYS was host to the 12′ Skiff Australian Championship and the Queensland Laser Championship. Both fleets have held these regattas at RQYS in previous years and have committed to returning in the future. On completion of those regattas, RQYS hosted the Queensland School Team Sailing Championship and the Queensland Open Team Sailing Championship. Two intense, resource demanding regattas – held every year at RQYS.

This weekend, April 17 and 18, RQYS hosted the first ever RSX and Bic Techno Queensland Sailboard Championship, as well as the Impulse Queensland Championship. RSX Olympian and Australian Sailing Team Member Jessica Crisp said it was her first time visiting Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

‘This has been a fantastic regatta. The Race Committee was committed to making the racing perfect and I would highly recommend Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron to any association looking for a host club’, said Crisp.

‘We are extremely fortunate to have an excellent team of qualified race management volunteers on standby,’ said Volunteer Coordinator Dugald Henderson. ‘Without them, it would be a lot harder to be able to manage a high rotation of regattas.’

Also held this weekend was the first of many Optimist Green Fleet Training Camps. Fourteen young and enthusiastic sailors were subject to a rigorous yet fun and exciting drills with everyone improving by the end of the camp.

The ANZC Day long weekend will be home for the Queensland IRC Championship with current Brisbane to Gladstone IRC winner Wedgetail (Bill Wild) tipped as a hot favourite to win this years event. But waiting patiently in the wings will be Peter Harburg’s new Reichel Pugh 42 Black Jack Too which will make its debut appearance at the IRC Championship.

The May long weekend will see the 29ers enjoy the spacious grassed rigging lawns and perfect racing conditions for their Queensland Championship, and then the Melges 24′s will line up the following week for their Australian Championships.

‘The regattas are never ending!’ said Henderson. ‘Five years ago we used to have a decent break over the winter season, but now it’s hell for leather and we are lucky to have a breather at all!’

For more information on what’s happening at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron log onto the sailing page of the website – http://sailing.rqys.com.au

Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is currently celebrating 125 years of sailing.

by Suellen Hurling
4:05 PM Sun 11 Apr 2010

The Notice of Race for the 2010 Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race was released today, Sunday 11 April and already four yachts have entered the 348 nautical mile race.

Scheduled to start on Friday 6 August at 1500 hours, the race will see yachts travel north past Gladstone and into tropical Queensland with a finishing destination just outside Keppel Bay Marina at Rosslyn Bay.

Now in its fourth year race organisers are hoping for a 30-40 fleet turn out.

‘The race is gathering momentum and is fast becoming the next big Queensland offshore race,’ said Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Commodore Russell McCart, owner and skipper of the Farr 40 Night Nurse.

Denis Thompson, of Audi Victoria Week and Audi Hamilton Island Race Week success is back on board as Principal Race Office for the Brisbane to Keppel race.

‘This is a really fun race. The finishing destination is perfect and as yachts cross the finishing line they head straight into the marina,’ said Thompson.

The Club Marina Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race is the signature yachting event for the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

The Race Record was set in 2009 by Black Jack, the Reichel Pugh 66 owned by Peter Harburg and skippered by Mark Bradford. Record Time: 29 hours 24 minutes 11 seconds

For more information on the race check out the website – www.brisbanetokeppel.com

Notice of Race and online entry – www.brisbanetokeppel.com/the-race/

by Bob Wonders
9:05 PM Thu 21 Jan 2010

With its thousands of kilometres of coastline spread along the Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans, Australia can claim to be home to many outstanding yachting and boating clubs.

Few, however, could match the stunning setting enjoyed by the prestigious Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

Dominating the Moreton Bay shoreline at Manly, only a short drive east of the state capital, Brisbane, the RQYS boasts a history dating back more than 120-years.

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by Suellen Hurling
5:15 PM Tue 12 Jan 2010

As we all know, sailing regattas would never come to be without the invaluable assistance of Volunteers.

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron appointed a highly experienced team of Volunteers for the 2010 Pre-Worlds and World Contender Championship. Led by Volunteer Coordinator Dugald Henderson and International Race Officer Alan Carlisle, the team will now take a well deserved break until the Australia Day weekend of racing at RQYS.

‘We had a awesome time looking after the racing for these sailors. They have been wonderful to work for,’ said IRO Alan Carlisle.

‘We always have a great time running regattas,’ said Henderson. ‘The team prides themselves on providing professional race management and we have a great time doing it.’

The team uniform for the final day of racing for the World Championship was Hawaiian shirts to celebrate end of the tropical regatta.

‘This has been one of the best regattas we have ever held. It’s been a lot of fun and we hope the Contender sailors go home with fond memories of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron,’ said Regatta Director Suellen Hurling.

‘Next time your class association is looking for a world class venue, or just somewhere to have a great time with sailing on the side, then come to RQYS. We would love to have you here and look forward to meeting many more sailors in the years to come,’ said Dugald Henderson.

For more information on RQYS log onto http://www.rqys.com.au or call Suellen Hurling on +61 7 3396 8666.

by Suellen Hurling
4:21 PM Fri 13 Nov 2009

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is again hosting its popular Sail & Play program during the summer holiday break which caters for primary school aged children.

The five day program is increasingly popular with a high repeat of students. Sail & Play is the first step to introducing children to the RQYS Junior Sailing Program.

The unique program teaches children to not only love the water and outdoors, but to respect nature and her elements.

Through a variety of activities including raft building, fishing, science, powerboat adventures, island treks, knots and splicing, the new young sailors emerge from the program more confident and with the ability to tackle other outdoor challenges.

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