After weeks of lull, members were met with a blast of strong wind for the East Coast Championship at Georges River Sailing Club over the King's Birthday long weekend - so strong, in fact, that racing was cancelled on day two. Still, days one and three delivered brave sailing and memorable moments. Now it’s time to patch the boats and restock the sail ties - but first, catch up on important news affecting our club waters and relive the championship highlights!

Launching from Dolls Point - East Coast Championship. Photo: Luke Ryves

From the President

Woolwich Marina Extension - your submission is urgently needed!

Yes, this long-running saga continues. Despite unanimous rejection by both Council and the Planning Panel, Woolwich Marina is still pushing to expand—seeking to privatise public waterways for profit.

Eighteen months after appealing to the Land & Environment Court, the developers have now submitted amended plans. These are open for public consultation via the Hunters Hill Council website:
 View and comment here
Submissions close Thursday, 27 June.

What’s changed—and what hasn’t

While the new plan removes the extension toward Cockatoo Island, it now pushes west—directly in front of the heritage-listed Kelly’s Bush. The revised proposal still introduces oversized vessels into already-congested waterways used by our sailors, paddlers, and other water users.

Why this matters

The Club is working closely with neighbouring sailing clubs, the Hunters Hill Trust, Friends of Kelly’s Bush, SOS Save Our Shores, and local residents to oppose this damaging development. But we need your help.

How to take action

We urge all members to carefully inform themselves about this development and to lodge an individual submission in opposition online before June 27. It only takes a few minutes—no long essays needed. Just a name, email, and short comment.

You can also email your concerns directly to these elected representatives:

• Hunters Hill Mayor Zac Miles: Mayor@huntershill.nsw.gov.au
  

• Federal MP Jerome Laxale: Jerome@jeromelaxale.com
  

• Federal Environment Minister Senator Murray Watt: senator.watt@aph.gov.au
  

• NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe: office@sharpe.minister.nsw.gov.au
  

• NSW Transport Minister John Graham: office@graham.minister.nsw.gov.au
  

• NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully: office@scully.minister.nsw.gov.au

Need help writing your submission?

Join a community briefing at Hunters Hill Sailing Club, co-hosted by SOS Save Our Shores and others. Sessions run Wednesdays at 7PM for an hour on:

• 11 June
  

• 18 June
  

• 25 June

Key concerns you may wish to raise:

• Safety risks to sailors (junior and senior), rowers, kayakers, SUP paddlers, and others from increased traffic of large, high-powered vessels in a narrow channel.
  

• Misleading documentation, which shows ferry traffic only near Cockatoo Island—ignoring regular high-speed ferries that pass close to the club and marina.
  

• Pollution and fire risks—remember the dramatic Andiamo blaze at Woolwich Dock? A similar fire igniting at the marina could threaten homes, schools, bushland and marine life.
  

• Heritage and scenic value—blocking of view corridors between Kelly’s Bush and Cockatoo Island.
  

• Privatisation of public space—the harbour is for everyone, not just luxury boat owners.
  

• Traffic and parking congestion in an area already under pressure.
  

• Environmental degradation—risk to kelp beds, sea horses, and marine ecosystems.
  

• Disturbance of toxic seabed waste, including historical contaminants from the old radium factory.
  

• Noise and disturbance from charter and party boats offloading passengers late at night.

Let’s stop this once and for all
With a final, strong community push, we can protect our waterways, our heritage, and our safety.

Thank you for your support.

From the Commodore

Congratulations to the sailors who represented the club at the East Coast Championships on the weekend in testing conditions, including Harper Spacey in a 29er.

Max Fisher is competing in the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Tour in Italy in a WASZP—good luck!

Round 2 of our Sunday morning Frostbite series is this Sunday 15 June. Hopefully we’ll have more breeze than round 1 but less breeze than the East Coast Championships! Dress warmly and see you there!

Club racing

HHSC_Season_2024-2025_Calendar.xlsx

Results - Hunters Hill Sailing Club

Learn2Sail

Windy weekend action! 

Teens and Tweens: Thomas Colquhoun and Thomas Pearson. Photo: Belle Parker

Pro Group sailors: Archie Luffman (red boat) and Max Thorne (yellow boat) working hard in 20+ knots. Photo: Belle Parker

Upcoming Try Sailing and Learn2Sail events 

Mark your calendars! Our upcoming camp dates have now been confirmed:

• Mon 29 September – Fri 3 October
  

• Mon 8 – Fri 12 December (Teens & Tweens only)
  

• Sat 20 – Tue 23 December
  

• Mon 12 – Fri 16 January
  

• Mon 19 – Fri 23 January
  

 Register now via the club’s events page:
www.huntershillsailingclub.org.au/events

Please also help us spread the word by promoting our Try Sailing and Learn2Sail programs through your school, sports, and community networks - we’d love to welcome new families to the club!

Optimist Fleet

All or nothing at Georges River: East Coast Championship Recap

Georges River is known for being all or nothing - and this long weekend, it was well and truly on! With wind speeds reaching 32 knots at the airport, it was a stop-start regatta that challenged even the most experienced sailors.

The Opti gang (and one newly initiated ILCA 4 sailor) waiting for the launch flag on day 3. Photo: Alessio de Giosa

Inters ready for action on day 3. Photo: Angus White

Intermediate fleet race. Photo Luke Ryves

Green Fleet. Photo Jason Chai

It was a big learning weekend for all involved, and hopefully the takeaway is clear: sailing in strong wind builds confidence - and next time, it won’t look nearly as daunting.

On-the-ground reporting comes from NSW IODA Commentator Alessio De Giosa:

“Well done to all the kids for sailing through such tough conditions all weekend! There was some brilliant racing out there. Congratulations to Sijia for placing 2nd overall and 1st female in the Open fleet and Edward for coming 3rd in Intermediate.

A special shout-out to our Open female sailors Sijia, Emma and Kirra for leading many races - amazing to watch!

Sijia Deng - 2nd overall, Optimist Open Fleet. Photo: Alessio de Giosa

Edward Hunt - 3rd Optimist Intermediate Fleet. Photo: Alession De Giosa

Huge thanks to Tom and Julian for coaching the Open fleet, and to all the parents who helped tow ribs and trailers, support on the water, and keep everything running smoothly.”

Next Up: Frostbite Race #2
This Sunday is our second Frostbite Race—see you down at the club early and ready to go!

ILCA 4 Fleet

High winds, high gains: weekend racing recap

Strong winds delivered both excitement and challenge over the weekend, with two days of racing going ahead and one day cancelled due to extreme conditions. For this event, we joined forces with the Double Bay squad, with Coach Paige Caldicott providing outstanding support—running daily shore briefings and coaching on the water.

ILCA 4 sailors grom HHSC and Double Bay race fleets, day 1. Photo: Justine Scott

Even on the cancelled race day, learning didn’t stop. We made the most of the conditions with high-speed reaching drills and focused windward/leeward training just off the club. The heavy breeze provided the perfect opportunity for sailors to hone their high-wind technique, improve control, and build confidence in keeping the boats upright and fast.

Results:
Zac Howell – 2nd
Sophie Borner Harrison – 6th
Ben Phillips – 16th 

Well done to all sailors for rising to the challenge and showing such grit and growth in tough conditions!

Zac Howell - 2nd ILCA 4. Photo: Alessio de Giosa

WASZP Class

Waszp demo boat returns to the club - get ready to foil!

After a quick maintenance overhaul by Australian Class President Jervis, the club’s demo Waszp is back and ready for action. We’ll be running more foiling sessions in the coming weeks - open to all sailors with at least Open Opti-equivalent skill level.

A few important reminders:

• All sailors must be current club members to be covered by club insurance when using the demo Waszp.
  

• Join the Waszp WhatsApp group to stay in the loop on session times and updates.
  

• Parents will need to assist on and off the water to help sessions run smoothly.

She Sails Foiling Clinic – June at HHSC
We’re excited to be hosting a She Sails Foiling Clinic in partnership with ISF this June, focused on introducing female-identifying sailors to the thrill of foiling. It’s part of our commitment to growing participation and confidence in this exciting side of the sport.

The clinic is already sold out with a waitlist, but we’re working hard to secure additional resources—more Waszps, RIBs and coaches—to give waitlisted sailors a chance to take part too.

Newsletter

We welcome feedback and contributions via: Newsletter HHSC 

Have a great photo you’d like to share for use in the newsletter or on the club social media accounts? Send to photos@huntershillsailingclub.org.au or drop into the club’s Photos Whatsapp group.