MYC Hoodies
We will shortly be placing another order in for out popular Hoodies! If you are interested in purchasing one please let the MYC Office know by Monday 20th March - thank you!
Adult Sizes  $60: S | M | L | XL | XXL and Kids $55 Aged 8 | 10| 12 + 14

Former long time member Murray Preston passed away peacefully at home in Alice Springs on Thursday March 10 cared for by his wife Jennifer. Murray had been a barrister and solicitor who worked variously in Mornington, Frankston, and the City, and later in Alice Springs.

In the 70’s and 80’s he co-owned the S&S 36, “Maria,”, initially with Jim Watson and later with Denis Kelly. A half hull model of Maria hangs above the door in the MYC bar. Maria sailed in three Sydney Hobarts, a Westcoaster, numerous Devonports, and multiple Bass Strait races with Murray as her skipper. Maria’s exploits encouraged many MYC members to see that they, too, could venture outside. Maria’s guiding sextant is enclosed in a stand in the Quartermasters Store downstairs.
Upon moving to The Alice Murray missed his sailing. Nobody but Murray would dream up such an audacious idea of creating the Alice Springs YC , with the intention of competing in another Sydney Hobart. A membership was quickly organised, with the NT Government being convinced of the benefits tipping in significant funds towards the charter of a yacht. Naturally, Murray based his campaign from MYC, instead of a logical Sydney. Murray was highly intelligent, but as his close friends will attest, he wasn’t always logical. The Alice Springs YC went on to do a number of Hobarts, and later, incredibly, a Fastnet.

Murray, was a great sailor who loved his sport. In The Alice he used his sometimes obsessive character to become an admired golfer at the Alice Springs Golf Club. He was a flamboyant character one minute, and quiet, deep thinker the next. It would be easy to describe Murray as bordering on the eccentric, but that would be selling him short. As said before he was highly intelligent, had a great sense of humour, and the ridiculous, and an enormous appetite for life.

Murray will be sadly missed, but never forgotten, by all his mates here at MYC who send their best wishes and condolences to Jennifer and his children.

This Labour day long weekend Mornington Yacht Club hosted the 2023 Optimist Dinghy Victorian Championships. We hadn’t hosted a Victorian Championships since 2013, that event preceded the 2014 Opti Nationals where MYC was host to over 300 competitors.

We had 78 entries across the three Optimist fleets, and with Victoria currently having the majority of the top Optimist sailors, competitors came from WA, SA, Tasmania, NSW and all over Victoria including Geelong, Indented Head & Cairn Curran for the three day event.

After some very challenging weather for the Schnapper Point regatta four weeks earlier this weekend had the Open & Intermediate fleets competing in winds ranging from 5-18 knots. They completed 8 championship length races which provided plenty of opportunity for everyone to shine.

MYC’s Optimist team was in full flight, in Open division Leigh Harvie 17th, Josh Bacon 30th, in Intermediate division Louis Coates 3rd, Josephine Lott 14th, Zac Oakley 15th & Lila Donnellan in 17th. For the fun Green fleet division led by MYC’s Sail Training Manager Immi Weber & ably assisted by Sophie McKenzie & Anna Cripsy, 20 entrants competed in 11 races in the more sheltered waters off Red Bluff, Linley Jones 8th & Evie Taylor in 12th.

For many of our MYC competitors it was their first regatta and a great opportunity for them to begin their competitive sailing journey on home waters. With this year being our third year running the SLM training program, Junior & Youth OTB sailing at Mornington is well on its way back to its glory days of large participation on Sundays & mid-week and also plenty of up and coming talent to fill the cockpits & bows of our keelboat fleet. The training and development committee are very passionate about Mornington Yacht club being inclusive for all sailors and especially today’s youth who will hopefully be tomorrow’s keel boats owners, committee members & maybe Commodores. The opportunity to run an event which is well attended by inspirational young athletes has hopefully shown our young members that the competitive and more so the social side of sailing can be far greater than just Mornington Yacht Club and this is a lifelong passion.

Leading up to this weekend I thought that one of the key measures of success was the number of participants you had and felt we failed before the weekend had started as we didn’t meet our targeted entries. Boy was I wrong, the key measure is the enjoyment it brings to everyone involved. The amount of families that approached me across the weekend and especially yesterday to tell me how the parents and children had a great weekend, were made to feel welcome, couldn’t believe how organised and well run the weekend was and how it was one of the best they had been to in a long time as the atmosphere was relaxing. As too, many coaches and sailing professionals who are traveling to events all over the world commented that it’s not often you see a club that operates together so well as a team. I have thought that we use the word team lightly sometimes, but the amount of our members who turned up for one or three days, don’t have kids participating or for that matter don’t even sail themselves anymore and members who cancelled other events just to help and participate is one of the greatest definitions of team I can think of. Every person that helped over the weekend and leading up to the event does it without arrogance or attitude, is happy to do whatever is asked of them and always has a jovial approach.

These events don’t happen without some external help as well and Peter Merritt from McCrae YC kindly gave up his time to be the Race Officer for the Open & Intermediate fleet on Alpha course. John Maclurcan from SailSys came down from Sydney to assist with the regatta registration through the SailSys program and John was on the finish boat entering the finishers straight into the SailSys and publishing the race result well before the competitors were back on shore which is also brilliant for a junior regatta where a large number of parents are observing from the shore. Sorrento Couta Boat & Sailing Club also lent boats, marks & other equipment which takes a huge burden off us.

Thank you again to everyone who was at the club over the weekend and if you weren’t around maybe next time we host a regatta be part of the volunteer family or just come down to the club lounge and soak up the great atmosphere that is created when our club is in full swing.

The 55th Marlay Point  Overnight Race  was held over the the Labour day weekend  on the 11 March.  It was sailed from the dusk start in Lake Wellington in the typical light E to NE conditions. Four Mornington boats competed this year. 

In the sports boat division;

• David Eikemeyer in Rush was first finishing at 4.35am followed by Tim Donellan's Zippier in 2nd place.
  

Ian Smith placed a credible 10th in division C in his castle 650  Black Jack with Moonshadow  placed 31 , finishing at about 11.23 on the Sunday morning after the slow sail around Raymond island to the GLYC finish at Paynesville.
The 12 knots  Easterly died  with the moonrise, in the McLennan straight with the  1 1/2 knot current providing the only motive power for  3 hour drift.   Puffs of 6 knot breeze, drifts tacking and shy spinnaker runs  made up the rest of the race. One can only feel sorry for the sideways trimaran  bouncing from one bank to the other  with no way to do anything else, photo credit to Kai  Dean! 
Thanks to the Marlay Point and  Gippsland  Lakes Yacht  club for again putting on a great event , and to all of the 87 Competitors who make the event so special .    Well done Dynesy, who didn’t compete this year but wasn’t put off after being bogged and eaten sliver by sandflies at his campsite in McLennons straight . Dynsey still managed to get on the water at Lake Wellington  in a tinny .  His yells  of encouragement to the departing Mornington boats was a sight and sound to behold !

The 2023 CYGNETT Victorian and Open Optimist Dinghy Championships Sailing Instructions have now been released.

You can head over to the Regatta HQ via the 'Sailing' menu item on our website to download the SI's - or you can click here