Sixty year celebration for Bill Gale

by Peter McCorquodale on 9 Sep 2005 This Saturday will be a great day to visit Sydney Amateur Sailing Club for the first day of the 2005-2006 Spring/Summer series, the Club’s 134th year of racing - with the annual Lion Island race offshore and the Opening Regatta on the Harbour.

If that isn’t enough excitement to whet the appetite of yachties rearing to get out on the water, we are also celebrating a milestone reached by one of the Amateur’s best-known; some would say infamous, members.

Saturday will be the start of Bill Gale’s 60th season racing with the Amateurs – a quite remarkable achievement in itself, but even more so when all of these seasons have been raced aboard the same yacht – Ranger, designed by his father Cliff Gale, and launched in 1933.

In fitting with the theme of the day, there will be a couple of Rangers alongside the pontoon after racing. Sean Langman’s Vagrant has emerged from the Noakes shed after receiving some tender care. Vagrant will share the glory with John Crawford’s Vanity – the ‘new’ Ranger, also having recently been at Noakes.

We encourage all members and guests who are interested in old classics to come down to the club to help celebrate with Bill. Who knows, if he is asked politely, he may even say a few words!

For those racing on Saturday, come back to the Amateurs after the race. If you are not racing, but would like to help celebrate, it is expected that festivities will be kicking off around 3.00pm.