As we prepare to head to Stockholm for the 2K Team Racing World Championships, we'd like to thank the Club and the MYC Foundation for our new team uniforms, and to Ronstan for generously providing the team with watches and gear bags, which will be well used throughout the trip.
Following a recent training session at Sandringham Yacht Club, Vice Commodore Scott Dougherty spoke with the team about culture, leadership and making the most of the experience ahead, before officially presenting the team with their new uniforms.
Pictured (left to right): Lachie Weber, Will McKenzie, James Jackson, Vice Commodore Scott Dougherty, Lottie Wormald, Lulu Di Sciascio, Jack Furey and Heath Jones.
Absent: Maddy English, who was training in the 29er @MYC's July winter camp

​Entries are still open for Race 4 of the 2026 DYSC Marine Supplies Winter Series & Novice Return Series. Last in the series is the popular race to Geelong on 15 August to be followed by the Novice Return Race on 16 August.

Special thanks to DYSC Marine Supplies for proudly supporting the ORCV and the sailors who make offshore racing in Victoria a strong and growing community.

The Mornington Yacht Club Team Racing Team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our recent Trivia Night fundraiser as we prepare to represent Australia at the Team Racing World Championships in Sweden.

The evening was an incredible success, with over 100 members, friends and supporters coming together to get behind the team. It was a great reminder of the strength of the MYC community and how lucky we are to have a club that supports its sailors from junior programs right through to international competition.

The team earned this opportunity after competing at the National Championships in September 2025. Following this event, Australian Sailing nominated MYC to the World Sailing Selection Committee, who accepted the nomination and offered the team a place at the World Championships. With the support of Mornington Yacht Club, including covering the team’s entry fee, we proudly accepted the invitation to represent Australia on the world stage.

Since then, the campaign has become about much more than just a sailing event. Organising the fundraising efforts, coordinating the Trivia Night, reaching out to local businesses, engaging with supporters and bringing the community together has provided a fantastic opportunity for the younger members of the team to develop skills beyond the water. It has helped build confidence, communication, teamwork, leadership and planning skills that will continue to benefit them well beyond this campaign.
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We are incredibly grateful to Mornington Yacht Club for providing a platform that not only develops sailors, but supports young people to grow, take on responsibility and contribute positively within the wider community.

The funds raised through the Trivia Night, raffles, silent auction and donations will make a significant difference in assisting with training expenses and the increased costs associated with international competition and travel.

A massive thank you must go to everyone who donated prizes and supported the fundraising efforts, including Ronstan, Graham Jones, Andrew Young, DCON Enterprises Building Constructions and Project Services, Aquarius Swimming Pools, Fernwood Gym, and all the other generous businesses and individuals who contributed.

A special mention goes to Da Sas Wines for their exceptional generosity and support of the Premium Wine Raffle, which was a huge success. Thank you also to The Rocks for their continued support, and to everyone who purchased tickets, placed bids in the auction, bought raffle tickets or simply came along to support the team.

Following the fundraiser, the team returned straight into training mode. Unfortunately, our planned session at Sandringham on the 27th of June wasn’t to be due to lack of wind, but we followed this with several solid days of training at Sandringham and Mornington as we continue building towards Sweden. Our next major training day will be on the 25th of July at Sandringham as final preparations continue.

For many members of the team, this campaign represents years spent progressing through MYC’s junior programs and sailing pathways. To now have the opportunity to represent our club and country overseas is something we are incredibly proud of.
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Thank you again to the entire MYC community for believing in the team, creating opportunities for young sailors, and helping us take the next step. We look forward to representing Mornington Yacht Club and Australia proudly in Sweden.

As people get older and their lives change, they often leave their favourite sport behind. They’re too busy, too old, or not fit enough anymore. This sad reality particularly applies to women.
Sailing is not one of these sports. And for women, it’s a long-term pastime.

Women may learn to sail with family from an early age. Their love of the water and the satisfaction of learning sailing skills, being in the fresh air, getting wet and windblown, is a childhood love and cherished memory.
But then they follow the well-worn path of meeting a boy, falling in love, gaining a career, getting married, launching babies into the world and, eventually, sitting in their empty nest. Then the old love affair with sailing starts knocking on the door waking them up at night.

For Jo McKenzie, a 20-year member and volunteer at Mornington Yacht Club, who has shepherded her two fantastic kids through the Club, it’s now her time. Time to rinse and repeat, dust off the old sailing skills and start crewing with husband Cam on their beautiful ocean racer, the JIII yacht, Ginan.
After many years away from offshore sailing, returning to the sport has been both familiar and refreshing. “It’s been a long time between drinks, so to say,” she reflects. “I’m now more confident in myself and at a different stage of life.

Both she and her husband Cam had sailing backgrounds from earlier years. “Cam and I both sailed early on, but we were on different boats,” she explains. Her own offshore experience included a number of deliveries alongside Nigel Jones during his Cadibarra days, including races to King Island and Apollo Bay.
Now sailing together brings a new appreciation. “It’s good to see Cam in a different light. I have huge respect for that different side of both Cam and his co skipper and long time friend Nigel, it’s lovely experiencing it and I’m just soaking it all up.” reflected Jo.
“As I step onto the boat, it’s reassuring that I know the terminology. I may not always contribute, but I do understand it all.” which is quite reassuring explained Jo.
More than anything, it’s the feeling of being offshore that has drawn her back in. “I really enjoy the feeling of being on the ocean, you get into a rhythm and there’s so much more to see than when I’m racing around the sticks.”
Among the practical discoveries of returning to racing “Knee pads,” she laughs. “They’re like pillows on my knees and wow, they make all the difference.”
Jo’s story illustrates that it’s possible to pick up sailing long after the kids graduate and you’ve earned a few more laughter lines. Just give it a go.


Photos provided by Jo McKenzie
Written by Lee Renfree
​Through ORCV