Sail Brisbane 2018 was a success with 16 classes and over 170 competitors. Competing classes were International Moth, International Finn, Wind Foiler, 29er, VX One, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7, RS:X, Raceboard, Techno 293, Techno Plus, Optimist (Open, Intermediate and Green), Flying 11 and Sabot. This year this Off the Beach Classes Regatta was moved from Winter following straight after the club’s Queensland Youth Week Regatta in July, to being the lead-up to Sail Sydney and Sail Melbourne in November/December. It went well and look forward to another abundant Sail Brisbane at the end of 2019. Dates are still to be confirmed.

We are now looking forward to the four (4) Australian Championships being help by the club in January, with the first of the racing being the 7 January 2019.

The Australian Sabre Championship will run from 5 – 11 January 2019, with 26 entries at 30 December 2018. Just a few of the entries in the upcoming Championship include Jason “Goggles” Ruckert who has recently acquired the second oldest Sabre in the fleet (at time of writing) and picked up dinghy sailing again for the first time in over 21 years, Andrew Lovell who is the head of the SSAQ, and John Campbell who won the 2018 QLD States also held by RQYS in June. The Sabres will be rigging on Lawn 2 (closest to the Marine Sports Amenities Building) and the Main Rigging Lawn, and have 9 scheduled races.

For more information on the event, see the Regatta Website: https://www.rqys.com.au/2019-australian-sabre-championship/

The Australian Moth Championship will be held by RQYS from 6 – 11 January 2019, with 32 entries at 30 December 2018. Entries include Squadron Sailor, Ocean Respect Racing Skipper and recent First Female Skipper in the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart, Stacey Jackson, Squadron Sailor Matthew Chew who has just placed 3^rd overall in the Etchells World Championship and 15^th in the 2018 Bermuda Moth Worlds in April, and Josh McKnight who won the Australian Moth Championships for two consecutive years (2016 – 2017). The Moths are rigging on the Main Rigging Lawn and have 15 races. For more information on the event, see the Regatta Website: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/rqys/events/20597/

The Australian RL24 Championship will be held by RQYS from 7 – 11 January 2019, with 17 entries at 30 December 2018. The class is running an Honorary Sail Past for Rob Legg and his family, to thank him for his contribution to the sport of sailing and the RL classes particularly. The Sail Past will run on 6 January from 1300 hours, viewable from the Main Rigging Lawn and Boardwalk area. Rob Legg and his family will be in attendance. There are 5 entries in the Drop Keel division and 11 entries in the Swing Keel division, and 7 races scheduled in this Championship. We look forward to having the RLs back for the first time since 2015. For more information on the event, see the Regatta Website: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/rqys/events/22631/

The Australian Etchells Championship will run from 13 – 18 January 2019, with 11 entries at 30 December 2018 (and more expected). With the QLD State Championships and World Championships held just in October 2018, it is sure to be a smooth regatta. Etchells Racing commences 15 January 2019, with entrants such as Graeme Taylor who has won the Etchells Nationals three years running now, Jeanne-Claude Strong who was the first female skipper in the recent Etchells World Championship, and RQYouthSquad sailors, Simone Wood and Sammi Costin. For more information on the event, see the Regatta Website: https://etchellsbrisbane.com/2019-australian-titles/

We look forward to another full January of sailing. The RQ Sailing Office are currently preparing and getting everything in order for another successful Manly Summer of Sailing. Please note the Regatta Office for the duration of the January Nationals will be in the RQYS Girdis Function Room which is the large room that runs along the Main Rigging Lawn. Sailing Office staff can also be accessed in the Marine Sports Amenities Building towards the East more.