Safety Beach Sailing Club NEWS 16th September 2026
Working Bee
With the season opening only 3.5 weeks away, it's time to spruce up the yard. Please read the list of jobs below that require assistance. There are a few other tasks to undertake, which are not on the list, like pressure washing the kiosk area, cleaning training room windows, and general weeding, etc. Pack your gloves and can-do attitude and we'll see you on the 27th to discuss how good or bad the Grand Final was!!
Notice Of Race 2026 - 27 Sailing Season
Thanks, Geoff Eldridge, for putting the NOR together, please Click here for notice
Learn To Sail
Please click this link to register Junior Sail Training Oct - Dec 2026 - Safety Beach Sailing Club - revolutioniseSPORT
Keelboat News
The Inaugural Navigational Challenge - Sunday 13th September
The forecast promised a perfect racing day for the inaugural 2026 SBSC Navigational Challenge: a consistent northerly, gusting into the high twenties. Who wanted to give that a miss? Well, turned out Assassin, Happy Days and Shimmer did.
The Start
Apart from those three, seven boats turned up to the start line. But where was the wind? A gentle puff from the SW, that’s all we got. So much about the BOM being a reliable source of weather prediction. Just the night before we had a wind warning for Port Phillip! 11:11 got optimistic in anticipation of the forecasted northerly and hoisted their spinnaker. Someone should have told the skipper that the big sail may help in light winds, but not from the close-hauled quarter. Rookie mistake! Here goes the start gun, down goes the spinnaker. Then the start…it was sloooooow. Boats drifted across the line, 11:11 managed to cross it 12 minutes into the race. And then…there comes the northerly, maybe 1 knot? Up goes the spinnaker again and the acceleration is exhilarating – from 0.3 knots to 1.5 knots boat speed in 100 seconds. Strap in folks!
The Race
Skippers had the choice to sail the course clockwise or counterclockwise. The decision was between going with the tide or with the wind into the West Channel. You can’t have both. Whether it was group thinking, follow the leader or navigational skill, all boats opted for the route that went against the tide but with the wind. But first, we had to round the yellow pile. As soon as we did, the wind picked up considerably. Perception and 11:11 went north of the mussel farm, the rest of the fleet took the southerly route. From here on, it was all about hull speed to the West Channel, wind almost on the beam, a steady 12, 13, 14 knots and building.
Patriot quickly took the lead with Balance on her heels. Ninjo, Perception and Marrakesh playing midfield. 11:11 and Summer Breeze making up the rear guard.
Once we turned south into West Channel, things settled a bit. Boats got their spinnaker up (nope, 11:11 had enough practice for the day and left theirs in the bag) or opted for a wing-on-wing config. The incoming tide was starting to really slow down the tail end of the fleet. And then it got juicy. Summer Breeze thought of an optical illusion when they saw 11:11 crossing the shipping channel on a perpendicular line south but pointing at a 45degree angle towards Point Lonsdale Lighthouse. The tide was pushing into the Bay with all its might and sure enough, a moment later Summer Breeze faced the same challenge. Not a great feeling when the boat does not want to go where the skipper wants her to go.
Once across the shipping channel, boats did a left turn towards Sorrento Channel and …Yiiieehaah …the tide had momentum. 11:11 and Summer Breeze clocked more than 9 knots consistently and even the Queenscliff – Sorrento ferry struggled to keep up with us! We were flying!
Closer to home, the leaders had the wind on their nose now and had to tack their way from Blairgowrie to Safety Beach. Some extra mileage free of charge.
The Finish
Whilst Summer Breeze and 11:11 were cruising across Capel Sound, Patriot crossed the finish line first after 5 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds closely followed by Balance five minutes or so later. But was it enough for overall victory? Turns out, it wasn’t. The wind had shifted again giving an advantage to the rear guard who were now flying home on same tack right through to the finish after almost six and a half hours of racing. That put Summer Breeze first on PHS handicap followed by 11:11 and Balance. Perception won on AMS and ORC. Line honors go to Patriot.
Shout-out
I am sure all skippers and crew agreed that this is the type of sailing that we all live for. A massive shoutout to Lynlee and Greg Coutts as well as Terry Jones for manning the SBSC Tower for an entire Sunday and for keeping us safe on the water. The day would not have been possible without you. Thank you!
Hope to see you all again next year at this event. Until then…
Hold fast,
Till
Keelboats Summer Season 2026-27
The Keelboat Program and Roster (Part 1) has now been published on the club website - View HERE. Please have a good read through and if you are unable to do your rostered duty, please send a note to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ASAP.
Entries are now open for the Summer Season - Click HERE
As usual we will have the same compliance requirements being a current insurance certificate, Cat 5 Safety Declaration and a MOB declaration. These can be completed a little closer to the start of the season but they do need to be submitted.
If you would like to compete in a measurement category (i.e. AMS or ORC) please make sure your measurement certificates are updated and a copy sent to the keelboat email address for our records.
News from the Tropics
Rick and the crew on L’espirit are currently leaving the Northern Yasawa group of islands and heading to Musket Cove regatta.
On another note I thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone wants to come to Bay of Islands NZ with us.
We are leaving Fiji around the 20th of Oct.
We currently have four very experienced ocean sailors who have done 10s of thousands of ocean miles doing this leg but another person would not hurt even if you have not done heaps of miles but some under the belt would be preferable so you get the most out of the trip .
As I said the core group of crew are again doing the delivery with me so we are good to go but if someone from the SBSC community would get something out of it ,reach out
Cheers
Rick
Weighing Day
Sandringham Yacht Club will be conducting a weighing day on Sunday, 20th September 2026, from 9 am for boats that wish to obtain or update their measurement ratings certificates - AMS, ORC and IRC. In keeping with our usual practice, this day will be conducted by volunteers for the benefit of boat owners on Port Phillip.
The cost of the weighing will be $475 per boat.
We weigh all boats in their "empty" configuration, which means the IRC and ORC weights are provided. The AMS weight is the empty weight plus the weight of the AMS permitted gear, which is weighed separately in a basket on the club crane.
The cost of the weighing will be $475 per boat.
We weigh all boats in their "empty" configuration, which means the IRC and ORC weights are provided. The AMS weight is the empty weight plus the weight of the AMS permitted gear, which is weighed separately in a basket on the club crane.
Please call Lowa on 0408 400 278 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any queries or would like to make a booking.
ORCV News
This Saturday we have Race of the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Series. The race starts at Queenscliff at 7.20am with the course length approx. 15-25NM.
This year we have Till and his crew on 11-11 representing SBSC so we wish them the best of luck for the race
Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster
Entries are now open for the 2026 Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster, a blue-water ocean classic with more than 50 years of history and the highest-ranking race in the ORCV Offshore Championship. The 435NM course takes the fleet across Bass Strait, south along Tasmania's rugged and remote West Coast — a true test of strategy and seamanship for full crew, 4+ autohelm, and double handed boats alike. Join the legacy of more than 900 yachts and 7,000 crew members who've made this passage. Click here for more details and to enter the race.
Sail GP
Don’t miss out!
The 2027 Australia Sail Grand Prix | Perth is returning to Fremantle on 20-21 February 2027.
Tickets for this event are selling fast with only a limited number of VELA Beach Club and Waterfront Grandstand tickets remaining.
If you're planning a Perth getaway around the event, now's the time to secure your tickets.
For more information on ticket inclusions, pricing and to purchase tickets, see the SailGP website: tickets.sailgp.com/perth/
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