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:
UPCOMING EVENTS
SAILING SPECIAL EVENTS
Julian Rocks Yacht Race is on this Saturday 9th May! The interactive Live Tracker will be on display in our Main Beach Clubhouse. Details below!
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.
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 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 Zachary Spalding, who has shown a true passion for sailing from day one. Zachary first joined us through our School Holiday Sailing program and quickly picked up the fundamentals, demonstrating strong confidence and eagerness to learn.
We’re excited to have him back this term as he moves into Tackers 3, and we look forward to watching his continued growth on the water. Well done, Zachary!
ON THE LAKE AT OXENFORD
– by Ashlea Kernahan
Our May Adult Learn to Sail course kicks off this Sunday at Oxenford Lake, with a near sold-out intake. We’re looking forward to welcoming this group of sailors over the next three weeks as they begin their sailing journey.
Last week, our team at Oxenford welcomed our Kids and Teens Learn to Sail groups for the start of Term 2. We had an incredible turnout, with over 20 Teens and just under 60 Kids joining us for the first day of the term.
Despite a few passing showers and some windy conditions, our sailors had an absolute ball on the water. It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm and energy from both new and returning sailors, and we’re excited to see their skills continue to develop over the coming weeks.
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: