Sabot Nationals on tack

by Shayne Collier on 18 Sep 2007
A quaint wooden sailing club located at the end of a narrow winding street seems an unlikely venue for the largest junior sailing regatta in Australia.

But the members of the Vaucluse Amateur 12ft Sailing Club (VA12’SC), in cooperation with the Southern NSW Sabot Association, have galvanised into action to ensure that The 44th National Sabot Championships and the Sabot Week Regatta run smoothly and efficiently.

The championships, held from December 27, 2007, to January 6, 2008, hold a special significance for the VA12’SC.

This season marks the 50th anniversary of the Sabot class in NSW. And it all started at Vaucluse in November 1958, when a group of fathers keen to get their kids into sailing built the first five Sabots in the state.

Regatta director Paula Reilly says the organising committee is catering to up to 250 children aged from eight to 16. She expects 108 boats in the Nationals fleet (72 in the 1Ups and 36 in the 2Ups) and more than 80 boats in Sabot Week (around 50 in the 1Ups and 30 in the 2Ups). The event attracts competitors from NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.

Paula and her team have been working tirelessly in the lead-up to the event. With assistance from the local community they have solved several logistical problems involving space, location and parking.

'Because our own club has limited space and access, Vaucluse Yacht Club has lent us their venue, which we’ll use exclusively for all child-centred events such as registration, signing on and off, the canteen and the barbecue,' Paula says.

The VA12’SC, a five minute walk from the yacht club, is the HQ for administration, support boats, refuelling and manager meetings.

Boats will be rigged and stored at Gibson’s Beach and also stored at Robertson Park, located between the two clubs. Vaucluse Public School has opened up its grounds for parking for trailers, plus the two containers which are expected from the Tasmanian team.

Because there is no time-limit on parking on the roads and streets close to the clubs, Paula doesn’t think parking should be an issue for those attending the event or for local residents.

'We’ve talked to some of the neighbours and everyone seems quite happy,' she says. 'I think the people running businesses locally would also be quite happy to have us here.'

Paula says Vaucluse is the perfect location for the event. 'It was chosen because Vaucluse is the home of Sabot sailing in NSW,' she says. 'And the other reason is that we get the first zephyrs of the nor’easter coming through The Gap. We get really good winds and wind early in the day, which is good for the Sabot Week sailors.'

For more information on The 44th National Sabot Championships and the Sabot Week Regatta, go to the Vaucluse Amateur 12ft Sailing Club website at www.va12sc.org.au
and click on Sabot Nationals 2007-08.