Committee Report - Yachting Victoria

Annual Committee Reports 

September 2012

KEELBOAT COMMITTEE 

The Keelboat Committee (KBC) has a focus on keelboat racing within Victoria, and an objective of promoting 

participation. 

The composition of the Keelboat Committee has been refined and now includes the Club Captains with 

accountability for keelboat racing at related yacht clubs across Port Phillip. Currently this includes Royal 

Yacht Club of Victoria, Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, Royal Melbourne Yacht 

Squadron, Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Sandringham Yacht Club, Mornington Yacht Club, Blairgowrie Yacht 

Squadron and Royal Geelong Yacht Club, along with a representative from Yachting Victoria. 

KBC continues to deal with the interclub Club Marine Series as a major and continuing agenda item. This 

year the format of the Division 0 racing was amended in response to participant feedback. Multiple races per 

day were also introduced across all divisions to maintain the desired number of races in the Series when a 

race day was abandoned. The Series remains hugely popular, with over 100 participants for each heat, held 

across two course areas. The amendment of divisional splits in the 2010/11 season saw a different fleet mix 

this year, providing some very competitive racing with positive participant feedback. 

The Club Marine Series event, along with other significant keelboat regattas such as Geelong Week, the 

Lipton Cup and the inter-club Association Cup, provides the foundation of the keelboat racing calendar. The 

KBC provides a valuable forum for alignment of Club programs to minimise conflicts, whilst providing a mix 

of club-based and inter-club racing. 

This year saw the introduction of State Championships for AMS and IRC, aligned with SYC’s inaugural 

Centenary Regatta. Whilst the SYC Centenary regatta will remain as a notable season-closing event, the 

State titles will rotate around the major keelboat regattas in Port Phillip on an annual basis, with the Lipton 

Cup targeted for the 2011/12 season. 

Other matters addressed by KBC this year include: 

Association Cup format 

Guidance from Parks Vic regarding use of channel marks for racing and replacement of Club marks 

YV representation on YA Offshore Keelboat Policy Committee 

Solo racing 

Non-member day pass schemes 

Alignment and standardisation of race documentation 

Active boat policies and relationship to berthing availability 

Keelboat safety and input to the next “Blue Book”, working in conjunction with the YV Risk 

Management and Safety Committee on areas of common interest. 

2 | Annual Committee Report - September 2011.docx

Current issues under consideration by KBC include the question of the measurement of stability, particularly 

in Category 1 and 2 events, which is being reviewed by Yachting Australia. This issue has arisen previously 

and remains an unresolved matter: locally, nationally and even internationally. Other items targeted for 

future consideration include: 

Greater alignment of Club racing calendars to minimise event conflicts 

 

 

Continued development / upgrade of a central website dedicated to Victorian keelboat racing 

Potential implementation of a consolidated set of information nights run across Clubs for areas of 

common interest to keelboats such as engine maintenance, rig maintenance and tuning, weather 

information, developments in sail cloth, etc. 

MARK WELSH 

KEELBOAT CHAIR 


TRAILABLE YACHT DIVISION COMMITTEE 

Attendance at meetings remains strong; an average of 10 Class Associations and Yacht Club 

representatives are present at the meetings. The TYD has met almost monthly in the last twelve months. 

The 2011 Victorian Championships were conducted at Paynesville by the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club on 

behalf of the TYD over the weekend of 2 nd and 3 rd April. Twenty seven boats competed; the overall winner 

was Stuart Loft of the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club in RL24 Spud Gun. Thank you to GLYC for conducting an 

excellent event; to our major sponsor, Four Winds Marine and to local sponsor, Lightfoot Wines. 

The 2012 Victorian Trailable Yacht Championships are to be conducted by the Bendigo Yacht Club at Lake 

Eppalock on behalf of the Trailable Yacht Division of Yachting Victoria over the weekend of 18 th and 19 th 

February 2012. This regatta is part of a calendar of trailable yacht events coordinated by the TYD. 

A new event, combining social, recreational and cruising activities for trailable yacht owners was conducted 

by the TYD and the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club over the 2011 Easter holidays. The Paynesville 

Rendezvous was combined with the GLYC’s traditional Easter racing Regatta to give trailable yacht owners 

a wide range of activities, from racing to cruising to choose from during their stay in the Gippsland Lakes 

area. Rendezvous activities included a mini-boat show, a flare demonstration, a cruise and overnight at 

Rotamah Island, culminating in a dinner on the Monday night with guest speaker James Frechville and the 

conducting of the Bob Couper Memorial Quiz. Formal registrations for the Rendezvous were disappointingly 

low, but the event did create a lot of interest around the Club with many “drop-ins” to activities and 

approximately 80 people attended the Rendezvous dinner. 

TYD was represented at the BIA Summer Boat Show at Docklands in February. The display attracted a lot of 

enquiries. Thanks to Len Hatfield of the Ultimate Association for the use of his boat for the weekend. 

During the last twelve months the CBH and Measurement Sub-Committee has been active in reviewing the 

CBH list, including measuring boats for a new or revised CBH. 

The TYD cruise program continues with 9 Victorian boats enjoying a cruise to southern Tasmanian waters in 

February, including attendance at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart. 

The TYD proposed two major changes to the Australian Trailable Yacht and Sports Boat Rule that were 

presented by TYD representative John Burgess on the National Trailable Yacht and Sports Boat Policy 

Committee (NTYSBPC) at their meeting in July. The two issues were (i) the definition of a trailable yacht as 

compared to a sports boat and (ii) the relevance of safety issues in the issuing of a CBH to new or modified 

boats. Both issues are currently being considered by the NTYSBPC. 

John Burgess on behalf of YV has had a meeting with Mr Craig Carmody, Principal Adviser to the Hon 

Anthony Albanese, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport re the inequities with respect to trailable 

boats in the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Subsidy scheme. We are hopeful of a favourable 

outcome. 

ROB BALLARD 

TRAILABLE YACHT DIVISION CHAIR 


YV PERFORMANCE HANDICAPPING COMMITTEE 

As we are about to enter a new sailing season, the role of Performance Handicapping continues to provide 

the basis for keelboat club sailing on Port Philip Bay. 

The Club Handicappers have again maintained a forum to discuss and resolve issues and keep the system 

current and Minor changes have been made for the upcoming season to the Handicap Rules (attached). 

The annual meeting of Club Handicappers was held in mid July and addressed by Rod McCubbin (from Top 

Yacht). Rod highlighted changes to Top Yacht and the programme methodology in handling performance 

handicaps in short series racing. The meeting also concluded that there were no issues of significance from 

the 2010-2011 season that needed addressing. 

Divisional breakpoints were agreed to be 810 and 890 for the new season (2011-2012). 

The Performance Handicap Committee again provided performance based Event Handicaps for the 2011 

Audi Week run by RGYC. Event Handicaps for over 250 yachts and multihulls were provided. 

The Performance handicap Committee has representation from the following Keelboat Clubs, 

Royal Geelong Yacht Club 

Royal Yacht Club of Victoria 

Hobsons Bay Yacht Club 

Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron 

Royal Brighton Yacht Club 

Sandringham Yacht Club 

Mornington Yacht Club 

Blairgowrie Yacht Club 

Ocean Racing Club of Victoria 

The active support and participation from Club Handicappers continues to maintain an effective and popular 

handicapping system and provide the closest keelboat racing on the Bay 

JOHN DUFFIN 

YV PERFORMANCE HANDICAPPING CHAIR 


TRAINING COMMITTEE 

Annual Report to 30 June 2011 

Our committee members have worked diligently on the organisation, administration and delivery of training 

programs across most of the Yachting Australia (YA) schemes throughout the past year. We have worked 

closely with Yachting Australia on the introduction and implementation of the new instructor and assistant 

instructor courses and accreditation procedures for the National Small Boat Scheme. Changes to the SSSC 

have also been introduced. The new National keel Boat Scheme has been implemented in Victoria by YA 

directly. We continue to work with Yachting Australia to establish these new and amended programs. A 

summary of Yachting Australia Training Centres (YATC’s) accredited in Victoria for the year appears in the 

table below. 

Number of YATC's in Victoria 2010-2011 

Total Yacht Clubs 85 

Total YATC's 48 

YATC’s at Yacht Clubs 36 

Non-Commercial YATC’s 10 

Commercial YATC’s 3 

Yachting Victoria 1 

We had 51 attend the assistant instructor courses this year, all through the small boat scheme. As of 

January 2011 the small boat assistant instructor course is now a two day course with a practical component 

similar to the instructor course and the costs for this course have increased accordingly. This course is still 

under review by YA and the Training Committee is recommending this course reverts to a one day program 

with a practical component. The introduction of the RYA Yachtmaster and the discontinuation of the National 

Yacht Racing and National Yacht Cruising schemes have now been completed. There are now new YA 

keelboat programs available for participants and instructors. 

The Tackers program continues to grow in popularity with a total of 1,148 participants for the year. 

Overall the numbers for training in Victoria were lower than last year and we believe this can be attributed in 

part to the transitional nature of many of the courses on offer. A summary of the participation figures for 

2010-2011 appear in the table below. 


Yachting 

Australia 

Courses Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total 

National 

Small Boat 

Sailing 

Scheme 8 18 17 59 160 300 162 75 235 168 70 23 1295 

National 

Powerboat 

Scheme 24 15 19 33 45 60 23 25 27 47 49 367 

National 

Yacht 

Cruising 

Scheme 1 11 3 15 

Sea Safety 

and Survival 

Course 9 80 26 26 34 31 10 50 266 

National 

Keelboat 

Scheme 15 10 3 28 

National 

Yacht Racing 

Scheme 0 

Tackers 15 75 26 83 234 465 4 41 181 3 10 1137 

Little Tackers 6 5 11 

Sub Total 47 42 191 151 280 621 702 143 301 386 173 82 3119 

Yachting 

Victoria 

Courses 

Assistant 

Instructor 7 16 14 10 4 51 

Instructor 13 8 21 

Powerboat 4 10 5 5 24 

Safety Boat 6 9 9 24 

Umpire 12 12 

Race Officer 11 9 4 4 28 

Club Coach 5 5 

Marine Radio 11 11 22 

Sub Total 18 10 46 31 37 10 5 0 0 9 12 9 179 

Total 

Training in 

Victoria for 

Month 65 52 237 182 317 631 707 143 301 395 185 91 3306 

Total for 

State for 

year 3306 


I would like to thank all members of our training committee for their efforts last year and look forward to a 

productive 2012 with many positive outcomes from the initiatives our committee members have pursued 

through 2010 and 2011. 

SEAN HOGAN 

TRAINING CHAIR 


COACHING COMMITTEE 

Coaching at Clubs 

There have been a number of developments over the last year with regards to coaching at clubs. 

A number of clubs now have full time or contract Yachting Australia qualified Club Coaches providing 

coaching programs for their members. 

SYC – Michah Shuwalow 

McCYC – Joel Van Weel 

SSCBC – Brian Case 

RBYC – Josh Newman (29er program) 

BRYC – Sean Bly & Jacqui Gurr 

RYCV – Mark Tonner-Joyce (Elliot Racing program) 

RYCV – Gavin Dagley (Cadet program) 

There are a number of other coaches working at clubs and with class associations providing coaching 

programs for sailors. 

Coach Development 

Yachting Australia have appointed a Coach Development Manager – Mark Robinson, who is drafting a 

coach development pathway to ensure our coaches have access to a development pathway covering all 

aspects of coaching, from class specific training, program management to advanced psychology. 

Yachting Victoria ran a series of coach network sessions over the winter covering psychology, performance 

planning and visit to VIS. A number of external speakers presented the sessions including Melbourne Vixens 

netball coach Julie Hoornweg. 

High Performance – YVDS & VIS 

The VIS sailing program has been running out of SYC with the focus on Lasers and 29ers. On-water training 

takes place up to three times a week plus off water gym sessions and other support services. 

Members of the YVDS, all Laser sailors, have been training with the VIS at SYC. 

A number of youth sailors who are part of the VIS program travelled to Europe for the first time to compete in 

European and World Championships. 

James Sly & Tom Dwyer finished 2 nd at the 29er European Championships in a 155 boat fleet. Jeremy 

O’Connell finished 11 th in the World Laser Radial Championship, 5 th in the under 21 section of the World 

Laser Radial Championship and 13 th in a fleet of 270 boats at the World Laser Radial Youth Championship. 

Anton and Julian Sasson have finished third at the International Cadet World Championships. 

Victoria has seven members of the Australian Optimist Sailing Team with James McLennan part of the 

Optimist Worlds Team who will be competing at the Optimist Worlds in NZ in December 2011. 

The Victorian Sailing Cup is a new racing series for Junior & Youth sailors. The series is made up of a 

number of already established events. The inaugural prize giving took place at the Victorian Yachting 

Awards night in June. There are a number of sponsors who will be providing prizes to classes over the next 

three years. The sponsors are Rooster Sailing, Zhik, Ozi Opti, Ronstan, Scott Lovig Hobie and JL Sly 

Boatbuilders. 

SCOTT DAVIES 

COACHING CHAIR 


SAILABILITY COMMITTEE 

With funding support from VicHealth, Yulgilbar Foundation and the Myer Foundation, there have been 

significant achievements and developments within the 18 programs in Victoria offering people of all abilities 

the opportunity to experience the independence and exhilaration of sailing. 

Sailability - The Next Step (GISBS Programs) 

In late 2010, YV in partnership with Hobson Bay City Council Access for All Abilities program and the Royal 

Yacht Club of Victoria were successful in receiving a grant from the Department of Planning and Community 

Development to administer a structured and accredited two-year pilot program tailored to people with a 

disability. 

Sailability the next step is a development program which offers structured learning skills for people of all 

abilities. The program is linked through the national training framework of Get Into Small Boat Sailing which 

provides the steps for participants to develop techniques and skills to their preferred level. 

In April 2011, 4 participants graduated with their Level 1 & 2 and is the first step on their way to achieving 

their sailing potential. The program is certainly changing the landscape of Sailability programs illustrating a 

genuine inclusion operating within the management and governance of yacht clubs. 

Volunteer Strategy 

During the year we developed the Volunteer Strategy for Sailability programs to implement. The basis of the 

strategy is centralized around recognizing, recruiting and retaining volunteers in a way that they are 

respected, acknowledged and rewarded. 

Victorian Access State Championships 

32 competed at the 2011 Access Class Championship which was held at Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club. It 

was great to observe racing and sailing back at the club which had been previously affected by drought 

conditions. 

MURRAY MITCHELHILL 

SAILABILITY CHAIR 


SAIL MELBOURNE COMMITTEE 

As Chairman of Sail Melbourne, I am conscious of the important role this major International event plays in 

driving participation and raising the profile of the sport of sailing throughout Victoria and Australia. 

Sail Melbourne is the largest annual Olympic Class Sailing Regatta in the Southern Hemisphere and 

currently the only ISAF Sailing World Cup in the Asia Pacific Rim. At a national level Sail Melbourne is 

Australia’s most important Olympic and Youth Class sailing event, and its ISAF Sailing World Cup status 

provides an ongoing platform for aspiring young sailors to compete in a world class event alongside their 

sailing hero’s. 

In 2010, Sail Melbourne experienced considerable growth across the board with significant increases in 

competitor attendance at a local, national and international level, strong corporate and media support and 

greater community involvement than ever before. I hope this annual report to the member clubs of Yachting 

Victoria provides a good overview of the ongoing development of the event and positive impact on the sailing 

community. 

I would particularly like to thank the members of the Sail Melbourne Management Committee and the staff of 

Yachting Victoria, and all the volunteers from clubs throughout the State who have worked so diligently in the 

last few years to create the current successful regatta and a strong vision for its long term success. 

We are very fortunate to have strong support from both the Victorian Major Events Company and the 

Department of Sport and Recreation Victoria in sharing our vision. Both Parks Victoria and Bayside City 

Council have endorsed the potential for involvement of the entire sailing and boating community and the 

local community with their support. 

I invite all Victorian Yacht Club Officials and members to come and appreciate more about this important 

sailing event this year – 6-12 November at Sandringham Yacht Club. 

BRUCE GRIFFITHS 

SAIL MELBOURNE CHAIR 


RISK MANAGEMENT & SAFETY COMMITTEE 

The Risk Management & Safety Committee has met on six occasions since the Half Yearly meeting in March 

2011 and continues to achieve its strategic objectives in connection with risk management and safety. The 

key outcomes and achievements of the Committee are set out below. 

YA Special Regulations 2009 

The Committee was frustrated by the absence of clarity from YA about the process for review and production 

of the next edition of the special regulations and whether there would be a transition to the ISAF OSR’s. The 

frustration was in part relieved at the June meeting of the Committee attended by YA’s Sport Services 

Manager and a member of the National Safety Committee where the process for amendments was 

described as follows: 

• submission received by YA accompanied by a risk analysis or like-for-like analysis; 

• issue investigated with other relevant authorities or experts by Sport Services Manager; 

• submission and outcome of any investigation forwarded to the NSC; 

• amendment drafted by YA; 

• amendment distributed for comment to MYA’s, clubs, industry, experts etc. 

YA’s Sport Services Manager also explained that YA’s aim was to have completed all substantive changes 

to the special regulations by end 2011, leaving grammatical and typographical changes for early 2012. 

The Committee continued its work on amendments to the marine radio special regulation and conducted 

vigorous debate with ORCV on this topic throughout a process of meetings and consultation. Most recent 

attention has been directed towards subjecting the amendments to the YA risk analysis procedure in 

anticipation of making a submission to YA in October 2011 in accordance with the procedure outlined above. 

The Committee is pleased to report that one its members, Marissa McManus has been asked to chair a 

working group convened by the YA National Safety Committee to coordinate the consultation for the revision 

of the special regulation for medical kit contents. The working group is using as its starting point a revision of 

the medical kit contents prepared by the Committee which represents the work effort of medically qualified 

Victorian sailors spanning a period of more than 4 years. 

The Committee considered and responded to amendments promulgated by YA to the special regulations 

concerning personal flotation devices for category 1 to 7 races and off the beach racing and to 

interpretations of the special regulations for lifebuoy poles, personal flotation devices, pulpits and tethers. 

YA has now developed a policy for determining and issuing interpretations to the special regulations and the 

Committee has submitted a request for an interpretation of the special regulation for anchors. 

The Committee was invited by YA to nominate a person to participate in the development of a national safety 

auditor scheme. With the support of ORCV, Marissa McManus was nominated and has become a member 

of the working group for this project which will initially focus on developing a scheme for category 1 and 2 

races then subsequently expand the scheme for application to categories 3 to 7. 

Trapeze harnesses 

The Committee considered the response received from YA in March 2011 on the discussion paper 

concerning the risk associated with the use of trapeze harnesses and replied by noting that the Committee 

would focus its efforts on: 

• developing educational and training materials about the risk of entrapment by a trapeze harness; 


• providing information about appropriate rescue methods and equipment in the event of an entrapment; 

and 

• promulgating information to Victorian sailors, race officers and safety boat crews. 

Marine Radio Certificate of Proficiency 

In the half yearly report to members in March 2011, the Committee reported that it had responded to the 

ACMA’s consultation paper concerning VHF marine radio operator qualifications for recreational boaters. 

Since responding, the ACMA has begun an information campaign to inform recreational marine radio 

operators of the correct VHF radio channels to use in particular circumstances and the protocols they need 

to follow. Stickers and postcards that contain important VHF radio use messages are currently being 

distributed via many different marine stakeholder channels. Stickers and postcards can be obtained by 

emailing a request to Genevieve.meadowes@acma.gov.au. 

The need for greater awareness emerged during the ACMA’s ongoing review of marine radio operator 

certificate requirements for recreational boaters and from an ACMA-commissioned Newspoll survey of VHF 

marine radio owners that found only 29 per cent have the required certificate of proficiency. 

The Committee’s response to the ACMA suggested that as a minimum, radio operators should have with the 

practical skills and knowledge necessary to operate a VHF marine radio including channel usage and calling, 

silence periods and safety protocols. 

Parallel to the work of ACMA, the Committee has prepared a brief paper reminding sailors about VHF radio 

etiquette for posting on the YV website. It is heartening to see a positive response from the ACMA that 

addresses the fundamental problems identified by YV. 

Marine Safety Act 2010 (Vic) 

The Marine Safety Act was passed by the Victorian Parliament on 17 September 2010 and was intended to 

commence on 1 July 2011. Delays in developing regulations under the Act have pushed back the expected 

commencement date of the Act to the end of 2011. 

Draft regulations were released in August 2011, the main purpose of which is to promote: 

• the safety of marine operations; 

• the effective management of safety risks in marine operations and in the marine operating environment; 

• continuous improvement in marine safety management; 

• public confidence in the safety of marine operations; 

• involvement of relevant stakeholders in marine safety; and 

• a culture of safety among all participants in the marine operating environment. 

The release of the draft regulations was accompanied by a regulatory impact statement and an options 

paper for marine licensing. The Committee is currently developing a response. The documents can be found 

at http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/about-us/legislation/new-marine-safety-laws. 


Club Safety Manual 

The Committee is nearing finalisation of its work on the development of a generic club safety manual 

framework for use by clubs as the basis of their own manual. When completed, the manual framework will 

be published on YV website. 

Thanks 

My term as a Board member of YV ends at the Annual General Meeting and I have not sought renomination. 

Despite no longer being on the Board, I have made a commitment to the Committee to continue working on 

current projects but will seek a replacement for the position of chair. 

I have sincerely enjoyed working with all members of the Committee over the past three years. These are 

an extremely passionate group of sailors that care immensely about making the sport of sailing both 

enjoyable and safe. On behalf of the Yachting Victoria community, I thank the Committee for its expert and 

tireless contribution. 

JENNI MACLEAN 

RISK MANAGEMENT & SAFETY CHAIR

Committee Report - Yachting Victoria

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