If you have not already done so, now is your chance to say thanks, by putting in your nomination for Club Person of the Year, both Junior and Senior. If you can't decide on one person, name two- or more by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Book tickets by following this link Presentation Night 2023
What's On
Off The Beach News
420 Flinders Training Camp
Over the weekend, 2 of our 420’s stayed the night at Flinders Yacht Club for their annual 420 training camp with Harrison Chapman as our coach, the current 420 national champion crew. Matt filled in for Finn who couldn’t make it on Saturday crewing for Zac, as well as myself and Nick sailing as per usual. Saturday afternoon had some tough conditions, with winds upwards of around 17 knots and swell that felt at least 6m high out on Bass Strait, causing 3 out of 5 boats to capsize and leaving several boats with breakages (including Nick and I’s topping lift). One boat even claimed to have seen a shark eating a seal! After a well-deserved sleep (inside the clubhouse to escape the cold and rain, rather than tents outside), we headed out Sunday morning for a much easier sail, well and truly inside the heads this time. All five Safety Beach sailors had a great time braving the conditions and we all learnt a lot from Harrison, despite how challenging the wind and waves were.
Cheers, Jess
One and All Tall Ship
And Adventure of a lifetime for Kristen Koutsimpiris - SBSC Youth 420 Sailor
Last week I returned from a 7 day voyage sailing around 530 nautical miles from Port Adelaide to Docklands. On Thursday the 18th of May we drove to Melbourne airport where I met 8 other kids all from years 10-12 as well as 2 rotarians. All a bit unsure what we signed ourselves up to, we went through the airport and onto our flight taking us to Adelaide. As we stepped onto the plane we said goodbye to the rotarians and we were off. The 9 of us were quite awkward with each other at the start as anyone would imagine, however that changed very quickly. We landed in Adelaide and were met by more rotarians which then became our host families for the night.
Early the next morning we all drove to Port Adelaide where we saw heaps more people. At first we stood in our little group of people we knew then after a bit, once registration started, we began talking to more and more people, getting to know them a bit before spending the next 7 days straight with them. Once registration was complete we stepped on board the One And All tall ship, passing our bags down and getting allocated a bunk number. Then we headed down to look at where we would be sleeping and it was tight to say the least. After everyone was on board we began our voyage, leaving Port Adelaide and heading straight out to Rapid Bay. On the trip there although it was sheltered it was still quite rocky and the first sighting of sea sickness appeared. We anchored at Rapid Bay for the night and there we had our first rotations of the watch shifts.
On the One and All everyone takes part in running the ship meaning that at times you would need to get up out of bed at ungodly times for 4hour watch shifts. On these depending on the situation you would either be doing fire and flood checks (if at anchor) or be sailing through the night. When we were sailing through the night, within the watch group one person was required at the helm and 2 out on lookout (one on the port and one on the starboard side). As the trip went on these watches became more and more familiar. On the second day we sailed over to Kangaroo Island and we also got the chance to climb the mast. This was one of my favourite things we got to do on the trip, we also were able to spend hours sitting on the nets at the bow watching the sunset.
On the third morning we took a small rhib and motored onto the beach so we could all go swimming and play a few team games along the shore. And yes, it was absolutely freezing but nonetheless we all had a great time. After a couple hours on KI we had our final moments on land, we headed back to the boat and then we headed off. As we exited the protected area the waves became significantly larger, I was unfortunately downstairs in the bunks when we first entered the rough water and got thrown around the room quite a bit. Something all of us learnt very quickly was that downstairs was the worst place to be as you just felt so sick. That day everyone was experiencing seasickness, and only 2/24 kids on the boat had dinner as the rest of us felt too sick to eat, many of the leaders and even the doctor on board didn’t eat that night aswell. From there, we began the difficult part of the journey, we were in open waters and exposed to Antarctic winds. Across the voyage we couldn’t see land for around two and a half days. We were lucky enough to see dolphin pods everyday of our voyage, and even a whale as well.
One night whist my watch group was on shift we did experience a slight issue with one of the sails and we were required to furl it, only issue was it was the top sails meaning you needed to be up on mast to do anything in relation to furling it. So what better thing to do when it’s pitch black outside than climb the mast! This was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. The sky was so clear and the stars shone bright, with nothing but sea around us there were no city lights or other vessels, simply just us alone.
After many days we finally saw city lights again, the next morning at around 4:30 we had a Pilot come aboard the ship and drive it through the heads of Port Phillip Bay. The most valuable thing I’ve learnt this trip was taking every opportunity that was presented to me and making the most of situations even when in difficult times. Although we were all very seasick and that was the most challenging part of the trip, it’s not what stood out the most, it was the lifelong friendships that were formed. I will never forget the people I was lucky enough to experience this with, it was truly the best experience. From Kristen
Kristen (left) with some of her crew on the night shift.
Keelboat News
Results
Last Friday we held the first afternoon fun race of the winter (pilot series). The weather wasn’t the kindest, but three keen yachts headed out of the marina in the rain. A nice competition between the three of them – out to Channel Marker 25, down to 21 and a run back to the finish line, with only 20 seconds between 2nd and 3rd place. Radio calls back to the tower after the race expressed that everyone had enjoyed the opportunity to get out on the water on a Friday afternoon.
Winter Fun Friday Series (Race 1)
| 1st |
E’toile |
John Gordon |
| 2nd |
Marrakesh |
Neil Hawker |
| 3rd |
La Mer |
Graham Hopgood |
Thank you to John Wemyss (RO) and Elaine Nicholas in the tower. The next Friday afternoon pursuit race is scheduled for Friday 9 June, 2.00pm and we look forward to seeing a few more of you out there. Stay tuned for further details and start-sheet early next week.
This Week’s Race
Brass Monkey Winter Pursuit Series
Sunday 4 June 2023
First Warning Signal: 09.55H Pursuit Start
Race Officer & Tower: Di Jackson
Looking like good conditions for a Sunday sail, so hope to see plenty of boats out there! Please check your pursuit time
hereSYC Commodore’s Challenge
“Come and join us for the Commodore’s Challenge” they said... “it’ll be fun” they said. “What’s a Beneteau 7.5?” WE said. “A tiller?!?! – we haven’t used one of those for 10+ years!”
The SYC Commodore’s Challenge is a women-only regatta which aims to promote competitive one-design women’s racing in Port Phillip Bay. Following an invitation from SYC, we were strongly encouraged by our Keelboat captain, John Wemyss, to enter a SBSC women’s team – for the first time.
After a brief rigging and on-water practice session last Saturday afternoon, we headed back up to SYC early on Sunday (in the rain) for a hectic back-to-back program of four windward-return fleet races, where we finished up fourth-equal overall with the Blairgowrie team.
Great to compete in a one-design class against some competitive teams from the top of the bay. Returning home exhausting and bruised, we learnt a lot and had a great weekend.
Thanks to SYC for such a generous (no entry fee) regatta - providing the boats, onshore support, excellent race management - and party pies!
Team SBSC below: Pauline Cleaver, Linda Wooley, Meaghan Harding, Andrea Catling, and Jann Wilson
ORCV Apollo Bay Ocean Race
Congratulations to those who competed (and completed!) the Apollo Bay race on Saturday, including SBSC boats Shimmer and YKnot. By all accounts it sounded like a brisk race out there in Bass Strait. Post-race photo below of a happy YKnot crew – Rob Rainsford (skipper), Tim Bardon, Agi Ko and Andrew Martin – who look to be washing down some hearty green beans with a well-earned glass of red!
Save The Date
Thank You
Club Merchandise
Club Merchandise is now ready for order. Contact Marg Fleming on her email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your options. The youth t-shirts (with names on them) will have another order put in soon, so if you missed out on first round orders, please contact Marg to make sure you get one in the next batch, which will be processed by end of March. These t-shirts have been a hit with the juniors and will be great to wear to regatta's etc.
Submission's
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