LATEST NEWS
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
The Julian Rocks Yacht Race has been rescheduled for Saturday 9th May!
SAIL PARADISE ENTRIES OPENING NOW!
NEW SEASON CALENDAR OF EVENTS OUT SOON!
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
ENTRIES are now officially open to Southport Yacht Clubs’ flagship event, the 3rd 520nm GCCM Gold Coast Mackay Yacht Race! This year’s event starts on Thursday 30th July, with our welcome party on Tuesday 28th July in conjunction with the finish of the 40th anniversary of the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
With over 21 eoi’s and entries so far, including over half of last year’s fleet, 2026 is already seeing brand new names enter, including ‘VIXEN RACING’ from New Zealand!
Indulge yourself for 2 minutes with this promotional film kicking off official entries 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:
NAVIGATION AND CRUISING EVENTS
Sat, 25-Apr-26 – Power Boat ANZAC Day Honour Guard Raft-up
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 week we’re celebrating Ewan Micallef from our Teens Learn to Sail group. Ewan has been a fantastic addition to the program, showing great enthusiasm and commitment on the water.
He is now taking the next step in his sailing journey as he moves into our OutThere Fleet program at Hollywell, and we’re excited to see him continue to grow and develop his skills in open water. Well done, Ewan!
ON THE LAKE AT OXENFORD
– by Ashlea Kernahan
Last Friday marked the final day of our April School Holiday Sailing Program, with an incredible 186 participants joining us at Oxenford over the two weeks. Our sailors were lucky enough to enjoy near-perfect conditions — no grey skies, no rain, and no extreme winds… a rare treat for a Queensland school holiday!
This Thursday, we’re excited to welcome our Homeschool Sailing group for their free trial session on April 23rd, 2026. We’re looking forward to introducing a new group of sailors to the water and building confidence in a fun, supportive environment.
Our Learn to Sail programs officially kick off next Saturday, May 2nd, with both our Kids and Teens groups returning for the new term. We can’t wait to see all our sailors back on the lake and ready for another great term.
Over at Hollywell Sailing Squadron, our Adult Learn to Sail participants have been having an absolute blast. With over 19 beginners sailing on Saturdays and 12 sailors in our Better Sailing Intermediate course on Sundays, it’s been fantastic to see so many adults getting involved and building their skills on the Broadwater.
We’re thrilled to see such strong participation across all programs, with more and more sailors getting out on the water each week. Our upcoming May Adult Learn to Sail course now has just 2 spots remaining, so don’t miss out!
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!
SUMMER ON THE LAKE – EVENT WRAP UP
Summer on the Lake was another outstanding success, with over 760 participants joining us at the Oxenford Watersports Centre for our annual Discover Sailing Day.
Families enjoyed a full day of free sailing, free SUP and family-friendly fun, creating a vibrant atmosphere on and off the water. It was fantastic to see so many people on the water experiencing sailing and enjoying a great day at the Club.
RACING RESULTS 2025/26
CLUB RACING
Latest Division Coverage: