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King's Birthday long weekend sail

While sailors were well rugged up at the start of last Sunday’s PMYC offshore event, some skippers thoughts were further south where Port Macquarie Sailors Fiona MacManus, Hannah Walmsley and Alison Woolstenholme were experiencing gale force conditions while competing in the Australian Women’s Keelboat regatta
Thu 12 Jun 2025

The savvy mastery of light airs sailing was on full display

A sharp eye for picking wind lines and the savvy mastery of light airs sailing were on full display in Sunday’s Port Macquarie Yacht Club “river A” event. The event which the Officer of the Day, wisely changed the course from “river B” was run in breezes ranging from zero to five knots, and an initially surprisingly strong run in tide.
Mon 02 Jun 2025

After we crossed it didn’t seem that bad after all

“We were surprised how easy it was” was the comment from one of the newer skippers after PMYC’s ocean buoy event last Sunday. With a major runout after heavy rain on top of the usual tidal outflow, the Port Macquarie bar, muddied and angry appeared somewhere between menacing and hazardous when viewed from onshore or in the channel. Fortunately wise heads on the first boats to venture out radioed to the fleet, that a course well to the north provided a safe crossing.
Tue 06 May 2025

A Handicapper’s Lot

“Our feelings we with difficulty smother When the handicapper’s duty’s to be done– Taking one consideration with another– The handicapper’s lot is not a happy one.” With apologies to Messrs Gilbert & Sullivan, this was the predicament facing Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s handicapper when after the abandonment of last Sunday’s scheduled ocean buoy event due to atrocious bar conditions, a replacement river course was sailed.
Thu 24 Apr 2025

An anything but average sail

“…Day after day, day after day We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean" The widely known verse from Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner was beginning to be the experience of yachts competing in Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s Long Ocean Triangle event last Sunday 6 April 2025.
Tue 08 Apr 2025

Ra Ra Raz

Members of the local sailing community with long memories would remember Razzamatazz 2’s arrival in Port Macquarie in the early 1980’s. Owned jointly by PMYC life member Les Boaden, and Kevin Brown, the modified Farr 1104 “Raz” contested numerous Pittwater to Coffs series, and Pittwater to Lord Howe series, while dominating local yacht racing scene for many years.
Tue 25 Feb 2025

A river race with the full gamut of conditions, and optimism rewarded

The meaning of sailing as a sport has been debated ad nauseam over the years. A refuge, an emotional escape, a cold analytical exercise to name but a few. Or perhaps as on show last Sunday, when four yachts only fronted up for the scheduled “long” river event from Settlement Point to the Dennis Bridge and return when the great choreographer (weather conditions), optimism rewarded.
Tue 18 Feb 2025

They did it to themselves

“I’ve never seen anyone do it to themselves like Kookaburra just did” one skipper was heard to say after the cause of Kookaburra 2’s retirement from last Sunday’s Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s regatta became known post race. “Did they really did try to sink themselves?”, was the question after it was revealed that a seawater anchor chain washer pump had been (inadvertently) activated, overwhelming the anchor locker drains, and pumping several thousand litres of river water into Kookaburra 2’s forw
Tue 04 Feb 2025

Not Third Any Longer - Australia Day Regatta

The allure of Port Macquarie lies in its sub-tropical climate and all that it brings in terms of wildlife beaches and the general positive energy it exudes. Visitors and locals received a treat on Australia Day as yachts in PMYC’s Australia Day regatta made practice starts and jockeyed for position in the regatta start area in front of the Town Green, with the extended unofficial prestart of around 30 minutes between the on water race briefing, and the 11.00am start time, drawing a substantial c
Tue 28 Jan 2025

On a day with a dying breeze, every yacht was still a winner!

There was a joyous mood apparent across the fleet that turned out for last Sunday’s (12/01/2025) Port Macquarie Yacht Club river race when after one yacht voiced, “well at least we’re going to podium” there were peals of raucous, almost riotous laughter on adjacent yachts during a surprisingly eventful pre-start.
Tue 14 Jan 2025

Third Man continues to sail it’s socks off in Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s river series

The old saying that “One swallow doesn’t make a summer” has been thrown out the window with the performance of Frank Lagudi’s Third Man as that yacht continues to sail it’s socks off in both Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s river and ocean series. After unlocking several additional knots per hour extra performance during the 2024 sailing season Third Man took the honours in last Sunday’s River “B” sailed between the Settlement Point and Hibbard ferries.
Tue 07 Jan 2025

On a non-pointscore day, sailing was the clear winner

Perhaps the best place to take the temperature of a sporting body such as a local yacht club is at an event where annual pointscore placings are already settled, the race effectively counts for nothing, and the weather forecast is somewhat blancmange. In such case then the Port Macquarie Yacht Club would appear to be in very good shape, as a healthy fleet of seven yachts turned out to contest last Sunday’s ocean buoy event.
Tue 10 Dec 2024

Third Man combines maintenance and tactics to score a great win

With a peaceful bar crossing, winds hovering around the 15 knot mark and easy seas, skippers and crew, considered they had found the ultimate in sailing bliss, and could only marvel that five yachts alone faced the starter for Sunday’s long ocean north event.
Tue 26 Nov 2024

River shaman Teddy Clausen steers Cool Change to victory

The definition of relentless is “continuing in a determined way without interruption”. Such definition could be applied to Cool Change’s skipper, who, although having taken an unassailable lead in Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s inshore pointscore, with a crew of irregulars, continued in Cool Change’s domination of club inshore events, on a day that tested all skippers and crew.
Tue 19 Nov 2024

Ocean pointscore regatta: Clean sweep to Enticer

The Port Macquarie yacht club runs sufficient offshore regattas for regularly competing skippers to have a reasonable idea of expected elapsed times for the various courses. Last Sunday, with racing scheduled to commence at 9.30am on the North easterly regatta course a fleet of seven yachts faced the starter at the slightly delayed start, in a light to non existent breeze.
Tue 12 Nov 2024

Invitational race to Laurieton and MRPM Ocean Classic trophy race return

Many visitors to Port Macquarie who sing the praises of the light and gentle breezes and the safe, accessible beaches would have found only wind whipped sand and beaches closed due to the heavy seas on Saturday when PMYC ran the first day of it’s Invitational race weekend to Laurieton and return. In those conditions four yachts only contested the weekend’s events. Northshore 38 Solar Coaster skippered by Stuart Watson used the weekend as a training run for its skipper who has entered
Tue 29 Oct 2024