Manly Yacht Club - Sixty years old and still going strong
by Jim Nixon on 18 Sep 2010
The MYC fleet starts a race near Manly Wharf last season. Ken Terrens nixon
According to the famous tourist slogan, the iconic seaside suburb of Manly is 'seven miles from Sydney but a 1,000 miles from care'. Those words are also a fitting description of Manly Yacht Club, a community-based club nestled on the shores of Manly Cove that will celebrate its 60th birthday this year.
Founded in 1950 as the Manly 14ft Skiff Club, the small club, which is the spiritual home of the famous Manly Junior sailing dinghy (which had a snub nose so it could fit in the club's storeroom), is undergoing something of a resurgence, with increased membership and fleet numbers.
As historic as the famous MJ, which has trained thousands of sailors for decades, is the club's building, a former Gentlemen's Baths, 'the largest and most efficiently equipped gentlemen's swimming baths in the state', which opened in 1892 and once saw races featuring the local Olympic hero, Andrew 'Boy' Charlton.
The infamous storm of 1974 that badly damaged the baths also destroyed MYC's first home, a nearby shed. With the baths gone, the club moved into the old building, which is heritage-listed today. But it's yacht-racing, not swimming that drives the volunteer club on.
Last season the weekly Friday night twilight race attracted up to 40 boats, and this year the club's pre-eminent competition, the Club Championships, hopes to build on that momentum, starting with Race 1 on September 26. Twilights start on October 22.
The 10-race series, raced on Sunday afternoons, is probably the best value sailing in the country, costing just $100 to enter, and is open to any keel boat with a Cat 7 safety certificate, not just club members.
Last year one of Sydney's iconic yachts, the beautifully restored International 5.5-metre class boat Pam, finally got her name on the trophy after more than 15 years of trying. Pam was once a rival of the famous Barrenjoey, which won Olympic gold in Tokyo for Bill Northam in 1964. She was rescued from a watery grave in the early 1990s by eccentric Manly shipwright Peter MacDonald, who now lives in Canada, but the boat is raced by a group of friends who all share a love for classic wooden vessels.
'We'll definitely be back this year to defend our title,' said part-owner Al Sims. 'If were a betting man I'd back us to win the double. I think we've finally worked out the secret to winning the club champs ... turn up for every race!'
Some of Pam's itinerant crew often sail with Peter Mosely on his BH-41, Local Hero, which recently won the Audi at Hamilton Island, so the boat won't be lacking in competitive spirit.
But you don't have to be a blue water ocean racer to be in the hunt at Manly YC - most of the race entries are older-style yachts from 25-36 feet, and having fun on one of the world's most beautiful waterways is the club's primary goal.
For more information about racing at MYC go to the website: www.myc.org.au
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/74769