Spring has arrived, and there’s plenty happening at Sandy Bay as we get ready for another big season on the water.

Pre-season training gets underway this week, with sailors across the fleets getting back into boats, rebuilding fitness and sharpening their skills ahead of Term 4. We’re also looking forward to our October school holiday camps, providing plenty of opportunities for sailors to build skills, get more time on the water and enjoy sailing with their clubmates.

It’s also been an exciting time for our Cadet sailors, with our Tasmanian teams taking on the International Cadet World Championships at Lake Garda, Italy — a fantastic experience for our young sailors.

And, of course, the new season officially gets underway with Season Opening Day on Saturday 17 October. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone back to the club and kicking off another great season together.

With Term 4 just around the corner, check out the calendar of racing, training, camps and club activities in this newsletter and get the dates in your diary.

See you on the water!

Term 4 is Coming!

The Term 4 sailing calendar is now ready, and registration is open for everything through to the October school holidays and the remainder will be availble soon. There’s plenty happening at SBSC, so jump onto the calendar, get your dates sorted and get ready for another great term on the water.

Green Fleet: After the success of last season, we’re adding more Green Fleet racing this term — a great opportunity for our younger sailors to get some racing experience in a fun environment.

Optis: Midweek training will run on Monday afternoons after school. We can't wait to see you out on the water!

Cadets: There’s lots planned as our Cadet sailors build towards the Australian Championships at SBSC in December. It’s going to be a busy few months for the fleet.

29ers: We’re running Development and Race Squads this term, giving both newer and more experienced sailors the coaching and sailing experience that best suits them.  Our Development fleet will have higher coach to sailor ratios to ensure a quick progression into the Race Squad.

Our major regatta for the season, PJ's Super Series, is confirmed for 21–22 November. More details will be coming soon, so keep the weekend free!

The Pennant will run across the whole term but has been split into two series, giving sailors more chances to take out a series even if they can’t make every race.

And for the adults, Adult Learn to Sail is becoming a Sunday morning staple, with the first course kicking off in October.

Check out the calendar, get registered and we’ll see you on the water! 

Australian Sailing Awards - Tasmania

It’s been a great year for Sandy Bay Sailing Club, and we’re very pleased to have five SBSC nominations in the Australian Sailing Awards:

• Club of the Year – Sandy Bay Sailing Club
• Volunteer of the Year – Emma Hooper
• Coach of the Year – Rohan Langford
• Youth Sailor of the Year – Olive Hooper
• Sports Promotion – Australian Secondary School Team Sailing Championship

The winners will be announced on 12 September at the Tasmanian Maritime Museum.

If you’d like to join us and support our nominees, FREE tickets are available HERE

Good luck to all our nominees — we’ll be cheering you on!

Free Qualifications for Female Volunteers! 

SBSC has been successful in obtaining an Active Tasmania Her Path to Play Grant. Throughout the season we will have lots of free and discounted events for our female sailors and volunteers.  

But right now we have an opportunity for some of our female volunteers to obtain their MAST motor boat licence or Marine Radio Licence.  This part of the grant is to help boost our women on the water or on the radio during our racing and events! If you are are a member or parent of a member keen to obtain one of these qualifications to volunteer to get out on the water or help out with shore patrol, please message or call our Vice Commodore, Sharon on 0403 009 985 or secretary@sandybaysailingclub.org.au.

2026/2027 Membership and Boat Storage

Membership & Boat Storage Fees

Membership and boat storage invoices for the new season will be issued shortly.

We’ve kept increases as modest as possible, with Junior and Supporter memberships remaining unchanged and only small increases to Family and Individual memberships. Boat storage will increase by CPI across all supported classes.

Racing fees have also increased to reflect the rising cost of running racing, particularly fuel and boat maintenance.

Thanks for your ongoing support of the club — your fees help us keep sailing affordable while maintaining the equipment, programs and facilities that make SBSC a great place to sail.

Free Australian Sailing e-learning

Did you know that Australian Sailing has free e-learning courses available for members? The courses cover everything from mark laying to power boat safety to the basics of scoring.  

See what is available, login and access e-learning HERE.

New TIODA Committee

A big congratulations to the new Tasmanian International Optimist Dinghy Association (TIODA) Committee for the year ahead.

We’re pleased to see Jory Linscott take on the role of President. Jory will be the main contact for all things Optimist at Sandy Bay Sailing Club, so if you have questions about the Opti fleet, racing, training or anything else, he’s the person to get in touch with.

We wish Jory and the new TIODA committee all the best for the season ahead!

Win Big. Support Sandy Bay!

The People’s Community Lottery is now open, giving you the chance to win fantastic prizes — including cars and holidays — while supporting Sandy Bay Sailing Club.

For just $2 a ticket, every ticket purchased through SBSC helps us raise funds towards a new rescue boat, benefiting all our sailors and keeping our club safer on the water.

👉 Buy your tickets here

Grab a few tickets, have a go at winning, and please share the link with family, friends and colleagues. Every ticket helps us get closer to our goal!

Sponsorship

We’ve got some exciting new sponsors coming on board, but there’s still room for a few more.

Our sponsors help us provide better equipment, programs and opportunities for our sailors, so please support the businesses that support SBSC — use them, recommend them and let them know you’re from the club.

In addition to club sponsors, we also have sponsorship opportunities for the 65th International Cadet Australian Championship at SBSC this December/January, with teams and families travelling from around Australia.

If you or someone you know might be interested, contact Shona Prior on 0408 004 699 or priorshona@gmail.com.

You can see our Sponsorship Prospectus for more information.

We’d love to hear from you.

Tax Deductible Donations

If SBSC has ever given you or your family great memories, new friendships, or a love of sailing, please consider making a tax deductible donation through the Australian Sports Foundation.  Donations directly support coaching, safety equipment, facilities, and opportunities for young sailors.

Every dollar helps us continue developing confident young people, future champions, and a lifelong love of sailing.

Donate HERE and help shape the next generation of sailors.

As Sandy Bay Sailing Club continues to grow, so too does the amount of work involved in delivering the high-quality sailing programs, coaching, events and member experience that our club is known for. To help support our volunteers and ensure we continue building on this momentum, we're excited to recruit a Sailing Operations Manager. This new role will provide day-to-day leadership of our sailing activities, allowing our volunteer committee to focus on the club's long-term future while ensuring our sailors and families continue to enjoy an outstanding experience. If you know someone who would thrive in this role, please share the job advertisement through your networks. Finding the right person is one of the most important investments we can make in the future of SBSC.  

Our Tasmanian Cadet sailors have wrapped up an incredible campaign at the International Cadet World Championship on Lake Garda, Italy.

Sandy Bay was proudly represented by Olive and Haran (5th overall and first female helm), Archie and Thomas (7th), Islay and Ella (12th), Alex and Harriet (21st) and Hunter alongside Lachie from South Australia (39th). Lachie and Archie also competed in the promotional regatta finishing in 4th.

Congratulations to all our sailors for representing Tasmania and Australia so well, and a huge thank you to the coaches, parents and supporters who made the trip possible.

Well done, Team Tassie!

 You can see the full results HERE.

Upcoming Training

Preseason Training - 5th, 19th and 26th September - Optimist (all levels), Cadet (open) and 29er/49erFX/49er (race fleet) - REGISTER HERE

Green Fleet Optimist Camp - 5th, 6th and 7th October - REGISTER HERE

Open/Inter Optimist Camp - 8th and 9th October - REGISTER HERE

29er Development Squad Camp - 8th and 9th October - REGISTER HERE

Cadet Green Fleet Camp - 15th and 16th Ocotber - REGISTER HERE

TERM 4 Training available for registration soon. See the calendar for details.

Upcoming Learn to Sail Courses

Tackers 1 - Learn to Sail Part 1 (age 8 to 12) - 6th to 9th October - REGISTER HERE

Tackers 2 - Learn to Sail Part 2 (age 8 to 12) - 13th to 16th October - REGISTER HERE

Cadet Learn to Sail - Learn to Sail a 2 person boat (age 9 to 17) - 12th to 14th October - REGISTER HERE

Adult Learn to Sail - 11th, 18th and 25th October - REGISTER HERE

Tackers 2 - Learn to Sail Part 2 (age 8 to 12) - Term 4 Saturdays from 24th October - REGISTER HERE

Upcoming Events 

10^th October 2026 - Save the Date - Working Bee

17^th October 2026 - Season Opening Day and first pennant race day

21^st to 22^nd November 2026 - PJ's Super Series (SBSC major regatta)

28^th December 2026 to 4^th January 2027 - 65^th International Cadet Australian Championship at SBSC