Junior sailing in Port Stephens gets a boost

by Sail Port Stephens Media 2012 on 30 Apr 2012 Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club President Karen Nye says the recent Sail Port Stephens 2012 regatta has definitely boosted interest in junior sailing in the area.

‘The two day Junior Regatta sailed within Sail Port Stephens was a wonderful success.

‘The regatta venue, Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club, is situated in front of Salamander Shores and its ideal for the junior boats and for the families.

‘The beach provides a great launching area and the water out the front of the club is fantastic for the event. There are good viewing areas from the top deck of Aquatic Club and from the jetty for parents’ Nye commented.

‘I was thrilled with the entrants we had in this first year. 34 entrants was a fantastic number and I can really see our junior regatta numbers doubling for next year, with entrants coming from outside the region and from interstate. After that the sky is the limit.

‘This year we mainly had the O’Pen Bic’s sailing and next year we will be very keen to have strong fleets of Lasers 4.7’s, Optimists and Sabots.

‘For many of the children this was their first regatta and they had a great time.

‘The Sail Port Stephens Race officers on the Thursday and Friday said how much they enjoyed officiating for the children.

‘They agreed the children were enjoying themselves, having fun, and commented on the camaraderie between the children and just how much they looked after one another and encouraged each other.

‘Thursday was initially cloudy and raining but it gradually cleared and Friday was a beautiful day. It was spectacular to see and watching from the shore it really filled me with joy to see those children out on the water having a great time and to see all the clubs, all the sailors and all the volunteers working together to promote sailing and the juniors in Port Stephens.

‘Our Club has been getting great support from Corlette Point Sailing Association, Port Stephens Yacht Club and Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, who are all working with us on a regional youth program.

‘Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club manned a small stand down on the Nelson Bay waterfront on the Saturday and Sunday of the senior regatta, in combination with the O’Pen Bics Association.

‘We had a couple of our children sailing around in the harbour on the Bics and we were handing out information to people and there was a lot of interest.

‘We registered the names of 22 adults and 20 children who live in the area and are genuinely interested in learning to sail next season.

‘Both the senior and junior sailing regattas, and having a promotional activity on the foreshore, really combined to show people in the Port Stephens area that we are serious about junior sailing and growing our club.

Karen Nye concluded on a very positive note.

‘For our next Learn to Sail course we already have a full list of interested participants - adults, women, men and children.

‘The September school holidays are the last week in September and first week of October and that is when we will run our next Learn to Sail programme.

‘The Club sails from the first week in September, weather permitting, through to April.’

More information is available at the Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club website http://www.pssac.com/

Full results, images and more information on the Sail Port Stephens Regatta can be found at Sail Port Stephens website www.sailportstephens.com.au

The Junior regatta was sponsored by Soldiers Point Marina and Port Stephens Beachside Holiday Park.

For more information on Soldiers Point Marina visit their website http://www.soldiersptmarina.com.au

For more information on Port Stephens Beachside Holiday Park visit their website at http://www.beachsideholidays.com.au