Lively Saturday Afternoon Racing

It was a lively afternoon on The Sound and North Harbour today for the penultimate race of both the Leading Edge Pursuit and Adams 10 Winter Fleet Series.  Despite the sunny skies, it was very cool and the 20kt westerly built to 25kts with gusts above 30kts at times keeping all the crews on their toes.

In the Adams 10’s Garth Riley’s Sirius beat Contentious (Brian Lees) across the line by 20 seconds to claim the One-Design win, but Contentious took the PHS honours.

Neil Padden’s Wailea was first home in Division 1 of the Leading Edge Pursuit from Onya (Andrew Hurt) and Tempo (Michael Smith). 

In Division 2, Neil Hardiman’s Ruffian posted a solid win over TenSixty (Ian Green) and Rumba (Rob Carr / Stephanie Cook / Kerry Burke).

For the latest Adams 10 Results – click here 

For the latest Leading Edge Results – click here 

Many thanks to Marg Fraser-Martin for the photos from today’s racing………

Read more: Lively Saturday Afternoon Racing

New Season Underway with Front Up! Cup

Middle Harbour Yacht Club kicked off its 2020-2021 Sailing Program today with the Commodore’s Front Up! Cup Feature Race. 

Twenty nine crews, sailing a diverse group of boats ranging from 24 to 46 feet, enjoyed a spectacular sunny day with a moderate south westerly which backed to south east as the afternoon progressed.  The fleet moved quickly around the course which took in Manly, Clarke Island and Taylors Bay.

The first Division 1 boat home was David Ross and Oliver Scott-Mackie sailing the Cookson 12 Kukukerchu two-handed.  Next was Tempo (Michael Smith) with Exile (Tony Reynolds) third.  Chris Lee’s Beneteau 40.7 Farr ’N Away took the Division 2 honours today, from Perception (Charles Caskey) and Innamincka (John Crawford).

For the full Commodore’s Front Up! Cup Results – click here  

The next MHYC Feature Race is the Harbour Trek on October 10.

Thanks to Marg Fraser-Martin for some great photos from today's sailing..........

Read more: New Season Underway with Front Up! Cup

Annual Skippers Briefing on September 17

The Annual Skipper’s Briefing will be held via Zoom Teleconference this year on Thursday evening 17 September at 7pm.

It is mandatory for at least one representative from each boat to attend, but being held via teleconference enables mutliple people to take part.

This important session will include an online briefing from NSW Roads & Maritime Services, cover on-water emergency procedures and changes to the racing program for the coming season.  It is a must-attend event for the skippers (or a representative) of all MHYC yachts.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone the Sailing Office (9969 1244 Tues-Sat) to confirm your intention to attend or if you have any questions.

MHYC invites you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: MHYC Skippers Briefing
Time: Sep 17, 2020 07:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 826 5866 8764
Passcode: 193844
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Read more: Annual Skippers Briefing on September 17

Wednesday Spring Sailing at MHYC

Wednesday Sailing Report by Julie Hodder

2^nd September 2020

On the first day of spring, most crew could not decide what to wear. Half the crew came dressed for summer in shorts and T-shirts, the other half came dressed for winter sailing. Both were correct at some stage. With a beautiful NE Breeze between 10-15kt, the run down the harbour from Manly to Clarke Island was definitely summer weather. But when you turned around the Island for the work back towards Manly, the colder winter winds won out with many having to put on another layer.

The Wednesday sailing mob is just one big happy family. Today there was a lot of musical chairs for some of our regular crew and skippers – of course all complying with the current COVID rules.

Ian Box’s boat (Toy Box 2), was out of action as it is being antifouled, so he and some of his crew joined us on Nine Dragons. Adrian Walter’s boat (Little Nico) is also getting some work done, so Peter Ryan also joined us on Nine Dragons, whilst the rest of his crew, including Adrian, Mitch White and Andrew Phillips sailed on Khaleesi.

Skipper Rob Reynolds (Exile) had too many crew for the current regulations, so he jumped ship and sailed the MC38 Lazy Dog and let his crew race on Exile.

Gunther Schmidt-Lindner’s boat (Austmark) is having a major refit, but that does not stop most of his sailing team going sailing on Jim Thomas’s Botany Access Cocomo. Jim is also a regular crew on Austmark for Wednesdays, so it is great he and fellow boat owner Keith Le Compte (White Pointer), also a regular for Wednesdays, cannot miss our Wednesday racing. Rumour has it when Austmark gets back on the water, Cocomo will also be out.

This year we are endeavouring to recreate a Division 3 for Wednesdays. For the couple of smaller boats that have been supporting us for many years, this week’s 2^nd longest course was a little too long. We are seeking more smaller boats and cruising style boats to come and enjoy harbour racing on Wednesdays.  Contact the club if you are interested.

To see the Pacific Rigging Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Results - click here

Read more: Wednesday Spring Sailing at MHYC

Online Entry Open for 2020-2021

Online Entry is now open for the 2020-2021 Racing Program.  To enter any of the MHYC Series – click here

MHYC’s 2020-2021 Sailing Program has been released to provide advance notice to members prior to publication of the MHYC Sailing Handbook 2020-2021 which should be available in early September.  Since the program was finalised however, there have been a number of changes and these have been published in Notice to Competitors 2020-08-19-2. 

The Overall Season Schedule can be downloaded as a simple PDF list of events in date order (4 pages) or as an Excel spreadsheet that can be filtered to display selected events or series. Schedules and Sailing Instructions for each of the MHYC Series can also be downloaded as PDFs – click here

The most significant change from the 2019-2020 program is that eight races of the Inshore and Adams 10 Pointscore will be conducted in conjunction with the Combine Clubs Inshore Series.  This series, organised jointly by Manly Yacht Club (MYC), Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC), Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association (RANSA), Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club (RPEYC) and Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS), provides an interclub competition over six race days between September and March. Two of the race days will feature two short passage races, while the remaining 4 days will have a single, longer passage race.  The starting and finishing area is between Sow & Pigs Reef and Taylors Bay.

The Women's Sailing Program has also been enhanced with the creation of the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series, jointly conducted by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), Manly Yacht Club (MYC), Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC), Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club (RPEYC) and Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS).  For more information about the MHYC Women's Sailing Program, including the new series - click here

The Pacific Rigging Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series will have three divisions to allow for the wide range of boats and performance across this popular fleet.  Courses for this 51 race program have been updated accordingly.

Courses have also been updated for the Thursday Twilight Non-Spinnaker Series with an option for finishing races at Grotto Point on days with reduced wind.  Divisions 1 & 2 will now sail separate courses and all courses have been re-ordered.

Crew Registration will remain mandatory for all series throughout the 2020-2021 season - click here

Here is a summary of the number of races in each MHYC Series……….

Read more: Online Entry Open for 2020-2021

Inaugural Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series

MHYC is proud to be a part of the inaugural 2020-21 Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series bringing together female sailors from across Sydney Harbour. Four races will be run by Manly Yacht Club, Middle Harbour Yacht Club and the CYCA. Crews will be able to compete in full female crew or female helm divisions as well as nominate spinnaker or non-spinnaker racing.

Event dates:

• Sunday, 25 October 2020  (MYC Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge)
• Sunday, 15 November 2020  (MHYC)
• Sunday, 28 February 2021  (CYCA)
• Sunday, 28 March 2021  (MYC Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge)    

For more information and online entry click here.

Read more: Inaugural Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series

Nice Breeze for the Leading Edge

Race 2 of the Leading Edge Pursuit Series and Race 6 of the Adams 10 Winter Fleet Series was sailed today in a moderate to fresh and gusty westerly.  While still very flukey arounmd the start / finish area, it was a nice change to have some winter sun and a lively breeze out on the harbour that enabled all divisions to finish the full course around The Sound and North Harbour.

Garth Riley’s Sirius claimed a convincing win on One Design and PHS in the reduced Adams 10 Fleet to now lead the PHS series score and is second in the One Design pointscore behind No Friends (Geoff Charters).

Division 2 boats were first home today, with Laurie McAllister’s Zeusus getting the gun.  OCS at the start, Zeusus was penalised 5 minutes and relinquished the race win to visiting RANSA boat Asterix (Roberto Comacho). Third was Innamincka (John Crawford).

Andrew Hurt’s Onya was the best of Division 1 today, finishing ahead of Wailea (Neil Padden).  There was a close three-way run to the line between three bigger boats – Samarkand, Khaleesi and Nine Dragons, with Sandy Farqharson’s Khaleesi finishing just ahead to take third place.

To view the latest results for the Leading Edge Series – click here

To view the latest results for the Adams 10 Winter Fleet Series – click here 

A big thankyou to Marg Fraser-Martin who was at the club to get some more photos today………..

Read more: Nice Breeze for the Leading Edge

COVIDSafe Sailing Update - 26 August 2020

In response to increased cases of COVID-19 in NSW, Dr Kerry Chant (Chief Health Officer - NSW) has advised of further public health measures to minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission related to participation in community sports. These updated recommendations will help clubs  to meet the NSW Government’s aim of achieving no community transmission in NSW and will support community sports to continue operating safely.

In summary, the recommendations are that all crew on boats sailing from MHYC should be residents of Zone A as defined in the attached diagram. Boats can sail against other boats from other clubs, provided they sail from Zone A and return without getting off the boat. No overnight sleeping on boats that are racing is permitted. These recommendations will be reviewed by NSW Health at the end of September.

To view the letter from Commodore Peter Lewis and information from Australian Sailing - click here

To view the Notice to Competitors – click here

Read more: COVIDSafe Sailing Update - 26 August 2020

Leading Edge Series Underway

The Leading Edge series of pursuit races got underway today and will continue each Saturday for the remainder of August.  Races are held in conjunction with the Adams 10 Winter Fleet Series. 

While the rain threatened but stayed away, the breeze was extremely light and variable in direction providing challenging conditions for crews and the race management team.  The Division 2 fleet managed to sail a complete course and finish at the clubhouse, whereas the Adams 10 and Division 1 fleets sailed a shortened course finishing at the East Channel mark. 

Andrew Hurt's Onya was the first Division 1 boat home, ahead of Stormaway (Jack Stening) and Tempo (MIchael Smith).  The Carr-Cook-Burke consortium sailed Rumba home first in Division 2, followed by Innamincka (John Crawford) and TenSixty (Ian Green).  Geoff Charters' No Friends was the best of the Adams 10s on One Design today, while Sirius (Garth Riley) took PHS honours. 

To view the Leading Edge Pursuit Results - click here

To view the Adams 10 Winter Fleet Results - click here 

Marg Fraser-Martin was on the dock and afloat today to get some more great photos..........

Read more: Leading Edge Series Underway