The season is off to a fantastic start, with great racing, strong results, and plenty of energy around the club. It’s been wonderful to see full classes, growing fleets, and familiar faces back on the water — along with some exciting new ones joining in. From our Greenies braving fresh nor’easters to our ILCA sailors claiming wins at major regattas, the momentum is building for a great summer of sailing.

A huge thank you to all the volunteers and parents who keep things running smoothly behind the scenes — your effort makes it all possible. With big events ahead, including the Optimist Asian Championships and the upcoming ACT titles, there’s lots to look forward to both on and off the water.

From the Commodore

Club Racing

Week two of the racing season saw the Optimist fleet complete two races — the first round of their Club Championship. 

Conditions were a little kinder than last week for the ILCA fleet, who managed two races in a steady 15–20 knot nor’easter — positively calm compared with the gale that tore up the river the previous Sunday and cancelled racing altogether. 

Results will be published on the website in the coming days — many thanks to Kevin Burman for his work on getting the new season set up. With systems now in place, we’ll be able to share results soon after racing finishes each week.

Regatta Results

Double Bay Regatta: October 11, Double Bay Sailing Club

Congratulations to Sylvie Stannage (ILCA 6) and Zac Howell (ILCA 4) for winning their respective classes at the inaugural Double Bay Regatta. Both sailors etched their names onto the Mark Bethwaite Trophy and took home a handy cash prize — a fantastic result for the club at a highly competitive event.

Double Bay Regatta Winners 📸 DBSC Instagram

NSW & ACT Coast Championships: 18-19 October, Gosford Sailing Club

Sylvie Stannage backed up her recent success with another impressive performance, winning the ILCA 6 class at the NSW & ACT Coast Championships. This marks the third consecutive year that Sylvie has claimed this title — a fantastic achievement. Congratulations, Sylvie!

2025 Optimist Asian Championships: 25 October-1 November, Barcelo Mussanah Resort, Oman

Best of luck to the Optimist sailors representing both the club and Australia at the upcoming Optimist Asian Championships. Sail hard, learn lots, and enjoy every moment — we’re all proud of you and sending our best wishes for a great regatta. The official website, including results and trackers, can be found here.

Off the water 

Hunters Hill Sailing Club is a volunteer organisation, and the success of our sailing program depends on the hard work of many. Over winter, a few dedicated volunteers have been working quietly behind the scenes to ensure the club’s boats were ready for the new season. Often turning up when no one else was around, they’ve helped make sure everything is shipshape when our sailors hit the water.

Lee Thorne has been tirelessly maintaining the club’s boats and trailers — repairing motors, propellers, and electrics. Thank you, Lee, for your constant and quiet efforts in the background.

Bill Vouden, grandparent of Optimist Learn2Sail sailor Ellie, has been at the club every week organising and fixing the learner boats. He’s also been hard at work finding a solution for the wheels and axles on the club’s Quests. Thank you, Bill, for your dedication and hands-on support for our young sailors.

From the President

At the time of writing, our President is in the Gulf of Oman, enjoying some deep-sea fishing. We wish him a great trip!

Learn2Sail

We kicked off our first week of classes for Term 4 with full sessions and plenty of smiling faces as the weather warms up.

Learn2Sail Rookies 📸 Belle

Matilda Newton Learn2Sail Momentum 📸 Belle

Jasper Ryves Learn2Sail Momentum 📸 Belle

Maggie Leigh Learn2Sail Momentum 📸 Belle

Upcoming Learn2Sail camps 

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

Camp Schedule:

• 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 sharing our flyer through your school, sports, and community networks:

Have family or friends who’d like to give sailing a go? Invite them to register for one of our free Try Sailing sessions, held on Saturdays from 9:00–11:00am on the following dates:

• 25 October

• 8 November

• 6 December

• 31 January

• 7 February

• 14 March

The links above are Facebook Events — please ‘like’ and ‘share’ them with your family, friends, and community groups to help spread the word!

Optimist Fleet

Opens mid-week training 📸 Rebecca Li

First round of Club Champs over the weekend!

The nor’easter made us wait… then hit hard! It wasn’t easy sailing, so big kudos to our Greenies for hanging in there and sailing back on their own in the strong wind — that’s a win in itself. We deployed just one support RIB and everything ran smoothly.

The Open fleet was a little smaller this week with several sailors away in Oman for the Asian Championships, but it was great to see our rookie Intermediates out there giving it their all in 20-knot gusts. Young Alasdair sailed like a pro despite being one of the lightest on the water — must be the family sailing genes at work!

Zac Boyd (senior Intermediate) looked sharp in his new boat and even led part of Race 1. Still plenty to learn, but he’s definitely on the rise.

In the Open fleet, the job was well done with no capsizes — except for Luca, who provided some entertainment with a textbook nosedive while leading a race. And great to see Cleo (junior Open) holding second place for most of Race 2 — excellent sailing!

A reminder: if you have a RIB licence and a tow bar and can help on Sunday, please let us know. We can pair you with experienced parents and guide you on how to assist safely on the water.

Club Champs snaps 📸 Alessio De Giosa

2025 Optimist Asian Championships: 25 October-1 November, Barcelo Mussanah Resort, Oman

Wishing the best of luck to our four sailors — Sijia, Emma, Kirra, and Ethan — as they take on the Asian Championships in Oman, proudly representing Australia!

Optimist Fleet Summer Schedule (October–March)

Sunday racing calendar

Briefing: 10:45am
First warning: 12:00pm
Volunteers needed from 9:00am every Sunday – no volunteers, no racing!

Training

Green Fleet: Friday 4:30pm + Sunday racing
Intermediate Fleet: Tuesday 4:30pm, Saturday 2:00pm + Sunday racing
Open Fleet: Thursday 4:30pm, Saturday 3:00pm + Sunday racing
Note: All coaching sessions are funded by the club. Consistent attendance is required; if numbers are too low, sessions may be cancelled.

Upcoming Regattas

ACT Championship: 1–2 November, Canberra Yacht Club. Register here

Stay Connected

Follow all the Opti action on instagram  and on Facebook. Check out the updated NSWIODA Opti website – all regatta dates, photos, useful links, and resources are available there. Stay up to date with everything Opti-related happening in NSW, including the latest news, updates, and regattas via the state group chat.

ILCA Fleet

Regattas

• NSW & ACT Open, Youth & Masters States, 15-16 November 2025: https://laser.asn.au/

• Oceania & Australian Open & Youth, 1-8 January 2026: https://www.auslasernationals.com.au/

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