South Gippsland Yacht Club sets sail
Daniel Renfrey
WITH a new lookout tower and many keen yacht enthusiasts hitting the beach at Inverloch on Sunday, the South Gippsland Yacht Club opened its season in style.
The day marked the first of the Leongatha Toyota Series, and included a luncheon, the salute to the commodore and a race to finish proceedings.
“It’s always a good feeling to start the season off and the club’s got a few things in store,” commodore Wayne Smith said.
“We’ll sail every Sunday through to late April or early May; on the long weekends we’ll have regattas and we’re also hosting the Eastern Region regatta next February.”
In addition to these events, the club will also be hosting a race in the format of its first championship series format.
“For the first time we’re running a Derek Despy race, which will be a one-day event and will have two to three races,” Wayne said.
“It will be based on the way our club’s championship series began years ago.”
As far as numbers go, the club was full of eager sailors on Sunday, and there are hopes that number will be maintained.
“We usually get about 25 sailors on a good day, so hopefully we can keep that up, we’d like to,” Wayne said.
Extra numbers will be needed as volunteers this season too, with the club establishing a new lookout tower, which will be fully completed over the next week.
The club is accepting anyone who would like to serve as lookout in the significantly beneficial tower.
“It’s not rusty like the old one was, you’re not risking life and limb,” Wayne said.
“It’s much safer and has better viewing, which will make for a safer outcome for sailors and more accurate radio contact.”
While the numbers were strong and the new tower was up, the excited and friendly buzz around the club was the standout aspect of the day.
This is what keeps members coming back and what Wayne enjoys the most.
“I love it here because it’s always a challenge as the sand almost shifts on a weekly basis, which is unique, but also because it’s fun being part of the club,” he said.
“All the comradery is great and it’s a very friendly and welcoming club.”
With members seemingly as keen as ever, this season should be a successful one for the SGYC.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Nov 6 2019. Filed under News, Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
