LATEST NEWS
MARITIMO 6-DAY CRUISE
The Maritimo 6-Day Cruise has come to an end, and what a fantastic week it was on the water! From our opening BBQ at Paradise Point to a scenic run up the Coomera River for coffee at SYC Oxenford, the fleet made the most of every nautical mile. We wrapped things up with a BYO BBQ at Dux and a relaxed lunch at Tipplers—the perfect way to cap off the journey. A massive thank you to our sponsors for making the trip even more memorable:
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Maritimo
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Precision Marine Maintenance
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Spectrum Marine
QLD ILCA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026
A fantastic weekend of racing at HumpyBong Yacht Club (11th–12th April), with 16 SYC Academy sailors competing across all ILCA classes.
A special mention to some standout performances across the fleet. Coach Hugo Ralph successfully defended his title as QLD ILCA State Champion, Instructor Harry Hogan claimed 1st Overall in ILCA 4, and Jackson Black secured an impressive 3rd Overall in ILCA 6. In the ILCA 4 fleet, it was also great to see strong female representation with Addison Greenwood finishing 2nd Female Overall and Evie McGuire 3rd Female Overall.
Results
ILCA 7 – 20 Entries
1st – Hugo Ralph (1st U21)
14th – Kipling Rossouw (3rd U21)
18th – Joe Kelly (2nd Masters)
19th – Stuart Waters
ILCA 6 – 36 Entries
3rd – Jackson Black (1st U17)
11th – Joe Thompson (3rd U19)
21st – Stirling Kelly
24th – Sarah Casey (1st Apprentice Master)
ILCA 4 – 31 Entries
1st – Harry Hogan (1st U18)
6th – Addison Greenwood (2nd Female, 2nd U18 Female)
7th – Evie McGuire (3rd Female, 2nd U16)
9th – Max Latter
11th – Matthew Sinnamon
19th – Teegan Mitchell
21st – Ella Ware
24th – Xavier Edmondson
30th – Lachlan Radcliffe
An incredible effort across all fleets we’re proud to see our sailors, coaches, and instructors performing at such a high level.
BRISBANE TO GLADSTONE YACHT RACE 2026
QCYC’s iconic Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race for 2026 has been run and won, with some drama, damage and protest upsets that kept things interesting. This year’s race also featured some strong representation from SYC, with
- Peter Hollis’s ‘M52’ achieving 1st in ORCi, 2nd on PHS and IRC,
- Michael Spies ‘Maritimo Katwinchar’ achieving 3rd in ORCi, 4th in PHS, 5th in IRC,
- Wayne Kirby’s ‘Alpha Tauri’ achieving 8th in ORCi, 13th PHS, 15th IRC,
- Chris Larsen’s ‘Kerisma’ achieving 7th in ORCi, 15th on PHS, 13th IRC,
- Drew Carruther’s ‘Miyu’ achieving 1st in Multihull OMR,
Commiserations to Justin Johnson’s ‘Sun Fish’ and Greg Watson’s ‘Touche42’ who had to abandon their race.
Congratulations to the following winners:
| Line Honours: | Wild Thing 100 | Grant Wharington |
| Courier Mail Cup Overall IRC Winner of the Race |
KERB | Brett Whitbread |
| PHS Winner | KERB | Brett Whitbread |
| ORCi Winner | M52 | Peter Hollis |
| Cruising Winner | Amaya II | Matthew Kingsberry |
SAIL OUR WAY – LADIES DAY!
On Saturday 28th March we saw an amazing day at Hollywell with our expanded Ladies Day Special Event incorporating Sailing Australia’s new ‘Sail Our Way’ program! A fleet of 19 Inshore and Offshore boats and 9 dinghies came together to race in the deep hole. We had some 100 female sailors both within the SYC sailing communities and broader communities come together to take a part in the racing followed by the skills development seminar lead by Stacey Jackson!
More coverage via the SYC inshore FB Group here:
SYC MEMBER JOEL TURNER & GC SAILS TEAM EARN TITLE AS “3RD BEST IN THE WORLD” AT 18FOOT SKIFF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
A massive congratulations to Joel Turner and his GC Sails team (including Scott and David Cunningham) for earning 3rd place out of 27 competitors from around the world this past week on Sydney Harbour! Joel scored an overall 41 across 9 races, well ahead of 4th place on a score of 52. In the final race 9, the spectacle of the entire fleet finishing at high speed under spinnaker towards Clark Island was not only a brilliant way to finish the regatta, it was one of the best spectacles of the entire season of the 18ft Skiff class.
Joel says “This regatta was a great success for me and my team. We had amazing weather conditions all week which made for fast and tactical racing. The quality of the fleet and the fun of racing with our GC Sails makes it so attractive to compete and I plan to be back there again next season!”
For more coverage of Joel’s achievement, see:
UPCOMING EVENTS
SAILING SPECIAL EVENTS
Heaps of updates as we head into a brand new season of sailing. All special events are now live in our online CALENDAR!
Offshore, due to inter-club calendars in SEQ, our Flat Rock Yacht Race on 6th June is now Race 2 of the Queensland Offshore Sailing Championship Series, instead of Julian Rocks Yacht Race which is coming up next Saturday 9th May. Details below.
Inshore, the annual Crab Island Classic for OTB Cats and Keelboats is also coming up on June 6th. Entries open soon!
Entries into our 17th SAIL PARADISE Regatta are also NOW OPEN! Scroll down for more details.
Southport Yacht Club holds annual and biennial special racing events across our 5 divisions, with Perpetual Trophies dating back many decades! Special Events feature our dedicated media team, offering footage of all the on-water action to watch on the day after racing as well as to download and share on your socials. These events are open to both SYC members and racers from other yacht clubs, keeping the competition fresh and welcoming sailors to our Gold Coast waterways. Check out what’s coming up here:
JULIAN ROCKS YACHT RACE
SATURDAY 9th MAY
Our final Offshore special event race of the season, Julian Rocks is Race 2 of the new combined club Queensland Offshore Sailing Championships, and Race 4 of our own Coral Sea Pointscore Series. Entries are now open here. Don’t miss it!
FLAT ROCK YACHT RACE
SATURDAY 6th JUNE
Kicking off our first special event of the 2026/27 season, our offshore fleet heads north instead of south on a 67 nautical mile journey to the northern tip of North Stradbroke Island. There lies Flat Rock, just off the coast of Point Lookout, and marks the half way turning point for this race. As Race 1 of our Coral Sea Pointscore Series. Entries are now open here. Don’t miss it!
THE YACHT SALES CO. SAIL PARADISE REGATTA 2026
FRIDAY 2nd – MONDAY 5th OCTOBER
Entries are now open for the 17th Sail Paradise Regatta! 2026 incorporates the Australian Yachting Championships. Get your entry in here. Don’t miss it!
GCCM GOLD COAST MACKAY YACHT RACE
3 months to go and Entries have grown to 28, matching last year’s starting line fleet! Southport Yacht Clubs’ flagship ocean race; the 520nm GCCM Gold Coast Mackay Yacht Race is fast heading towards its 3rd year, with a start on Thursday 30th July and Welcome party on Tuesday 28th July. We also welcome our 2nd multihull into the fleet this week, a seasoned circumnavigator Guy Chester and his trimaran Oceans Tribute from New Zealand. Who will be racing back to back from Sydney, or taking advantage of the free berthing right through to Hamilton Island Race Week?
Indulge yourself for 2 minutes with this short film punching out what you don’t want to miss out on for 2026. You may even see a few familiar faces!
For all the details visit www.goldcoastmackay.com, and click the picture to view the Launch Film:
CAT WEEKEND 2026
Catch up on the highlights from our annual Cat Weekend in the video below!
Full Results are available via the event page.
ILCA METRO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Catch up on the highlights from the SYC hosted regatta weekend in March in the video below!
ACADEMY NEWS
SAILOR OF THE WEEK:
This month we’re celebrating Dayal Johnson, who joined us through our Teens Learn to Sail program at Oxenford. Dayal has had an incredible time on the water and has shown fantastic growth in both confidence and skill throughout the term.
We’re excited to see him take the next step as he joins our OutThere Fleet at Hollywell starting this week. His progression has been impressive, and we can’t wait to see him continue to develop in open water conditions. Well done, Dayal!
ON THE LAKE AT OXENFORD
– by Ashlea Kernahan
This week, our team at Oxenford is eagerly preparing to welcome our Youth Sailors for Term 2. We’re excited to have over 18 Teens and just under 60 Kids joining us for another great term on the water. It’s always an exciting time seeing both new and returning sailors ready to get started.
Our Homeschool Sailing group had an absolute blast in their recent session, experiencing moderate winds that gave them a real taste of sailing. It was fantastic to see their confidence grow as they embraced the conditions and enjoyed their time on the water.
Over at Hollywell Sailing Squadron, our Adult Learn to Sail – April Beginners are heading into their final session, wrapping up a fantastic few weeks of learning and progression. We’re looking forward to welcoming our May intake back at Oxenford, with the next group ready to begin their sailing journey.
UPCOMING ACADEMY PROGRAM:
Adult Learn to Sail – May
Oxenford Watersports Centre
Sundays – May 10, 17 & 24th
https://www.oxenfordwatersportscentre.com.au/events/326259
Homeschool Sailing – Term 2
Oxenford Watersports Centre
Thursdays 12pm-2pm– Start April 23rd (8 Week Program)
https://southportyachtclub.com.au/kids-learn-to-sail/
Kids Learn to Sail – Term 2
Oxenford Watersports Centre
Saturdays 8:30am-11:30am– Start May 2nd (7 Week Program)
https://southportyachtclub.com.au/kids-learn-to-sail/
Teens Learn to Sail – Term 2
Oxenford Watersports Centre
Saturdays 8:30am-11:30am or 12pm-3pm – Start May 2nd (7 Week Program)
https://southportyachtclub.com.au/teens-learn-to-sail/
NSW OPTIMIST CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 – SYC Academy Representation
Congratulations to our two SYC Academy sailors, Lyla Greenwood and Jack McGuire, who travelled to compete in the NSW Optimist Championships 2026 at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
The regatta brought together a strong interstate fleet on Pittwater, with a full schedule of racing across the weekend. Sailors were tested across a range of conditions, requiring consistency, adaptability, and strong decision-making throughout the series.
A standout performance came from Lyla Greenwood, who placed 1st Overall Female and an impressive 4th in the Open Fleet, while Jack McGuire also delivered a strong result, finishing 11th in the Open Fleet.
A fantastic effort from both sailors, representing the Academy at a high level — we are incredibly proud!
RACING RESULTS 2025/26
CLUB RACING
Latest Division Coverage: