Was it Proust, or was it Dennis Connor, who said, once we renounce the truths, we will never understand sailing? It has been similarly expressed by many. A pessimist scrawled on a changing room’s wall, “The wages of sin is death with a curse, but with sailing, of course, it can always get worse.” written perhaps by a sailor feeling the inequities of an unfavourable wind shift. Of course in sailing if you’re an optimist, your truth is “Luck is a Fortune”. · Read more

Folie à deux,  translates loosely as a condition where two closely associated individuals share similar delusional beliefs. One can only wonder why every sail boat jointly owned does not carry this name. Perhaps this became apparent when the Cygnet 20 of that name, the tiniest boat in the fleet, and sailed by its co-owners,  showed a clean pair of heels to the Port Macquarie Yacht Club fleet in last Sunday’s scheduled river race from Settlement Point to Dennis Bridge and return. · Read more

Sunday June 22nd saw the final race in the current ocean sailing season. After a disrupted season which saw numerous abandonments, skippers’ hopes were high when the seven day forecast was for an 8 – 14  knot wind range on  a lazy half meter swell. Those checking the forecast would have seen little change in the forecast swell, but a progressive falling away of wind strength. · Read more

With the Mercury dipping and Instagram videos of snow falling on the adjacent range, Port Macquarie sailors presented in multi layered sailing apparel for last Sunday’s scheduled PMYC long river event from Settlement Point to the Dennis Bridge mark and return. · Read more

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 · Read more

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. · Read more

Some flood pictures of Urunga. · Read more

“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. · Read more

“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. · Read more