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Kookaburra Sings

Invented in 1883, there’s Reversi and Anti Reversi, both two person games where strategy becomes critical from the first quarter but with the object of the game flipped.  In normal format mixed fleet yacht racing starts are no quarter given or asked affairs. Strategic starting is important in that races can often certainly be lost at the start and occasionally won on the back of a good start.
Tue 17 Feb 2026

Cool Change Ticks Another Box

Port Macquarie Yacht Club requires that yachts on its racing register comply with mandatory minimum equipment and safety standards. While not mandatory, situational training is considered desirable, including man overboard training. Cool Change’s crew will be entitled to claim exemptions following a man overboard incident and recovery during last Sunday’s river “A” race.
Tue 10 Feb 2026

When minuses multiplied become a plus

With nine yachts having lengths from twenty feet to forty feet starting in Sunday’s Port Macquarie Yacht Club river “B” between the ferries race, and the fleet including cruisers and outright racers,  inequality between competitors seemed problematic. With an additional minus being the shortage of crew on most yachts it was easy to forget that a minus multiplied by a minus equals a plus.
Mon 02 Feb 2026

Natural Progress

The newest addition to the Port Macquarie Yacht Club Fleet, Larissa Trapeznikova’s “Ninja” emphatically announced her arrival in last Sunday’s river race “C”, from Settlement Point to  the Maria river. With a well earned victory in testing conditions Ninja was able to convert her last few “nearly but not quite” results to a top of podium finish, and second on the annual river pointscore on the back of the blistering speed shown in the first and second legs of the three leg race.
Sun 21 Dec 2025

Strong Start to Title Defence

Lies, lies damned lies and statistics. It has been said so many times in so many different ways, but sometimes the numbers are simply unarguable, as last Sunday’s river race “C” demonstrated.
Tue 16 Dec 2025

PMYC Offshore Season restart

After taking home the Katiward Broken Oar hard luck trophy for 2025, Kookaburra commenced her title defence last Sunday, when with a full crew assembled and about to depart her mooring, it was noticed that the exhaust was waterless. A preliminary inspection found the issue not immediately repairable, and that yacht withdrew from Sunday’s Long Ocean event without leaving the mooring.
Tue 16 Dec 2025

Ninja crew enjoying the moment

The fiercely contested Port Macquarie Yacht Club river series placings are now determined after Last Sunday’s long river race “C”, sailed from Settlement Point to the Dennis Bridge turning mark, and return. Sailed in a northerly breeze that slowly built over the course of the race, before shifting to north easterly, a moderate fleet of 5 yachts turned out to contest the event.
Wed 26 Nov 2025

2026 Event Calendar

The 2026 event calendar has been published and includes over 70 races for 2026.
Tue 18 Nov 2025

A winning state of mind?

With it being mathematically impossible to lose Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s river race series, Cool Change’s skipper started last Sunday’s river “A” race, with the intention of sailing skilfully though not necessarily competitively, and in doing so take enjoyment by finding the optimal performance that yacht could deliver.
Tue 11 Nov 2025

On it’s Way  -  Third Man Charging Towards Series Title?

Port Macquarie Yacht Club runs both annual river and ocean series which are mostly closely contested. For both series PMYC uses performance handicapping to determine race results as opposed to a ratings derived handicapping system, where individual boats potential performance characteristics are used to set handicaps and determine results.
Mon 03 Nov 2025

Seven yachts turn out for last Sunday’s river “C” event

PMYC’s river “C” races are amongst the most problematic on the annual race calendar. With unreliable and inconsistent breezes along the course,  unhelpful tides, and groundings  to name but a few of the hazards encountered, it was pleasing to see a good fleet of seven yachts turn out for last Sunday’s river “C” event, sailed from Settlement Point to Dennis bridge and return.
Tue 28 Oct 2025

New strategy provides winning formula

Based on a theory that winning the start in yacht races means all other boats have to pass you to win, Third Man has mastered the first part of that equation, but mostly failed to convert. An apparent change of strategy in PMYC’s 19/10/25 ocean buoy event saw Third Man cross the start in arrears of Cool Change and Razzamatazz 2, but ultimately take out the race by a healthy two minute margin.
Fri 24 Oct 2025

No Clubhouse  -  Plenty of Spirit

Port Macquarie Yacht Club is not unique in being without a clubhouse, as there are quite a few similar yacht clubs in NSW, however it is unique in having run yachting competitions continuously for some 43 years, and with the exception of during Covid time, staging both offshore and inshore competitions without interruption over that entire period.
Mon 13 Oct 2025

After promising only disappointment, a great day’s sailing & unusual result

An excellent fleet of seven yachts lined up for last Sunday’s delayed start Port Macquarie Yacht Club  River “B” race sailed between the Settlement Point and Hibbard ferries.  Pre start the day promised little with insufficient breeze to allow a start, until, almost on cue a zephyr of breeze at around the designated 4.5 knot minimum required sprang up, and a race start was enabled.
Tue 30 Sep 2025

Ancient Order Resuscitated

With a grappling hook only, a pike and sword being unavailable, popular Port Macquarie Yacht Club sailor Basia Dworak was inducted into the mostly forgotten Order of the Pike Sword and Grappling Hook, in front of a small gathering of crew from Kookaburra 2 and Cool Change, onboard Kookaburra 2, prior to last Sunday’s Ocean buoy event.
Mon 22 Sep 2025

On a fine afternoon

The start of Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s river “A” race run last Sunday 14 th of September was delayed two hours, resulting in “golden zone” sailing conditions. For the five yachts that turned out to contest the event all the world seemed in tune on that fine afternoon, as they lined up for the start in around 12 knots of northerly breeze.
Wed 17 Sep 2025

Celebrating Charlie Nichol - and our Handicapper

He’s some cool dude, and is like “the little engine that could”. Seldom praised, but an integral part of the glue that holds the yacht club together, club handicapper Ken McDonald took the spotlight after the first leg of last weekend’s Port Macquarie Yacht Club’s Charles Nichol trophy event, which was run in the pursuit format.
Wed 10 Sep 2025