Hello everyone As we get ever closer to Christmas we are starting to close in on some big events with the first one being the regatta at yepoon starting on the 18/9 which we have several of our young sailors competing at either in the three day coaching program and also the three days of racing . This event is one of the biggest in queensland and its great for our sailors to first of all get some extra coaching and then racing experience so good luck to Jade , Daniel , Gemma and Tristan . We have our final race for the year in youth on the 12/ 11 and then we have our final race for open class on the 19th of november with the around crab island race . To finish of the sailing for the year we have two camps with the first camp on the 11/12 december and then 18/19 december and our sunday juniors winds up on Sunday the 10th of december because the following sunday is the club xmas party which is to be held at the sailing club so yes there is a fair bit to be done ! If anyone has been watching facebook there have been plenty of posts from Guy Claire Harvey and Reece form the overseas holiday what a fantastic adventure especially for the boys and of course mum and dad .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
Well finally we have had a sunday with not only blue skies but also good wind for the 8.30 class . Numbers are still small but at least the guys who turn up are getting plenty of instructing help at this time as we usually have more instructors than students so they are all getting extra time with individual instructors . Charlie was in charge of course setting so with the winds early coming out of the w/n/w at around 4/6 knots it was perfect for a good reaching course across the broadwater . Hunter and Ari took turns at the steering with their only fault being looking at the rudder too much causing a few circles but luckily no capsizes although their should have been at least one but luck was on their side while Lucas worked on speeding up the tacks but we couldnt convince him to try gybing but there is always next week and I have promised him that I will come out and talk him through the process probably starting with some practice on the shore .
10.30 Youth Training 
It was a race day in the final series for 2023 and with the best wind in ages 6/8 knots with the odd extra puff and the direction swinging more west it was perfect for a pontoon start and a rounding buoy over near ephriam island .
We had a briefing first to go over the current effect in light winds as thats what got nearly everyone in the last race that had to be abandoned due to no wind . The problem was that when they were trying to reach the mark across the channel which was rushing out they all just sailed at the mark and not on the current side so the all slowly drifted below the mark but Iam happy to say that last weekend they all did a great job of getting their but the gybes at the mark were a challenge . Zach went in first but was soon back up and sailing well but the rest did struggle a bit especially the boys in the tera,s but hay it was only their second race while the wetsuit twins came in 2nd and 3rd ( leila 2nd- halle 3rd ) . So where was Gemma well its my fault as we had a private coaching session and apparently I wore her out and couldnt get out of bed on sunday morning and remember Gem I did warn you this coaching thing is tough but it does work! . The final results for the day were Zach 1st Leila 2nd and Halle 3rd oh and Tristan was missing due to a party saturday night !.
1.30 PM Open Racing 
The next open race day is sunday the 3rd of september and for once the guys didnt even come for a training run and you guessed it the conditions were perfect . For both the open fleet and the Youth fleet their current race results are on the wall in front of the club so if anyone is keen for a look just check the board I will be updating both soon and as its getting close to the end of the season I will add individual positions to both fleets so good luck everyone .

Upcoming 
Yepoon Regatta 18/9/2023
Youth Sailing Camp 25/26 sept
Final Youth Race 12/11/23 
Final Open Race 19/11/23 Marathon
December 11/12 sailing camp
December 17th Club Xmas Party
Hospital Fundraiser 14/2/24

cu on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , This year is certainly rushing by with spring around the corner and all we need now is consistant winds because its certainly been hard going since june with light or no wind then too much wind and of course we must not forget they have been mainly westerly which always adds to the incosistant winds . Last sunday we had our senior instructors in Daniel,Jade , Ross and Taylah and you guessed it for the first class we only had two students and yes the light winds were definitely that light to none but the boys still tried their hardest to get around the course . So where have they all been well Jade Daniel and Ross have been sailing 29ers at manly and Ross at Syc where he broke his mast , he says it was 25 knots but the general thought it was more like 15-17 so she went in pretty hard and with a repaired mast on board she just let go and the rumour is that a new boat might be on the cards but just remember Ross new boats break too!
8.30 am Juniors 
As I said we only had two keen sailors in lucas and emilio sign on and rigg boats but as we said to them the get the best instruction as both charlie and I had a good session on rigging and what changes we can make to suit the conditions especially in the days light winds .
Charlie set a reaching course basically out in front of the club ( n/s) and the boys were allowed to tack and gybe because the average wind speed was around 1 knot so not much chance of capsize ( too cold anyway ) . Lucas did at times manage to catch a little bit of wind so that he could get around the buoys plus he is a lot lighter than Emilio who did get going occasionally but all in all it was a very slow day but at least the sun was shining.
10.30 am Youth Training
With a mix of tera,s and Bics we soon ended up with about half our usual fleet as it was only a training day as racing returns next weekend as unfortunately the 13th of august race had to be abandoned due to the wind dropping out completely and everyone except Gemma either stuck on the bottom mark or half way back to the finish  For the session we talked about the effect of the tide married with the wind direction and what effects it has on the boat performance as they all struggled the previous week trying to round mark A .
With fingers crossed we sent them to the green channel mark then back up to the club with luckily only a slowly incoming tide and the winds tending N/N/E at around 4 knots . To make the green they all had to sail down toward the canal to line up with A and after a couple of goe,s they were all getting around the marks and carrying good boat speed even the gybes and tacks were good so well done everyone on a good session.
1.30 pm Open Racing.
We had two races on the day due to both charlie and I being adsent on the last race date and with the conditions looking very iffy due to the winds not reaching their predicted speeds ( 10-15 ) but more like 8 knots and an increasing outgoing tide we set a course starting at the canal then A mark down on the east side of runners then a west mark then back to C at the start finish line . The tide was getting tricky and as the first start got closer people started drifting over the line so there was a bit of yelling from the start boat to get them back especially Tom who arrived just a bit too early but they all managed to make it. In race two they were all basically on the start side with 30 seconds to go well except Lance who just drifted over a bit as we counted down but again by the start everyone was on the right side.
So who won both races well Greg did mainly because he had the best starts and they couldnt catch him although Tom was very close and John B who has only just started competing again ended up with a 3rd in race 2 so he was very happy with his results . Over both races it was actually close racing even in the second race especially as the wind was dropping and the current increasing making it a slow return for everyone on the last leg.

Upcoming 
Yepoon Race week starting 18/9/23
Adult Introduction to Sailing Course starts 2/9/23 
Club Marathon 19/11
School holiday camps start on 11/12 december
Club Xmas Party 17/12/23

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone, Last weeks newsletter didnt happen due to an out of the blue medical issue for me apparently I caught meningitis causing severe headache and generally feeling like crap , I am on the mend now although the doctors say it will be about a month before all the symptoms disappear , I couldnt believe it one day Iam painting my house the next day in hospital? On an upside Charlie had a trip to sydney to finally complete his national Coaching course and is now officially an Australian Sailing Certified Coach so well done charlie now you just have to get out there and make a name for yourself and trust me it takes a while but it is even more rewarding than just being an instructor as you get to take people to higher levels of sailing either for personal development or competition . The big news for the club  is thanks to Jason we now have a defib unit so lets hope we dont have to use it but its great to have one there just in case !
8.30 am Sunday Juniors 
As the summer slowly approaches the number of enquiries for this session is slowly increasing especially as the previous group has now moved on to 10.30 training . We did start the day with a problem and that was firstly me slowly on the mend and Charlie with a severe cold but we both managed to make it through both juniors and racing with minimal complaining . The conditions were perfect with the winds out of the n/w at around 3/5 knots so Jason set a reaching course from the beach to the bridge but they did have a challenge in an outgoing tide . A big thanks to Tristan how took Ari out to start teaching him to steer now he just has to teach him to avoid the sandbanks , there were a few control issues when Ari had a go at steering but Tristan we right there to quickly straighten him out . I have to say that I think tristan is going to become a great sailing instructor as he listens to my instructions regarding student needs more and more as time goes by . So who sailed best on the day well I have to say Kirra with smooth tacks and gybes and good boat speed in the light conditions we jsut have to get the opti thing of sitting in the floor of the boat out of her system,and start hiking as we want her to try the open bic next and as everyone knows to sail the bic you have to hike out !
10.30 Youth Racing 
I managed to get the day wrong and forgot that Racing was back for the Youth group but once I was reminded we soon worked out a racing plan mainly around charlie and I feeling a bit second hand and the winds becoming more fickle . For a few guys it was their first time so it was off to their first briefing and of course being their first ever race we started with the flags and their meaning then how to get around the course . One thing they all learned was to check your rigging as a few guys had to return to shore for quick repairs before returning to the start line which charlie got wrong at first lining up everyone on the wrong side so we had to swap around as it was starboard roundings . It all looked good as everyone was fairly close to the line starting at the pontoon and heading accross to A mark in the channel We should have known because half way to the mark you guessed it the wind started to drop out so only the more experienced sailors in Gemma and Zach made it around while the rest really started struggling especially the three new boys but everyone finally made it . Once rounding the down wind mark the next challenge was back to the start finish line and it was basically a battle between Gemma and Zach but zach made a blunder and tacked back into the channel but the outgoing tide was just to strong and he started going south. Charlie went out to try and guide everyone around but the wind just completely disappeared so we had no choice but to abandon the race because the time had run out and the only two who looked like possibly finishing were Gemma and Zach . We might look at doing the same course next weekend to help everyone come up to speed.
1.30 pm Open Racing 
There was no racing so the guys decided to go for a training run and with really light winds everyone went full rig even greg borrowed my sail , so you know what happened as soon as they were all rigged yes a southerly blew in at around 18 knots which was just too much for most everyone being two light so most everyone pulled the pin and only Greg. Tom and Steve went out after changing to radials at least the tide had turned and the water was reasonably flat . Charlie and I left them too it as we were both worn out .
UPCOMING
Yepoon starting 18/9/23
Fathers Day 3rd sept
Club Xmas Party17/12/23

CU on the water
J Murphy

Hi Everyone , Firstly I cant believe its august already and we didnt really get a winter this year not that Iam complaining mainly about the lack of rain especially on sunday afternoons when Charlie and I are out on the start boat doing races it was surely pretty dismal at times in 2022 .
Just a reminder that our Youth Racing is back on the 13th of august with the starts now at 11.00 am , this series is six races finishing on the 12th of november and dont forget that you are allowed to drop your worst result in each series so two drops all up and with Harvey and Reece away in england it should make for a close finish . With this much simpler system we are hoping to have presentation at our annual Xmas Party on the 17th of december in conjunction with the open fleet racing which finishes on the 19th of november  with the annual marathon race around crab island .
8.30 am Sunday Morning Juniors 
As summer approaches the numbers are slowly beginning to increase with 6 new sailors signing on and rigging boats ready for their session , we will be loosing a few of this group as they have shown us that they are now good enough to go up to 10.30 youth training and yes they are all very excited so well done tj, jack & Ollie .
Luckily we had some wind for a change with a light N/N/W wind blowing so Charlie set a reaching course to get everyone off the beach and cruising around tacking only at first in around 2-4 knots but we soon changed that to tacks and gybes as even our recent new sailor in Kirra were soon just making it look easy . The current was quite strong on the outward flow and it even caught Daniel out yes daniel was back in a tera helping out a first timer in Ari , he said he was a bit rusty on steering as he now crews a 29er racing skiff ! Jack , TJ & Kirra really sailed the tricky conditions well even with the rushing outgoing tide they all still managed to sail the course while Ollie who tried the Taz did need some help beating the current but still managed to get it right.
10.30 am Youth Training
With Harvey and Reece missing for a couple of months the reast of the team were still keen to get their boats rigged but not so keen for the briefing as usual but I actually think they are actually listening more and transferring it to the water . With bright sunshine and slightly fickle winds mainly from the n/n/wat around 2/5 knots and a slowing tide we decided to give everyone a freestyle sailing session after the months of training that they all have endured . There were plenty of smiles as they all hit the water as we gave them all the way to the canal as their sailing zone mainly so we could keep an eye on them instead of sailing off all over the place . We did go from boat to boat giving tips nothing special just the ususl like pull the sail on - let the sail out and my old favourite sit forward ! otherwise they could just do what they wanted , we even had everyone standing up ! yes I know we normally frown on it but we thought they deserved some fun so what the hell we even enjoyed it on the start boat .. There was even a rumour going around that a certain sailor did take all his gear home but alas it wasnt quite true with one pfd found outside so my usual message to dad that afternoon so its in the office , see tristan I didnt even mention your name .
1.30 PM Open Racing 
As it was an even weekend their was no racing but its back next sunday . A few of the guys and girls did come down and went for a sail for a bit of training and there is even a rumour that a couple of instructors might even start up this month , we will be the one,s at the back of the fleet !

Upcoming
Yepoon Youths 
Holiday camp 25/26 september ( bookings already being taken)
Club marathon 19/11
Club Xmas Party 17/12 
Hospital Fundraiser Try Sailing  january 2024 

CU on the water
J Murphy