Since the last newsletter there’s been plenty of exciting sailing action, from the final Club Championship races for the season to the successful ILCA Metropolitan Championships hosted over the weekend. What a difference the recently upgraded rigging area makes during major events! Our school and community learn to sail programs continue week in, week out and the April holiday camps are filling up! Meanwhile, the Optimist fleet is finalising planning for the upcoming state and national championships. We’re also looking forward to the Women’s Regatta at Vaucluse on 22 March, a fantastic day of racing, workshops, and inspiration from some of Australia’s top female sailors. Whether you’re competing, supporting, or volunteering, thank you for being part of this amazing community.

From the President

What a fantastic weekend! Our club hosted a superb ILCA regatta, highlighting both our community spirit and sailing excellence.

A huge thank you to Commodore Ben Howell and the incredible team of volunteers who made it all possible—it was a true community effort.

As a parent of an Opti sailor, I was especially inspired by the dedication and skill of the ILCA fleet, particularly the master and grandmaster sailors—what an impressive display!

Hosting events like this is vital for our club, allowing us to give back to the sport while strengthening our role in Australian sailing.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to its success!

Happy sailing, Matt

From the Commodore

Metropolitan Championships  📸 Hunters Hill Sailing Club

Metropolitan Championships – A Huge Success!

On March 8-9, the club proudly hosted 71 ILCA sailors for the Metropolitan Championships, an event that was an overwhelming success both on and off the water. With excellent racing conditions and seamless event operations, the weekend was a true showcase of our club’s spirit and dedication.

A heartfelt thank you to the incredible team of volunteers who made it happen: Minette for running the canteen, Kevin and Chris for their tireless efforts on the start and finish boats across both days, and Jon and Nathan Byrne for launching the RIBs before Nathan dashed off to compete in the JJ Giltinan Championship regatta with Nic Livermore—at the time of writing, they’ve secured two finishes! Good luck for the rest of the regatta.

On the water, huge thanks to:  Lee Thorne, Sean Maguire, Julian Plante, Richard and Etta Vowles, Nick and Edward Lawson, Matt Wilkinson, and Merryn Howell.

For the canteen, BBQ, and shore support, our appreciation goes to: Jason Chai, Chris Yu, Sophie Hunt, Nikki Adams, Angus White, Heidi Thorne, Andrea Phillips, and Tanya Harrison. Apologies if anyone was missed!

This event was a fantastic demonstration of our club’s commitment to volunteering, and the result was a truly memorable regatta.

Congratulations to our Trophy Winners:

Harper Spacey – 1st ILCA 4 (and, of course, 1st female)
Zac Howell – 2nd overall & 1st U16 ILCA 4
Sophie Borner Harrison – 4th overall, 2nd female ILCA 4 & a maiden race win!
Sylvie Stannage – 1st ILCA 6
Healy Ryan – 5th overall & 1st U21 ILCA 7 in his first ILCA 7 regatta

While familiar names graced the podium, many sailors showed the club spirit in challenging conditions. Special mentions to: Ben Phillips for competing in his first ILCA regatta, Amelia Thorne for finishing every race, Randi Horstrup for refusing to quit, Jason Borner (ILCA class president) for making it to the finish line in every ILCA 6 race, and Jarryd for having a red hot go in the full rig straight from uni!

An outstanding effort from all our sailors—well done!

Best of Luck on the World Stage!

Wishing Sylvie all the best as she heads off to the Palma and Hyères rounds of the World Cup, and Sylvie & Healy as they prepare for their respective Open World Championships in Qingdao, China this May.

We're also excited to see Stella competing in the FX and Matt in the iQFoil in at least Palma, if not Hyères as well. Taking it to the big stage—go get ‘em!

Club racing

HHSC_Season_2024-2025_Calendar.xlsx

Results - Hunters Hill Sailing Club

Learn2Sail

We are halfway through Term 1 Learn2Sail classes, with each group working through their course syllabuses. 

Be sure to register for the 13-17 April holiday camp asap to avoid missing out! Please note the camp will start on Sunday rather than Monday due to public holidays, and remember members receive a $110 discount on camp costs!

Edith and Ellery (Pro) 📸 Belle Parker

Jasper and Bogdana (Pro) 📸 Belle Parker

Kuba and Henry (Rookie) 📸 Belle Parker

Rafe (Rookie) 📸 Belle Parker

Kuba (Rookie) 📸 Belle Parker

Thilde (Rookie) 📸 Belle Parker

Asher, Helen, Marcus (Teens + Tweens) 📸 Belle Parker

Penny, Jemima and Emma (Teens + Tweens) 📸 Belle Parker

Upcoming Try Sailing and Learn2Sail events 

Register on the club website’s events page for upcoming events and please promote our Try Sailing and Learn2Sail programs to your community networks! 

Try Sailing 

Saturday 22 March 9:00-11:00am

This is our final try-sailing session until September, so if you have family or friends interested in joining the club from the commencement of the annual membership period on 1 April, encourage them to register ASAP!

Camps 

Registration for our 13-17 April holiday camp is now open for registration on our events page.

Optimist Fleet

Club Championships presentation 📸 Contributed

There was a strong turnout for the Club Championships on 2 March, with 20 boats competing. The day concluded with the presentation of Australia Day Regatta medals, while the winners will receive their formal trophies at a future ceremony at Town Hall.

Opti crew training at Woollahra Sailing Club 📸 Alessio De Giosa

Weekend Recap 

Last weekend, training was suspended due to the ILCA Metropolitan Championships, but a group of open sailors made the most of it by heading to Woollahra Sailing Club to join Sunday racing. It was a great opportunity to experience different conditions and a larger fleet.

A huge thank you to Dan from Woollahra Sailing Club for hosting, Alessio for organising, and Phil and Rebecca Tomkins for providing RIB support and ferrying the kids.

Upcoming Events

NSW Optimist Championship 2025 on 5-6 April at Toronto Amateur Sailing Club is our next major event! Registration is now open and requires the annual NSW Optimist Association membership renewal—required for anyone racing in NSW regattas. If you haven’t booked accommodation yet, now’s the time!

We also have 10 sailors confirmed for 2026 Australian Optimist Dinghy Championship in Hobart, with another three still deciding. Planning for logistics will begin at the end of this week, so if you're attending, please update the poll in the Opti Group Chat asap. Finalising numbers is crucial so we can determine the required number of coaches and support RIBs. This will also need coordination with the ILCA fleet, who will be there the week before.

Looking forward to some great racing ahead—see you on the water!

ILCA Fleet

Regular training continues:

• Tuesday: casual sailing without coach

• Thursday: coached session starting at 4pm

• Saturday: coached session starting at 10:30am

Sylvie Stannage, Metropolitan Championships 📸 Contributed

ILCA Regattas Open for Registration

Get ready for a very special women’s regatta at Vaucluse on Saturday 22 March! The day will be packed with activities, starting with yoga at 8:30am, followed by breakfast, workshops, and of course—racing!

To cap off the event, there will be an inspiring panel discussion featuring some of Australia’s top women sailors: Evie Hasseldine, Carolijn Brouwer, and Vanessa Dudley.

Look out for a message in the WhatsApp group seeking confirmation of attendance so we can arrange logistics. Please note: it will be an early boat pickup to arrive at Vaucluse by 7:30am.

NOR and entry details: ILCA Women's Regatta – Vaucluse Yacht Club

Looking forward to an amazing day on and off the water! 

WASZP Class

The demonstration boat has arrived and training sessions have been offered, with more information available through the club WASZP Whatsapp group chat.

Max Fisher placed second in the WASZP class at the 2025 Pittwater Off-the-Beach Regatta held on 8-9 March.

High School Sailing

This semester we have 54 Hunters Hill High School sailors participating in three programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They have been learning launching, landing, and tacking safely and efficiently. Pleasingly, our percentage of ‘repeat sailors’ is increasing, and we are starting to see holiday camp sailors as well from the school!

We might even get a team heading to the NSW All Schools Sailing Championship this April school holidays, subject to camps and Quest availability! 

High School sailing action 📸 Contributed

Safety

No incidents were reported in February, however no hazards were logged either. If you see a hazard, please log it using the QR codes on the noticeboard next to the first aid station and in the canteen. The more hazards we report and fix, the less likelihood of an incident. In March, items were left on the pie warmer, which had been left on. This is the second time we have had a near miss in the kitchen so please ensure you turn everything off after use.

Newsletter

We welcome feedback and contributions via: Newsletter HHSC 

Have a great photo you’d like to share for use in the newsletter or on the club social media accounts? Send to photos@huntershillsailingclub.org.au or drop into the club’s Photos Whatsapp group