Summer is here and the sails are up! Our young sailors are ready for a season packed with adventure, regattas, and plenty of fun on the water.

From the President

On Sunday 7 September, Belle and some of our dedicated club volunteers did a fantastic job manning a stall at the Moocooboola Festival. It's a great local event, and it's so important that we show our club's presence in the community. The hiking bench test was a huge hit, we had people from all walks of life come and say hello, including one of our little members, Ellery Chai, who hung on for an incredible eleven minutes! We even had a 20-time Sydney to Hobart sailor give it a crack. Thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

Spread the Word: Learn2Sail Camps

Our holiday camps are a key part of the club's activities, and a great way to introduce new kids and families to the sport we love. If you know anyone keen to give sailing a go, please spread the word about our upcoming Learn2Sail Camps. The dates are listed in the section below, so please encourage your friends and family to join in the fun. And if you see our posts on the socials, make sure to like and share!

Keep Our Club Tidy

Please do your bit to keep our space looking its best. Put all rubbish, off-cut ropes, and sail ties in the bin. And let's all work together to keep the boat shed and bathrooms in good order. Looking after our club is everyone's responsibility, and it helps ensure we have a great space to enjoy all season long.

From the Commodore

Club Racing

The 2025–2026 Season Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, and Calendar are now available here.

The season kicks off on Sunday 28 September with our season opening non-competitive race. After a short break for school holidays (and the NSW Youth Championships), we’ll return on Sunday 12 October to begin Pointscore racing.

Please ensure your club membership is renewed and boat storage paid, both are required to participate in the race series.

Learn2Sail

This weekend marks the end of our term 3 classes as we pause for the September–October camp. Classes will resume on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October.

Our Teens & Tweens Learn2Sail group has been enjoying plenty of time on the water as the weather warms, even making it under the Harbour Bridge.

Ava and Thomas, Teens & Tweens 📸 Belle Parker

Congratulations to Thomas Pearson from the Teens & Tweens group who just got his first boat—perfectly timed for the upcoming season! 

Thomas Pearson in his new ILCA! 📸 Belle Parker

Don’t miss out, register now to secure your spot in the September/October Learn2Sail holiday camps.

Club members receive over $100 off camp fees!

Upcoming Learn2Sail camps

All holiday camps and Try Sailing sessions are now open for registration via the eventspage.

Camp Schedule:

Monday 29 September - Friday 3 October 2025

Monday 8 - Friday 12 December 2025 (Teens & Tweens only)

Saturday 20 - Tuesday 23 December 2025

Monday 12 - Friday 16 January 2026

Monday 19 - Friday 23 January 2026

Please help us promote our Learn2Sail and Teens & Tweens programs by circulating this flyer through your school, sports, and community networks:

Have family or friends who would like to try sailing? They can register for one of our free Try Sailing sessions being held on Saturdays at 9:00-11:00am on these dates:

• 25 October
• 8 November
• 6 December
• 31 January
• 7 February
• 14 March

The links above are ‘Facebook Events’, so please ‘like’ and ‘share’ with your family, friends, and community groups.

High School Sailing

Did you know...

Our weekly community outreach work with Hunters Hill High School delivers:

• Ready Set Sail and Sailing to Excellence resilience and leadership programs for Year 9 and 10 students, whereby young people identified as being at risk of not reaching their potential learn to sail with the school's emerging leaders, sharing the challenge and achievements equally.

• Year 8 Gifted Students Program, where we develop these bright children's drive to achieve in a new environment.

• Year 7 and 8 Tuesday Afternoon Sport, introducing children who, through economic or other circumstances might not otherwise have had the opportunity to learn to sail.

Our high school programs have been lauded by the parent community and recognised by the Department of Education as some of the most innovative in Northern Sydney. The club provides the coaching and support at no cost to the school or participants.

Recent school training sessions📸 Chris Stannage

Optimist Fleet

First summer training day 📸 Rebecca Tompkins

With the excitement of winter behind us, we are now moving into summer sailing. The next big event is Youth Sail NSW, over the long weekend of 4–6 October. If you have not yet registered, please do so soon, and keep in mind that accommodation is limited. We are also seeking volunteers to assist with towing the RIB—your support would be greatly appreciated.

Looking ahead, be sure to prepare for one of the highlights of the season: the ACT Regatta on 1–2 November. Known as one of the friendliest regattas of the year, it is a fantastic first event if you have not competed in one before.

ILCA Fleet

Training after the school holidays will be on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon after school, so aim to be at the club latest by 4 pm. We should be finished by around 6 pm. We will be doing occasional racing on Saturdays at Double Bay for the more advanced sailors in the fleet and then pointscore racing on Sundays.

Regattas

• Youth Sail NSW, 1-6 October 2025
• Inaugural Double Bay Regatta, 11 October 2025
• NSW & ACT Coast Championships, 18-19 October 2025
• NSW & ACT Open, Youth & Masters States, 15-16 November 2025
• Oceania & Australian Open & Youth, 1-8 January 2026

Newsletter

Have a great photo from recent events? Share it with us via the club’s Photos WhatsApp group.

Contributions and feedback for the newsletter are always welcome via: newsletter@huntershillsailingclub.org.au