Hunters Hill Sailing Club – May Update

As we head into winter, there’s still plenty happening at Hunters Hill Sailing Club, from local race series to fitness training and family events. This edition brings you important reminders, upcoming events, and highlights of our sailors’ achievements both at home and abroad. Read on and stay connected with your club!

From the President

Please keep your membership renewals and boat storage payments updated—your ongoing support is what keeps Hunters Hill Sailing Club vibrant and thriving! Also, please note that all members under 18 must have a registered ‘non-sailing’ parent linked to their membership.

Mark your calendars—our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Saturday, May 24th at 4:00 PM. If you’re interested in joining the committee or taking on a role within the club, please complete a nomination form and send it to our Secretary, Jason Chai, before the AGM. (Need a form? Email me at president@huntershillsailingclub.org.au).

Stick around after the AGM for our Presentation Dinner, starting at 5:30 PM. Tickets are just $40, which includes dinner and soft drinks (BYO alcohol). It’ll be a fun and festive evening of celebration and recognition—don’t miss it!

And finally, a massive shout-out to Healy and Sylvie, who are currently representing Australia at the ILCA World Championships. We’re all incredibly proud and cheering you on from back home!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the AGM and presentation night.

From the Commodore

2025 Winter Frostbite Series

The first race of the Winter Series kicked off on Sunday, May 12, with a strong turnout of 21 boats, despite it being Mother’s Day. The weather held up beautifully, but unfortunately, the wind didn’t show up—meaning no one managed to complete the course within the 120-minute time limit.

That said, there were plenty of valuable takeaways. Nine sailors were pushed over the start line by the tide before the gun, but only one managed to get back and trigger the individual recall flag. A good reminder: watch that start line when the tide is running!

It was also fantastic to see some fresh faces from our Saturday Teens and Tweens Learn to Race group.

📸 Huge congratulations to Thomas Pearson and Thomas Colquhoun for competing on Orange Quest! 

We'd love to see more Quests on the water next month—no entry fee required. Just ensure your membership and boat storage are paid, and email me at commodore@huntershillsailingclub.org.au to reserve a Quest for Race 2 on Sunday, June 15. 

Thanks to Beatrice Brennan for the race photo!

2025 ILCA World Championships

At the time of writing, racing is underway in Qingdao, China, for the ILCA 6 Women’s and ILCA 7 Men’s World Championships. Our own Sylvie Stannage and Healy Ryan are flying the flag for our club and Australia!

🔗 Event info and results
📍 Watch live with GPS tracking

Go Sylvie and Healy!

Learn2Sail

Term 2 Learn2Sail is now in full swing! Here’s a glimpse of what our sailors have been up to:

📸 Rookies practised independent launching and reaching the course without tow support—for the first time!

📸 Teens and Tweens made a trip to the Harbour Bridge for some sightseeing and took advantage of the downwind return to practise their spinnaker handling.

Thanks to Belle Parker for the great photos!

Optimist Fleet

Winter training schedule

Training sessions are as follows:

• Open Fleet Training – Saturdays at 1:00pm

• All Fleets Training – Sundays at 9:00am

Winter racing

Frostbite is our signature winter racing series, open to all classes and free of charge for financial and insured members of Hunters Hill Sailing Club.

• Briefing: 9:00am

• First warning signal: 10:00am

• Help is always needed with setup and pack-down—please pitch in!

More info & Notice of Race: HHSC Club Racing Page

Winterclub is a friendly winter racing challenge across Woollahra Sailing Club, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, and Hunters Hill Sailing Club.

• Registration is essential: Register here

• Free to enter thanks to generous support from North Sails and NB Sailsports

• Registrants receive a free series T-shirt.

Key dates for your diary

• Sat 7 – Mon 9 June – East Coast Championship, Georges River
  Event info

• Sun 15 June – Frostbite @ HHSC

• Sun 22 June – Winterclub @ WSC

• Sun 6 July – Winterclub @ RPAYC

• Sun 20 July – Frostbite @ HHSC

• Sun 27 July – Winterclub @ RSYS

• Sun 10 August – Frostbite @ HHSC

• Sun 24 August – Traveller’s Trophy, HHSC
  Event info

• Sun 31 August – Winterclub @ HHSC

• Sat 20 – Sun 21 September – OptiChicks Regatta, HHSC
  Event info

ILCA Fleet

Winter training for the ILCA squad has kicked off with Thursday night fitness sessions, focusing on strength, stamina, and mobility—just in time for the upcoming regatta season.

Sunday's race proved tricky with light breeze and strong current. Sticking close to shore was the winning strategy, while crossing the channel (like class secretary Jason B did!) turned out to be a tactical misstep. Lesson learned: stick to your race plan.

A big welcome to Janek and Cooper, our newest squad members—we’re excited to have you on board!

Market Corner & Newsletter Contributions

We love hearing from our members. Send us your sale items, feedback, contributions, or great sailing shots for the newsletter or social media!
📧 newsletter@huntershillsailingclub.org.au
📸 photos@huntershillsailingclub.org.au