Commodore’s Members Update, March 27

We are well into 2021 at MYC with plenty of activities going on. There are many updates to share with you.

Sailing

  • Our Rum Runners series concluded for the Summer on Friday and continues to be a much-loved series and the perfect way to end the working week. As a casual and open weekly event, rum runners continues to bring together members and provides an opportunity for those experiencing The Wharf Precinct to take part in our wonderful sport. Whilst Rum Runners will not run over the winter months (as the sun goes down a little early), there will be a number of Super Saturday events with a similar format over winter and you can be sure that we will see Rum Runners return in Spring.
  • Bay Racing has continued throughout the Summer and Autumn season. The club now has two qualified safety auditors available to assist boat owners in meeting the safety category requirements to be able to get out and enjoy racing on our wonderful Mooloolaba Bay. Please contact the club to access this service.
  • MYC’s honor’s continue with big congratulations to:
    • Peter Bradford and the Bare Necessities crew for their excellent results in the recent Moreton Bay Multihull Regatta.
    • James Hodgson as part of the winning teams in both the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Hardy Cup and the Club Marine NSW match racing events.
    • Graham (Scooter) Eaton’s Bumblebee 4 for winning the Cruising Division of the Bartercard Sail Paradise Regatta at Southport Yacht Club.
  • The Discover Sailing Program is well underway with both Start Crewing and Start Helming courses being offered by the club regularly. Over the school holidays, our Discover Sailing Centre will be running a schools based Start Crewing course, spaces will be limited and filling so please encourage youth sailors to register.
  • The club also recently hosted both Australian Sailing Keelboat Instructor and Keelboat Racing Instructor courses.
  • Our very popular Women’s Skills Development Program has also kicked off strongly in 2021. The facilitator led program is designed to extend skills built from the Discover Sailing Program and provide pathways into offshore yacht racing, one design racing and competent cruising.
  • The MYC women’s representative racing team will again be out of the water training as they prepare for the peak event in the women’s keelboat racing calendar – The Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta in Melbourne in June and for our very own Mooloolaba Women’s Keelboat Regatta in July.
  • We also have a mixed team registered to compete in the Sailing Champions League finals in Newcastle next month. This event will be raced on exciting one-design RS21 keelboats, amongst a very competitive fleet. The MYC is exploring this new format as a potential pathway for state and national level one-design keelboat racing in the future.

Social

  • As members we are all very lucky to have a club in such a wonderful location on the Mooloolah River, full of friendly faces. The MYC Club Bar is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 4pm, all members and guests are welcome. For those transiting by water from across the river, direct access for members to the club via The Wharf pontoon is available, please contact the club for details.
  • The MYC Clubroom is also an excellent function venue to host a celebration or business event, please see our website for further information.
  • Special thanks to Jordan Spencer from Bar Karate for recently hosting excellent Q&A sessions in the club for the Prada Cup. This series, of course led to an exhilarating America’s Cup series, with Team New Zealand retaining the Auld Mug, whilst some long for the days displacement hull match racing, there is no doubt that America’s Cup remains an important and wonderful concept to drive the cutting edge of boat design and high performance racing.

Sponsorship, Supporters & Grants

The club thanks our key sponsors & supporters; Sunreef Mooloolaba, Next Property Group, Newport Mooloolaba, Ashby Boatbuilders, Lawrie’s Boat Services, Waterfront Agents, Visit Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Council and also thanks The Wharf Mooloolaba for their encouragement of our club and our sport. We are currently calling for members with an interest or experience in grant writing to assist our Community Engagement Group to help the club to grow, improve equipment & facilities and give greater opportunities to those wishing to participate and extend themselves in our sport.

Finally, a special thanks to all our volunteers who work tirelessly to keep our club active, safe and welcoming. Without our volunteers there would be no MYC, please join me in thanking each an every one of our crew who do so much. All members are encouraged to lend a hand where they can to keep our club sailing along as the vibrant and inclusive club that it is.

Yours in sailing,

Tanya Kelly, Commodore