Latest News

Safety Beach Sailing Club eNEWS 4th November 2026

Committee News

Here is the list of our current Executive Committee and thank you to Simon Dryden for accepting the role as Treasurer, officially taking over from Duncan McColl. The club is still without a Rear Commodore and would like to thank John Nicholas and Ewan Campbell for taking up the slack, whilst we fill the vacant position.

Commodore	John Wemyss
Vice Commodore	Ross Martin
Rear Commodore	VACANT
Secretary	Amanda Malin
Treasurer	Simon Dryden
Memberships	Linda Wooley
General	James Anderson
	Jon Embrey
	Grace Lazzar
	Fiona Lowe
	Neil Whitaker

Sail Pass – A Reminder of Our Safety and Insurance Obligations

The Committee would like to remind all members of our obligations regarding the safety and insurance of ALL persons on the water.

It is crucial that members ensure a Sail Pass is completed for every NON-MEMBER sailing from Safety Beach Sailing Club, regardless of whether they are participating in racing or recreational sailing, regardless of whether they are a member at another club.

Keelboat Skippers: Please ensure this process is followed for every crew member who is not a paid sailing member of Safety Beach Sailing Club. This requirement applies even if your crew members hold membership with another sailing club.

If they are not a PAID SAILING MEMBER of Safety Beach Sailing Club, they must have a Sail Pass completed.

This is an Australian Sailing requirement and is essential for our club's compliance, safety and insurance obligations.

There are no exceptions to this requirement. It is not negotiable. Sail Pass can be found on this link: Registration - Safety Beach Sailing Club - revolutioniseSPORT

Volunteer Reimbursements – A Simpler Process

The Club truly values the time and effort our volunteers contribute, and we understand that purchases are sometimes made out of pocket on behalf of the Club. We also appreciate that these expenses need to be reimbursed promptly.

To make this process easier and more efficient, our Treasurer, Simon Dryden, has set up a dedicated WhatsApp group for volunteer reimbursements. Link to join here: WhatsApp Group Invite

The process is simple:

Take a photo of your receipt at the time of purchase.
Upload the photo directly to the WhatsApp reimbursement group.
Simon will arrange for the funds to be transferred into your nominated bank account.

The WhatsApp group will be locked, with permission required to join, ensuring it is used exclusively for its intended purpose.

Once your reimbursement has been processed, you are welcome to leave the group.

We hope this makes claiming out-of-pocket expenses a little easier for our volunteers and helps streamline the reimbursement process.

Thank you again to all our volunteers for everything you do for the Club!

Membership Fobs – Collection and Postage

The process of distributing our new membership fobs at the Club is working well, and we thank everyone who has already collected theirs.

If you are yet to collect your fob, there are a few opportunities coming up:

Thursday and Friday: Ross Martin will be at the Club between 4.30pm and 5.30pm to distribute fobs to paid members.
Sunday: Fiona will be available throughout the day to hand out fobs.

If you would prefer to have your fob posted, simply email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and Linda will arrange postage of your fob/s.

A reminder that additional fobs can be purchased for $10 each.

Thank you for your cooperation as we roll out our new electronic access system.

Any issues with fobs, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Club Boats

Did you know you Can Borrow a Club Boat!

Our Club is fortunate to have a great selection of training dinghies available for members to use each week, and we love seeing them put to good use!

With the growth of our Junior Sailing Program, we've also seen an increase in interest from members wanting to borrow our club training boats, which is fantastic.

Our loan boats are free to use on club days, provided a patrol boat is on the water. Whether you'd simply like to have a play around on the water or get involved in the afternoon racing, our boats are there to be enjoyed!

If you'd like to borrow one of our boats, please make sure you communicate your intentions in the clubs WhatsApp OTB Chat. Once you have been given permission from Fiona Lowe or Ewan Campbell, please complete the Club Boat Loan Register before heading out. There are copies hanging in the corridor to the changerooms. Fiona Lowe can help you with all loan needs.

We understand that things can occasionally get broken or damaged during training or general use. The loan register is an important part of keeping track of each boat and its equipment, allowing us to identify any missing or damaged parts and arrange repairs before the following week's sailing.

Please help us look after our club boats so they remain available for everyone to enjoy. Here is the link to access the online form: Loan Boat Registry

Sail Peninsula

Great news, the club will be hosting another Sail Peninsula. A sub-committee is in place and working hard to make this event a more accessible with a relaxed format and reduced entry fee. The event will be held on Feb 19-21, 2027. More details to come.

Off The Beach News

Howdy Gang,

well at least it wasn't raining!

That said, we did manage to get one full race in before the water glassed out completely. RO Mark L, ably assisted by Rob F on Start ( Super Di was taking a well earned break) with Simon H and new member Gavin Fahey ( yet to get his Sabre wet ) in Woodsy and Christina C and A Class Anthony AKA Taipan Tony in Sutherland set a ripper course in very difficult conditions. Owing to the fading and shifting breeze ( I'm not going to call it wind!) we had to head out a looong way to find anything sailable. But find it they did and off we went. I left the beach late and was sure I wasn't going to make the start,but did by the skin of my teeth. Not so lucky was a certain Impulse that got caught in dead air on the wrong side of the line and had to fight the oncoming traffic to dip the start line. It made me feel a bit better anyway.

17 boats made the start, well, 16 then the Impulse, and it was hard to tell which side was favoured. A big swing just after the start made the top mark almost a single beat on the starboard tack but it was so obvious that it wasn't an advantage to anyone. The three big cats were all evenly matched in the light air, as were the two Tasars and Paul F in his Cherub( how many boats does that man sail?). The two Impulses of Tim B and Bill M were initially far apart, but after the worst start in recent history, one of them scrambled back to be not that far behind, nice work. Div 2 consisted of seven Sabres, a Quest and a Pacer, and the spinnakers made a big difference in the light breeze. I managed to get around the first lap in first place of the Sabres only to fall behind light air specialist Di J and Rick P in lap two. I tried sneaking around him and block his wind but he was too cunning for that and foiled me on every attempt. Eventually we called a truce rather than buggering each other up and letting James T past us as he was hovering not far behind.

No Windrush's this week as they were all on the race crew. Come to think of it, now that Tony has ditched the A Class for Rob F's old Windrush we will need a new name for him. I think a competition is in order with entries submitted to the Enews. And nobody suggests 'Windrush Wally' please!

Of exceptional note this week is new member and complete novice sailor, Vince Politino, who after only a couple of lessons, managed to get his Sabre out to the line and right round the course without mishap. He even made it back to shore safely, being towed back with the rest of us after the breeze died out completely. The tow of shame, another first for him!

Back on shore after racing was rightly abandoned following race one all was packed away and boats stored in their rightful places. Places that are nicely marked out compliments of Fiona L and her hard work with the pavers. Perhaps if your spot's paver hasn't been set in place yet, you could maybe do it yourself, the tools are in the spar locker. Fi said Paul M came along as she was doing it and offered his assistance. Paul also helped me rigging the new mark anchor ropes and is always calling past the yard tying unsecured boats down and righting the ones that blow over, yes it does happen, a lot. There is a new chain being fitted to the beach side storage area so there is no excuse to not secure your boat, otherwise I hope you have good insurance to cover the damage to other boats apart from your own.

See you all next week on the water for round 4 of the Red Dolphin series with RO Ross M again setting the course. I'm not going to attempt to mention the rest of the crew as Ewan's WhatsApp group OTB Chat has the changes happening thick and fast. This is working really well so if you haven't already joined, do so ASAP as that is where it all happens re: the roster.

Cheers for now, Pete Chippy

Vince and his L Plate

OTB Roster can be found here: OTB Roster

Off The Beach course diagrams please follow this link. OTB Course Diagrams 2026-2027

Junior Sailing Program

After having the long weekend off, we look forward to nice wind as we plan to hit the water again on Sunday. The forecast is looking great, so we will see you on the beach.

Keelboat News

The female helm race was a success. Thirteen keelboats out there driven by the X chromosome. I know some people will disagree, but surely three Margaret Hollamby races for our Twilights adds a little variety to end-of-week sailing, notwithstanding the perception that the club should encourage female sailing. We know that women are more intelligent than men but still face societal challenges.

Racing was close, with 10 minutes from first to last over the finish line. Till reported “the BIG smile on my daughter Kira’s face when she sailed across the finish line”. Christina Chandler, helming Ninjo, crept up behind Kira but couldn’t catch her, so crossed the line in 3rd. But the glory goes to Marissa McManus on Etoile, putting a smile on her crew’s faces. Two more Heats to go. The race was notable for two things – the almost doubling of last year’s numbers and the enthusiastic attendance at the prize-giving afterwards.

After the race I heard a comment that it was a Soldiers’ Course. Unfortunately, it was, which became dismayingly evident early on the way out to SB1. My intention was to set a duration that was safe in the context of wind speed and sunset and included an upwind leg. The BOM had predicted 10 knots NNE, gusts 15. Within these constraints Couse 15 should have given a beat from SB1 to R1 with tacking angles between about 35 degrees west of the rhum line and 55 degrees east. However, it was not to be. The wind was stronger than predicted and consequently closer to SSE than NNE.

The weather plays games in our sport. The reverse course, Course 14, would have been even more fun.

Congratulations to Steve Twentyman and crew on Shimmer for their third place on AMS in the Rudder Cup (Melbourne to Devonport) behind Kraken Sails Toecutter and Arcadia. See the race report on https://www.orcv.org.au/devonport/devonport-news/5895-2026m2d-line-honours-advantedge,

Simon Dryden on Faster Forward gives an interesting account of the impossibly fickle conditions at the start, ie. no wind and circles. I can’t see the full results but I believe there is a protest hearing pending.

So far, we have seven entries for the Blairgowrie Race. Looking at the entries today Wednesday it looks to be a very competitive affair. It’s not too late to enter via the SBSC website. 2026 Blairgowrie Passage Race - SailSys entries close 5pm Saturday.

Margaret Hollamby Female Helm Race 1 (30/10/26) photos taken onboard Balance M333 skippered by Zoe Heffernan - Thanks Lori for the photo.

This week’s racing:

Friday 6th November

Race 4 of the Friday Twilight Pursuit Series.

Tower start	17:30
Race Officer	Simon Dryden
Duty Boat	Y Knot
Setup/results:	Elaine

Sunday 8th November 2026

LONG DISTANCE RACE – THE BLAIRGOWRIE RACE

Tower start	09.55
Race Officer	Elaine
Duty Boat	La Tardis
Setup/results:

ORCV News

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprints

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Race 2 runs on Saturday 5 December. The Sprints are short coastal races conducted in daylight hours and are now classified as Category 4 races with some additional ORCV requirements. The new classification will reduce the cost barrier for those embarking on offshore sailing for the first time. These races are a perfect crew development pathway toward ocean races like the Rudder Cup and Westcoaster, or a great stand-alone coastal race, and you'll be home Saturday evening. Click here to enter.

Cock of the Bay

Entries are open for Cock of the Bay, ORCV's iconic Boxing Day race on Port Phillip. Starting near Station Pier and running roughly 21nm past Port Melbourne, St Kilda Pier, Brighton Pier, Sandringham and Hampton, it's the perfect way to blow off the Christmas excess. With over 100 yachts on the water in past years, it's shaping up to be another huge fleet. It's also a well-worn stepping stone toward the Melbourne to Hobart for those looking further ahead. Click here to enter.

Melbourne to Hobart ‘Westcoaster’

Entries are still 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 to enter.

Working With Children's Check

Changes to the Working with Children Check are coming into effect from 19th October 2026.

The driver for these changes is the State Govt’s Rapid Review set up after last year’s revelations of pedophiles working in the childcare sector.

SBSC as an organization does not have a choice here, and the Executive Committee urge the following:

If have a valid WWC then no action required.
If your WWC expires inside 6 months, or less than 3 months ago, then strongly recommend doing the renewal before Monday. You will need a Services Victoria account to do this. Its free and pretty easy.
If no WWC then you can try and apply for one before Monday under the old rules and see how you go. Having said that, getting one after Monday is still not too onerous, involves ~45mins online self-paced training.

After Monday 19th, any renewal or new application will require you to do the 45min training.

To find out more, please read the information attached: Click HERE

Photo Of The Week

A clean sweep at Sail Country Regatta last weekend, with our Saftey Beach sailors cleaning up in their Flying Dutchman's

1st place - FD lan McCrossin Inland Cup - Raf Heale and Nick Meijer (SBSC), (Westernport Yacht Club)

2nd place - FD lan McCrossin Inland Cup - Garry Cameron, Darren Hocking (CCSC)

3rd place - FD lan McCrossin Inland Cup - Matt Draper, Parker Draper (SBSC), lan Howsam (AWSC)

Submissions

If you wish to contribute anything to the Enews, please submit your content to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Tuesday 8pm each week to make the deadline. Please note submissions may need to pass through Executive Committee for approval from time to time. Love photography? Submit your Photo of the Week to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in high res, (and it does not have to be about sailing). Follow us on our socials: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Spotted a mistake or omission from the newsletter.......please let Fiona know as soon as possible to rectify immediately!

Latest News

Safety Beach Sailing Club eNEWS 28th October 2026

Off The Beach News

Hey there gang,

here we go again for another few laps around the cans.

After one of the best opening day sails for quite a while, it was followed by another beaut day, albeit with bugger all wind. Then, THEN, we got last week! I couldn’t believe that the BOM actually got it right so far out. All week I reckoned that the good weather would hold in there, but alas that predicted rain showed up right on cue. The junior training moved to indoors but that wasn’t an option for the afternoon session. After a WhatsApp poll came back with enough silly buggers that were prepared to sail, the race crew of RO Dave B, Super D and Ella M on start, backed up by Stu S, Jayden F, Greg L and James E eagerly made their way out out to lay a course.

Nine boats rigged up and headed out into the rain and a surprisingly nice breeze. Joe V didn’t make it very far for his first sail of the season when a wayward shackle brought his mast down a few hundred metres off shore. Funnily enough, there were about ten Coast Guard/ Marine Rescue boats milling around for their anniversary sail past and not one of them showed him the slightest attention so it was left to Greg and James to tow him back home. No damage and he was back out for race two.

Race one was heaps of fun, a single start for everyone with just 8 boats. Yes it was raining, but it wasn’t too cold and hey, you get wet anyway so no biggy. The wind held at about 10-12 knots, comfortable and enough to get Ewan and Nick hammering in their B14. The rest of us, Sabres, Tasars, Impulse, Quest and Luke M in his newly acquired A Class cat all got around with no mishaps. With the Sabres only doing two laps, we were finished first and the wait around was dang cold I must say. The wait wasn’t too long though and RO Dave got us up and going in quick time. The rain had stopped by then and Joe had rejoined the fray so that made 4 Sabres and none of us could catch James T, he was even ahead of Bill M’s Impulse for a lot of the race. Glen L had Grace L as his gun crew so they were out front in Div 2 while all the other boats had their respective Divisions to themselves, go figure.

Race two done, up went the ‘Day’s over folks’ flag. What? No race 3? No complaints from anyone, especially the RHIB crews. Back to the beach and everyone pitched in, the boats were back up in the yard in a flash, a quick wash down and de-rig and up to the bar to polish off the leftovers from the Coast Guard soirée. Thanks guys, you might not have rescued Joe, but the food was appreciated!

That’s about it for this week, don’t forget to join the OTB WhatsApp group for all the latest news and roster info from OTB Captain Ewan Campbell. See you all this Sunday (yes, we are racing this long weekend) and the weather will be perfect!!!

Cheers, Pete Chippy

OTB Roster can be found here: OTB Roster

Off The Beach course diagrams please follow this link. OTB Course Diagrams 2026-2027

Junior Sailing Program

Sunday’s junior training session was an indoor affair, with heavy rain and strong winds predicted. But a little bad weather wasn’t going to dampen anyone’s spirits!

Most of the group showed up, all wearing big smiles and ready to learn. 😊 After welcoming Nick back and kicking things off with a name game, we split into two groups for a morning packed with learning, challenges and plenty of laughs.

🔹 James’ Group – Knot Tying

James’ group got stuck into knot tying, starting with a review of the different parts of a boat before moving to the tables for some hands-on practice. Juniors and parents worked together, helping each other out and occasionally getting a little confused along the way!

We finished with a knot-tying race, and it was fantastic to see everyone growing in confidence. Remember, everyone… practice, practice, practice!

🔹 Nick’s Group – Goals & Challenges

Nick’s group started by setting goals for the term, with plenty of great ideas shared to help keep us focused and on track with our training.

Things then got physical with our hiking bench, wall-sitting and planking challenges. There was plenty of friendly competition as everyone put their strength and endurance to the test!

🔹 Tug of War – Indoor Style!

We finished the morning with an indoor version of everyone’s favourite game: Tug of War! With randomly selected teams, we battled it out in a best-of-three showdown, followed by the ultimate face-off… kids versus parents, and then mums versus dads!

There were smiles all round, and thankfully, no one needed to get wet to have a great morning! 😂

A huge thank you to our volunteer instructors and parents for making the most of an indoor session.

We’re looking forward to getting back on the water in two weeks’ time. Until then, keep practising those knots and cross your fingers for sunshine and good sailing weather! 🤞☀️

Working With Children's Check

Changes to the Working with Children Check are coming into effect from 19th October 2026.

The driver for these changes is the State Govt’s Rapid Review set up after last year’s revelations of pedophiles working in the childcare sector.

SBSC as an organization does not have a choice here, and the Executive Committee urge the following:

If have a valid WWC then no action required.
If your WWC expires inside 6 months, or less than 3 months ago, then strongly recommend doing the renewal before Monday. You will need a Services Victoria account to do this. Its free and pretty easy.
If no WWC then you can try and apply for one before Monday under the old rules and see how you go. Having said that, getting one after Monday is still not too onerous, involves ~45mins online self-paced training.

After Monday 19th, any renewal or new application will require you to do the 45min training.

To find out more, please read the information attached: Click HERE

Keelboat News

Having spent the past days working on a grant application for my company, I arrived at this morning not being able to remember what I did last Friday evening. Then I remembered – NOT SAILING. I understand the weather was vile, but nonetheless 12 yachts ventured forth from the Tower start line.

Till and his crew seem to be on a mission to bugger up their handicap but so are Paul Copeland and crew on Happy Days, who came second and leads the series by half a point from 11:11 (the half point came from their dead heat for 2nd with Etoile the previous Friday). Third home was Summer Breeze. So big thanks to Lynlee and her Tower crew for a job well done.

As you know, the weather didn’t improve. I slept badly on Saturday night worrying whether our Tower crew for Sunday were aware they were rostered. The system seems to have broken down since Jann Wilson left town, so I’m going to get on the phone mid-week to remind people who haven’t read the roster. I was right. I rang Simon Dryden at breakfast time. He wasn’t aware but said ‘sure, I’ll be there’. Simon is a very experienced yachtie and knows how to work SailSys; he and Mel Kelly looked out through the Tower windows to see wind-driven rain beating on the glass, a strong wind warning southerly with driving rain and Patriot and Shimmer on the water ready to race. So it was on.

Then Little Ninjo emerged hesitantly from the canal. They thought perhaps they could start then retire but forgot the plan. Three yachts made a perfect start. At the Yellow Pile, led by Patriot, Ninjo had to slow down and duck behind Shimmer. We just weren’t going to make buoy room on them. The first leg was a reach to SB1, spinnakers out, then we headed south into a strong but wonderful southerly – a strong but WET southerly. Ninjo had the disadvantage of tiller steering so the helm was unable to avoid the gallons of water that streamed down the main, flowed aft along the boom, and onto his head.

Spinnakers up for the run home, although Ninjo struggled for a time to free a wineglass in her gennaker. The wind dropped out on all of us at the Yellow Pile. Patriot won on corrected time on PHS handicap with Shimmer second and Ninjo 28 seconds behind in 3rd. The positions were the same under AMS and ORC (except Ninjo isn’t sailing under ORC).

So thanks to Simon and Mel. We had a ball!

This week’s racing:

Friday 30th October

Race 1 of the Margaret Hollamby Female Helm Series.

Tower start	17:30
Race Officer	Elaine
Duty Boat	Unprecedented
Setup/results:	Amanda

Sunday 1st November 2026

NO RACING. SOMETHING TO DO WITH A HORSE RACE.

FOR THOSE SAILING UP FOR THE RACE – HAVE FUN!

Fobs

Thank you to all members that have collected your new fobs on Sunday,

For those who have not collected theirs yet, please come upstairs on Sunday afternoon and a fob / ID number will be assigned to you.

For those not able to be at the club on Sunday, fobs will be posted out.

Their purpose is simply to help identify you as a member, i.e. entitled to the food and beverage discount. There are 2 readers, one at each cash register.

The next few months will be a transition period as the system is bedded in and so any feedback is welcome and encouraged.

Any issues with Fobs, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

Got a kayak or SUP gathering dust? Keen to get out on the water more often, but looking for some paddling buddies?

Let’s get together and make a splash! Whether you want to explore a little further afield, build your confidence on the water, or simply enjoy the reassurance of paddling with others, it’s more fun to paddle together.

No need to be a pro — just bring your kayak or board, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to get out there!

Join our SBSC WhatsApp paddling group: WhatsApp Group Invite, or get in touch with Christina to join the fun.

📧 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
📱 0414 734 378

ORCV News

Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’

Entries are still open for the 2026 Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’—Australia's oldest ocean race and the first race of the newly launched Bass Strait Cup. Starting off Queenscliff on Friday 30 October, the fleet will race 195nm across Bass Strait to Devonport, where the Mersey Yacht Club will be on hand to welcome competitors. It's also a qualifying event for the Westcoaster, making it a natural first step for any crew with Melbourne to Hobart in their sights. Click here to enter.

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprints

Cock of the Bay

Melbourne to Hobart ‘Westcoaster’

Submissions

Latest News

Safety Beach Sailing Club eNEWS 21st October 2026

Off The Beach News

Thanks, Geoff Eldridge, for putting the NOR together, please Click here for notice

Off The Beach course diagrams please follow this link. OTB Course Diagrams 2026-2027

Newly designed Course No.1 will be the default course. Please check out the courses here and maybe even print and laminate your division course for your boat deck! https://sbsc.net.au/index.php/on-water/off-the-beach/off-the-beach-course-diagrams

Happy Birthday Coastguard

Junior Sailing Program Kicked Off Last Sunday

What a day!

Sunday marked the start of our first Junior Sailing Program for the 2026–27 season, and what a fantastic start it was!

We welcomed 9 new families and 15 junior sailors who have never sailed before or have had very little experience on the water. With 35 juniors registered for the program, an incredible 31 kids arrived this morning ready to get started!

As these young sailors begin their sailing journeys, we look forward to watching their confidence grow, their skills develop and new friendships form along the way.

A huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteer instructors who gave up their Sunday morning to help get the program underway. You certainly had your hands full with such a big group, but you handled it with ease!

Here’s to a fantastic season of learning, laughter, friendships and plenty of sailing adventures ahead!

The program is not full and can only take expressions of interest for your second program early next year. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested.

See you next week.

Fiona

Working With Children's Check

Changes to the Working with Children Check are coming into effect from 19th October 2026.

The driver for these changes is the State Govt’s Rapid Review set up after last year’s revelations of pedophiles working in the childcare sector.

SBSC as an organization does not have a choice here, and the Executive Committee urge the following:

If have a valid WWC then no action required.
If your WWC expires inside 6 months, or less than 3 months ago, then strongly recommend doing the renewal before Monday. You will need a Services Victoria account to do this. Its free and pretty easy.
If no WWC then you can try and apply for one before Monday under the old rules and see how you go. Having said that, getting one after Monday is still not too onerous, involves ~45mins online self-paced training.

After Monday 19th, any renewal or new application will require you to do the 45min training.

To find out more, please read the information attached: Click HERE

Keelboat News

There are two occurrences hat dominated last week’s racing – a collision and an Abandonment. I will say no more about the collision. It could happen to any of us and it is under protest. The abandonment resulted from lack of wind for Sunday’s Club Championship Race.

Many thanks to Elaine and her team for the Friday pursuit and Amanda and Ewen for Sunday.

Friday featured a change from Course 8 to Course 1. The worry was, as usual, wind (and the Pier mark). With the sunsets still a bit early it was a wise choice and gave us plenty of time to get back to the Club. But the wind stayed in and it was a fun way to get over the cares and woes of the working (or retiring) week. The victor was Till on 11:11, with Etoile and Happy Days a DEAD HEAT for equal 2nd. Expensive, as the Club had to fork out another engraved prize glass.

After Sunday’s race Camo opined that we may not have any course that the fleet could have completed in time. The race was a boat start then down to SB2 and back with the Mussel Farm as a mark there and back. It was a northerly with a run down to SB2. For us on Ninjo it was a case of déjà vu. While Patriot and Shimmer used their sail area, boat length (and of course skill) to get them to SB2 before us little boats, Perception and Ninjo arrived at the mark at exactly the same time. As windward boat we decided it wise to let Perception through then followed, ghosting windward with Perception not far ahead. Neither of us was going to retire. I guess we were hoping Patriot would finish on time.

But it was not to be. Camo and I had a discussion afterwards in close proximity to the bar. We thought it was OK that the race was abandoned because we would like the Championship races to be contested in fair winds. We enjoyed a grand day out trying to make our boat go as fast as possible in the conditions.

This week’s racing:

Friday 23rd October

Race 3 of the Twilight Pursuit Series - PHS and AMS

Tower start	17:30
Race Officer	Lynlee
Duty Boat	Bombay Sapphire

Sunday 25th October 2026

Sunday Summer Series Race 1 – PHS, AMS & ORC

Boat start	09.55
Race Officer	Simon Dryden
Duty Boat	Mel Kelly (Rawhide)
Setup/results:	tbc

NOTE: If anyone can provide a person to drive or man a rescue boat on Sunday please ring Rear Commodore Ross on 0467 000 442 or Geoff Eldridge on 0419 004 975.

Fobs

Thank you to all members that have collected your new fobs on Sunday,

For those who have not collected theirs yet, please come upstairs on Sunday afternoon and a fob / ID number will be assigned to you.

For those not able to be at the club on Sunday, fobs will be posted out.

Their purpose is simply to help identify you as a member, i.e. entitled to the food and beverage discount. There are 2 readers, one at each cash register.

The next few months will be a transition period as the system is bedded in and so any feedback is welcome and encouraged.

Yard Storage

The recent yard works have almost finished and all members who have been approved yard storage for the summer have been contacted already with allotment numbers. If you have not summitted a yard storage request, please do so by using the form on our website, Yard Storage Application

Just a reminder that you ARE REQURIED to submit a for each season. The revenue from yard storage is important for the ongoing costs of maintaining duty boats etc for the season.

Following a review of all SUPB’s and Kayaks stored at the SBSC yard, the images below indicate there are 19 SUPB’s and kayaks in the racks under the stairs at SBSC. There are only 5 SUPB/kayaks in the images below that have applied for summer storage.

If you are the owner of one of the other 14 craft in the racks, yard storage applications must be received by COB 23rd October. Link here Yard Storage Application. Please email your application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you cannot print a form, there will be some forms at the club for you to grab over the weekend.

Craft that do not have an application received by this date will be moved from the racks to the driveway for people to come and collect them.

Note we have a large number of people wanting to store kayaks/SUPB’s at the club and these will take percent if existing users do not apply for storage.

The constitution and By-Laws relating to storage in the yard are as follows:

SBSC Yard Storage – Constitution and By-Laws

Keelboat Cruisers Corner

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

Got a kayak or SUP gathering dust? Keen to get out on the water more often, but looking for some paddling buddies?

No need to be a pro — just bring your kayak or board, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to get out there!

Join our SBSC WhatsApp paddling group: WhatsApp Group Invite, or get in touch with Christina to join the fun.

📧 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
📱 0414 734 378

ORCV News

Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprints

Cock of the Bay

Melbourne to Hobart ‘Westcoaster’

Photo of the Week

Nick Meijer having a blast t Sail Sandy with Jess Lowe

Submissions

Latest News

Safety Beach Sailing Club eNEWS 14th October 2026

Season Opening 2026 - 2027

Happy new season everyone,

And what a way to kick it off. Blue skies, gentle breeze, and back amongst friends.
The day started with the traditional sail past with lots of cheers for 1st season Commodore John
Wemyss. Also on board was past Commodore Gary and Barbara Morland, last season’s junior
club person of the year Ella Murphy, Royal Brighton Commodore Cath Hurley, Secretary Amanda Malin,
Vice Commodore Ross & Fiona Martin, & Luke Martin.

Many thanks to Mark & Gwen McAuliffe for their wonderful hospitality and making their beautiful
yacht Seclusion available.

The view from Seclusion of the fleet mingling around the start line was spectacular. And yes,
there were moments of jealousy. OTB racing was kept close to shore with all boats making it to
shore before the breeze completely faded. The keel boats headed out to R1 and back, and from
the shore, looked like they enjoyed a variety of conditions.

Formal proceedings kicked off around 2 ish with the talented Ross Mahon playing in the
background as approximately 100 members and guests started arriving. MC, Ross Martin invited
John W up to say a few words, thankfully he stayed true to his word and only spoke a few words.
Unlike some in the past who shall remain nameless. Following John was Anthony Marsh State
MP of Nepean who spoke glowingly about SBSC and our local community. Thankfully no
politics.

The season was officially opened by past Commodore and life member Gary Morland, who also
gave a brief history of SBSC opening as a community centre and new home of Safety Beach
Coast Guard, which was timely, as the Coast Guard are celebrating 50 years next weekend. The
opening was accompanied by a boom from Peter Chipperfields gun powdered canon.
Something that has turned into a tradition is the opening of the concertina doors revealing the
spread of food put together by David. Again, we were not left disappointed with a colourful
display of various culinary delights. A photo of which appeared on Anthony Marsh’s facebook
page.

Great job David and the team from Snooks Catering.

Before I finish up, I’d like to thank Lorraine Hook and Neil Whitaker for the hours they spent
shovelling soil, spreading mulch and planting out the newly formed garden beds. Something we
will can all enjoy soon. 🌱

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend.

Ross Martin VC

A few photos of Season Opening, more can be found on the club Facebook Click here

Off The Beach News

Thanks, Geoff Eldridge, for putting the NOR together, please Click here for notice

Off The Beach course diagrams please follow this link. OTB Course Diagrams 2026-2027

Junior Sailing Program Kicks Off This Week

Our Junior Sailing Program kicks off this Sunday, and with 27 juniors on the list, including 8 brand-new faces, it’s shaping up to be a huge morning!

Please help us make our new families feel welcome, and give our returning juniors a big high-five for coming back for another season. It’s fantastic to see so many kids keen to get out on the water!

We have a few instructors away for the first week, so it’s been wonderful to see some of our members put their hands up to help James and I get the program underway for week one.

A big thank you to Pete Chippa, Neil Whitaker, Greg Lowe, Ewan Campbell and Matt Draper for offering your time and support, this Sunday and into the future if needed. We really appreciate you jumping in to help. If you see us looking a little stretched on Sunday morning, please feel free to lend a hand!

A special thank you also goes to Grace Lazzar, who completed an audit of our training boats during the working bee. This resulted in Lynlee Coutts taking a few centreboards home for Greg to give them a little TLC. It’s these behind-the-scenes contributions that help keep our boats in good shape and our program running smoothly.

I’m continually amazed by how supportive our club members are of the Junior Sailing Program. Whether it’s lending a hand, fixing equipment or simply making our families feel welcome, your generosity and willingness to help make such a difference.

Thank you all for getting behind the program. I’m genuinely humbled by the support, and Nick, James and I are looking forward to another fantastic season with our junior sailors! ⛵

Fiona

Working With Children's Check

Changes to the Working with Children Check are coming into effect from 19th October 2026.

The driver for these changes is the State Govt’s Rapid Review set up after last year’s revelations of pedophiles working in the childcare sector.

SBSC as an organization does not have a choice here, and the Executive Committee urge the following:

If have a valid WWC then no action required.
If your WWC expires inside 6 months, or less than 3 months ago, then strongly recommend doing the renewal before Monday. You will need a Services Victoria account to do this. Its free and pretty easy.
If no WWC then you can try and apply for one before Monday under the old rules and see how you go. Having said that, getting one after Monday is still not too onerous, involves ~45mins online self-paced training.

After Monday, any renewal or new application will require you to do the 45min training.

To find out more, please read the information attached: Click HERE

Keelboat News

Sadly, Little Ninjo didn’t make it to the start line for Tony’s Trophy race. Fortunately, 15 boats did. I had sailed with Tony a few times on Rogue and I hold him, Keith and Bill personally responsible for my falling backwards off a stool at the bar.

The course was out to R1 and back and I gather all had a good time, and Tony was honoured at prizegiving, with Running Bare taking the trophy followed by Fransiska and Marrakesh. Many thanks to Di and Summer’s Lease for providing the fun.

Sunday brought eight boats out for the sail-past and the Commodore’s Cup. The race was started at a line biassed toward the pin end. That’s where Little Ninjo started while the rest of the fleet fought it out closer to the committee boat. Our plan was to start on the pin then cross the fleet on port. It nearly worked. While we reached the windward mark first we saw a wall of boats approaching on starboard so did a lee-bow tack on Shimmer. We tacked a foot too early but managed to creep past the mark while Shimmer and two Sydney 32s sped round us. I was on the leeward rail looking intently down at the gap between boat and buoy and when it was safe called the bear away. Whew!

Congratulations to Perception for winning the Cup, with Shimmer and Ninjo for the minor placings. Many thanks to Elaine and Ewen for manning the Tower and to Geoff and his crews for providing the start and the windward mark.

The course was R1 via the Mussel Farm both ways, a period of light airs at R1 sandwiched between two nice sailing northerlies, particularly the one from the Mussel Farm home

Elaine and I had recently returned from sailing the Darwin to Banda Neira race, a bit over 500 nm to the Indonesian Spice Islands. Very windy and nasty seas both there and back. My physically hardest offshore race since the 2007 Fastnet. The return trip saw two couples, Elaine the youngest of us at 76, coping with a complete instrument failure at night, meaning hand-steering all night by two geriatrics and record-breaking winds for the rest of the trip home. I think we’ve recovered.

Great to see 15 boats out for Tony's Race and the first race in the 2026-2027 Keelboat season. Congratulations to Running Bare for winning this year’s Tony’s Race Perpetual Trophy.

Results Friday 9th Tony's Race

1st	Running Bare	Tim Pepperell
2nd	Fransiska	Peter Morrison
3rd	Marrakesh	Neil Hawker
Best Start	Balance	Mark Bulka

This week’s racing:

Friday 16th October

Race 2 of the Twilight Pursuit Series - PHS and AMS

Tower start	17:30
Race Officer	Dianne
Duty Boat	Amity

Sunday 18 October 2026

COMMUNITY BANK Club Championship Race 1 – PHS, AMS & ORC

Boat start	12.55
Race Officer	Amanda
Duty Boat	Empara
Setup/results:	Amanda

NOTE: If anyone can provide a person to drive or man a rescue boat on Sunday please ring Rear Commodore Ross on 0467 000 442 or Geoff Eldridge on 0419 004 975.

Fobs

Thank you to all members that have collected your new fobs on Sunday,

For those who have not collected theirs yet, please come upstairs on Sunday afternoon and a fob / ID number will be assigned to you.

For those not able to be at the club on Sunday, fobs will be posted out.

Their purpose is simply to help identify you as a member, i.e. entitled to the food and beverage discount. There are 2 readers, one at each cash register.

The next few months will be a transition period as the system is bedded in and so any feedback is welcome and encouraged.

Yard Storage

Just a reminder that you ARE REQURIED to submit a for each season. The revenue from yard storage is important for the ongoing costs of maintaining duty boats etc for the season.

If you are the owner of one of the other 14 craft in the racks, yard storage applications must be received by COB 14^th October. Link here Yard Storage Application. Please email your application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you cannot print a form, there will be some forms at the club for you to grab over the weekend.

Craft that do not have an application received by this date will be moved from the racks to the grass areas outside pending receipt of applications and payment therein.

Note we have a large number of people wanting to store kayaks/SUPB’s at the club and these will take percent if existing users do not apply for storage.

The constitution and By-Laws relating to storage in the yard are as follows:

SBSC Yard Storage – Constitution and By-Laws

Keelboat Cruisers Corner

Burgee Exchange

On her last trip back home over the winter, club member Christina Chandler proudly took an SBSC burgee with her to exchange with her home club at Solomons Island Yacht Club (https://www.solomonsislandyachtclub.com/), The below photo is with the Vice Commodore (holding the SBSC burgee) and Executive Committee member, and my father (far right). SIYC is located in Maryland, USA, on the Chesapeake Bay (between Baltimore and Norfolk). The club has about 150 burgees from clubs all over the US and internationally, but this is the first from Australia!

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

Got a kayak or SUP gathering dust? Keen to get out on the water more often, but looking for some paddling buddies?

No need to be a pro — just bring your kayak or board, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to get out there!

Keep an eye out for a new SBSC WhatsApp paddling group coming soon, or get in touch with Christina to join the fun.

📧 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
📱 0414 734 378

ORCV News

Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprints

Cock of the Bay

Melbourne to Hobart ‘Westcoaster’

Donating Life Jackets to the club

It seems a few of our life jackets have been breeding over the winter months! Or perhaps a kindhearted member has generously donated a few extras.

While we always appreciate donations of sailing equipment, life jackets are a bulky item, and unfortunately, not all donations can be put to use. Life jackets that are damaged, unsuitable or no longer compliant need to be disposed of appropriately.

As part of our annual Discover Sailing review, we need to demonstrate that all life jackets used in our programs meet the required compliance standards. This includes checking the compliance code on each jacket. If a jacket has an incorrect or non-compliant code, it cannot be used and will need to be removed from our stock.

So, if you’re thinking of donating life jackets to the club, please check with us first, by emailing the secretary of your intentions, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We love the generosity, but we also need to make sure our equipment is safe, compliant and suitable for our sailors.

Thanks for helping us keep our club safe and our storage areas under control!

Photo of the Week

Dry Martini's. It's not often that we see all three of the Martins out of the water on Open Day. What a great family photo of Ross, Fi and Luke, just missing Natasha to complete the photo.

Latest Club News

Committee News

Sail Pass – A Reminder of Our Safety and Insurance Obligations

Volunteer Reimbursements – A Simpler Process

Membership Fobs – Collection and Postage

Club Boats

Sail Peninsula

Off The Beach News

Junior Sailing Program

Keelboat News

This week’s racing:

ORCV News

Working With Children's Check

Photo Of The Week

Submissions

Off The Beach News

Junior Sailing Program

Working With Children's Check

Keelboat News

This week’s racing:

Fobs

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

ORCV News

Submissions

Off The Beach News

Happy Birthday Coastguard

Junior Sailing Program Kicked Off Last Sunday

Working With Children's Check

Keelboat News

This week’s racing:

Fobs

Yard Storage

Keelboat Cruisers Corner

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

ORCV News

Photo of the Week

Submissions

Season Opening 2026 - 2027

Off The Beach News

Junior Sailing Program Kicks Off This Week

Working With Children's Check

Keelboat News

Results Friday 9th Tony's Race

This week’s racing:

Fobs

Yard Storage

Keelboat Cruisers Corner

Burgee Exchange

🛶 Calling All Paddlers! 🌊

ORCV News

Donating Life Jackets to the club

Photo of the Week

Submissions

Club Sponsors

Club Partners