The oldest video footage of VJ racing dinghies - the Vaucluse Junior class
by Magnus Smith 10 Aug 17:55 EST
Vee-Jay dinghy © Byron Georgouras
Our video archive is fully searchable, and updated weekly with the latest sailing videos, but here we look back at early sailing in the Vaucluse Junior (or the Vee-Jay) dinghy class, widespread amongst Australian kids/youth. We have footage from the Forties to the Nineties for you to enjoy.
The earliest video we could find was from Watsons Bay, Sydney Harbour in 1947. If you are in a hurry then skip the intro and the surfing, going straight to 1m07s.
From around 1955 there is an ABC News recording of launching a VJ from Avalon Sailing Club.
Of uncertain date, we have VJ action possibly from Middle Harbour Yacht Club.
A less uncertain date now, the video is marked 1957-58 and shows racing at Northbridge Sailing Club. VJ action begins at 2m27s.
The Fifties offering below is actually a work of fiction, acted out by young sailors: Two Boys and a Boat.
Moving into the Sixties now, this is from Lake Macquarie.
From 1966-67 we have the National Championships at South of Perth Yacht Club.
Later on comes Teralba Lake Macquarie circa 1967-69, and after that sadly we could find nothing from the Seventies or Eighties!
Before everything went digital in the 2000s, thankfully some Nineties material has been preserved: Australian Championships 1993-94 is split into several parts. Head over to youtube.com/@vauclusejunior to see the rest, plus videos from the 1994-95 and 1998-99 championships too!
What of the rest?
Do you know the location of any other old VJ videos? We would love to share these with sailors worldwide. You can submit video links for immediate review.
Keep watching with: