Please select your home edition
Edition
Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Leaderboard

God must sail a Laser says Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron CEO

by Sail-World.com on 27 Mar 2012
Laser World Masters Championship 2012 - launching time Laser Masters Worlds Media 2012 http://www.lasersailing.com.au
At the recent 2012 Laser Worlds Masters Championships, the easiest way to find Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron’s head honcho Paul Hughes, was to go to the top of the launching ramp where each morning he joined the volunteers taking the Laser dollies from the departing sailors.

In between Laser dolly dragging we spoke to him on the last day of the Laser Masters Worlds 2012 event.

Hughes was smiling broadly. ‘We are really enjoying having the World Championships at RQ, and we have two more this year.

‘This was a great event; 234 competitors from 19 nations, all having an absolute ball. For the first three days we had probably the best Laser sailing in the world, then we lost a day but came back with two glorious days to finish with a full schedule of 12 good races across the Masers Full Rig, Radial and 4.7 fleets. It has convinced me that god sails a Laser.

‘We have busy months ahead with lots of great racing but we are certainly building towards a climax.

‘RQ have the Laser Radial Youth World Championship (28 June-4 July), Queensland Youth Week fifth-8th July and then the Laser Radial Worlds, (11-17 July).

‘We used to talk about sailing seasons but there are only three weekends of the entire year that we don’t have sailing at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron and both of those are under pressure at the moment, with events keen to grab them.

‘We had five national championships in January. We had the Youth Nationals and now this is a very successful first of three World Laser events at RQ this year.

‘We have a fantastic group of volunteers. We have over 60 on water every day for this event and the race management, I think, is equal to any you find.

‘We have a fabulous dinghy Worlds venue. It is particularly good in weeks like this where the wind comes from the one direction, doesn’t vary too much and blows at the same strength. It makes race managers look good.


‘With the Queensland State Yachting Association located on the premises as well as a very busy motel, it is quite an overall site.

‘In January, for example, our camping ground had just over 200 people camping in it.

‘You can do everything at Royal Queensland. There are not many places where you can get all of those options inside the one set of gates. It is all secure, very safe and we can offer people a real experience as a holiday, as distinct from just a regatta.

‘We are rejuvenating our outside dining area starting next week. We have just waiting for the Worlds to finish and we will have it completed before the first of the Radial World Championships. Just under $700,000 worth of revamp there.

‘Our Marina One refurbishment project is about to start and that will be about ten and a half million dollars.

‘We have our sights set on a brand new marine sports building with state of the art volunteers rooms, junior club rooms etc., and we are just going through the fundraising processes for that at present.’

‘The rigging lawns are getting a workout with all the events so its lucky we had had plenty of rain. God the Laser sailor helping us out again!’

North Sails Loft 57 PodcastRooster 2025B&G Zeus SR AUS

Related Articles

SailGP's return to Auckland for Season 6 confirmed
ITM is the NZ's Grand Prix's Title Partner, marking a fourth year supporting Black Foils. After a record breaking debut, the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Auckland has been confirmed to be returning in 2026 and is set to be bigger than ever.
Posted on 26 Jun
Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 dates confirmed
Including a return to fan-favorite destination, Auckland SailGP has released further details of forthcoming 2026 Season, including the return of fan-favorite locations, multi-year hosting agreements secured across all regions, and an evolved regional structure to raise the stakes for athletes and fans alike.
Posted on 26 Jun
BOISW - New Committee announced for 2026
New Committee working hard behind the scenes to rework the 2026 Bay of Islands Sailing Week . A newly appointed committee is already working hard behind the scenes to rework the 2026 Bay of Islands Sailing Week event while honouring the traditions that have made it so special to the sailing community.
Posted on 26 Jun
Pip Hare Announced as Patron of WORLDSTAR 2026
A meaningful return to her roots with the Royal Western Yacht Club of England The Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) is absolutely delighted to welcome solo ocean racing legend Pip Hare as the Patron of WORLDSTAR 2026—our flagship round-the-world sailing event. This is more than a title; it's a homecoming.
Posted on 26 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 7
British mixed dominance in dinghy and catamaran After the second day of the Sailing Grand Slam in the Olympic mixed classes, Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris are leading the 470 class even more dominantly than John Gimson and Anna Burnet in the Nacra 17 on Thursday (June 26).
Posted on 26 Jun
29th Superyacht Cup Palma day 1
Cervo and Open Season take opening day honours The Superyacht Cup Palma 2025 swung into action today, with captains and crews across the varied and inspiring fleet seizing the opportunity to take the measure of the competition out on the racecourse.
Posted on 26 Jun
J/70 Mixed-Plus Worlds at Lake Garda Day 1
Yupi leads after a perfect opening day in Torbole Lake Garda delivered its finest conditions for the opening day of the first-ever J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship: three races completed in a steady, warm Ora breeze peaking at 20 knots.
Posted on 26 Jun
Tschüss 2 - Transatlantic Titans
Line Honours for Christian Zugel's Volvo 70 in the Transatlantic Race 2025 Volvo 70 Tschüss 2 (USA), owned by Christian Zugel and co-skippered by Johnny Mordaunt, has taken Line Honours in the West to East Transatlantic Race 2025 in an elapsed time of 07 Day 15 Hrs 29 Mins and 10 Secs.
Posted on 26 Jun
Craig Wood Makes History
The first triple amputee to sail solo non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Craig is the first triple amputee to sail solo non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific, completing the 7506nm journey from Mexico to Japan in 90 days.
Posted on 26 Jun
NTG Global Graduate Program
Shape your career and propel yourself into the world of innovation North Technology Group, a global leader in advanced composite technology, is offering an exciting and dynamic graduate program that will shape your career and propel you into the world of innovation.
Posted on 26 Jun