Goolwa to Meningie Information

Goolwa to Meningie Sailing Classic

18th November 2023

*Scroll to the bottom of the page to download files

You can Register Electronically by going to the

Events Calendar & selecting to register for the

Goolwa to Meningie Sailing Classic 2023

Payments by EFT via

BSB 105165 (Bank SA) Account 737446640

"Meningie Sailing Club"

What a fanatastic race 2023 was!

Thanks to everyone involved.

It was so great to have a gentler type of race

this year. See you on 16th November 2024!!!

(results are under the past results section)

The Goolwa to Meningie Sailing Classic story.

The first Goolwa to Meningie race was held in 1964.

The late David Turner, and the late Darrell Crouch

set off from Goolwa on their Yvonne catamarans,

along with others from The Victor Harbor Yacht Club

and the Meningie Aquatics Club intending

to race to Meningie. Some boats did not reach

the finish line until after 10.00pm that night,

others managed to beach near “Brown’s beach

to spend the night.

The race was run by a joint committee of

the Victor Harbor Yacht Club and

the Meningie Sailing Club until 1986.

The race was used as an exercise by

the Victor Harbor Sea Rescue Squadron.

Since 1987 the race has been run by

the Meningie Sailing Club.

The race has 5 divisions with trophies for line honours and handicap winners in each division. Though restricted to boats of a minimum length of 4.2 metres and sailed by a minimum of two experienced sailors, single-handed entries may be accepted if evidence of suitable experience is provided to the Club.

Divisions are as follows:-

Division 1 Start time  8.00am Trailable Yachts, Y.S.A. rating 0.675 or less.

Division 2 Start time  8.00am Trailable Yachts, Y.S.A. rating greater than 0.675.

Division 3 Start time  8.00am Off The Beach boat >4.2 metres length, yardstick 80 or greater.

Division 4 Start time  9.00am Any other authorized boat (e.g. Seawind, Trailer Trimarans etc.).

Division 5 Start time 11.00am Off The Beach boat >4.2 metres length, yardstick less than 80.

The race has traditionally been over a course of about 64 kilometres, from Laffin Point, just out of Goolwa through The Narrows to Meningie, and is the longest point-to-point fresh water sailboat race in the Southern Hemisphere, and is normally held on the 3^rd Saturday of November. This was changed in 2018 to start the race adjacent to the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club – making the race about 7 kilometres longer.

The winner of the first race was Darrell Crouch. His son Trevor, (deceased), and grandson Michael have sailed Mosquito’s in the Goolwa to Meningie. Thus three generations of this family have competed in the race.

The race record for the fastest time is 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 35 seconds held by M.Duffield on Sailboard “FANATIC MEGA CAT ” in 1996.

Previous to this Chris Dean held the record of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds on a Nacra 5.8 “BLACK DOG” in 1993.

The current fastest time of the new lengthened course is 2 hours, 26 minutes, 27 seconds by Marcus Towell on a Marstrom 20 “RAKETVAPEN” in February 2021. (a record that will be hard to beat!)

The race has a time limit requirement to finish at the Meningie Sailing Club rooms by 8.30pm. Upon arrival sailors are warmly welcomed, and the facilities of the club are available for their use. A sandy beaching area, 2 boat ramps, and a lawned area for de-rigging of boats is available. After that, hot showers, food, and a licensed bar are there to satisfy the weary sailor. Allowing a fitting end to a day of adventure on the water.

Sailing on Lakes Albert & Alexandrina, & The Coorong.

(Due to the lack of water in these RAMSAR listed wetlands, sailing, at times has been all but impossible.

The narrative below applies to a gentler time, when things were in much better shape! Our hope is that with the continued diligence of water control to Lake Albert with Lake Alexandrina, and the Goolwa Channel, and the flushing of water through the mouth of the River Murray, that this area – including the wonderful Coorong will be restored to the wonder that it truly is. At present things look pretty good, and we wait with anticipation the final outcome of how much water will be returned to the River Murray -- into the future to maintain this truly unique area.)

This area is one of the best sailing areas in the world. Though shallow in parts, there is more and better water to sail on than the Gippsland lakes. There are many places to anchor in total shelter, mostly out of sight of civilization. Even the exposed shores have pockets in the reeds that make safe havens. Local knowledge is required to find some of the channels but except for the eastern side of the Coorong and some rocks (shown on the chart) the bottom is soft mud and no harm comes from grounding.

There is a misconception that Lake Albert is shallow. There is a large sand bar at the entrance to the lake about 150 metres from the reeds extending into the lake from the Narrung side. The channel marker is roughly in the centre of the channel. Most of the lake is about 2 metres deep except for the area near Rumply Point which is well off the course from The Narrows to Meningie. There is good shelter at Meningie from all winds except the North, and even then shelter can be found at the reeds at Warrengie

Provisions are available at Meningie, Clayton, Wellington and Goolwa all within a few hours sailing. The climate is mild enough to sail in all year round with the lightest winds in winter. Of course storms occur but prudent attention to the forecasts enables sensible action in seeking shelter to be taken. The Narrows in the middle of the area is safe in the worst storms being surrounded by tall reeds.

As a get away from it all place the Coorong and Lakes has few equals. Meningie Sailing Club.