Join the MYC office staff on 24 October 25 and take the pledge... 

As many of you know, on 24 October 2023, our former CEO, Wayne Holdsworth's 17 year-old son Mac took his own life after being sexually extored online.  
In his memory, Wayne created Unplug24 a 24-hour challenge to step away from social media, raise awareness, and help prevent sexual extortion and suicide.

Last year, 134,278 incredible Australians took the challenge.
This year, they’re aiming for 1 million Unpluggers and we’d love you to join us.

💙 Take the Pledge – Go Offline for 24 Hours on 24 October 2025

MYC has been signed up as a business, but if you'd like to sign up as one of the options below, please do so:

Choose how you’ll join:
🙌 Individuals: Sign up here
🏫 Schools: Sign up your school
🏢 Businesses: Sign up your team

Every sign up helps raise awareness and saves lives.

Why it matters

Every day, ten Australians die by suicide.
It’s the leading cause of death among people aged 15–49, claiming more lives than our road toll.
By unplugging, you help start life-saving conversations, raise awareness, and bring hope to those who need it most.

Know someone who’d take the pledge too?

Please share the Unplug24 sign-up links and social media posts with your family, friends and colleagues - every new Unplugger helps us move closer to zero suicides.

If you’d like to go one step further, you can also donate here to support SmackTalk’s education and prevention programs.
With gratitude,

Wayne Holdsworth, Mac’s Dad.

Founder, SmackTalk and Unplug24

CASTLE 650 :           NSW State Championship     (Lake Macquarie)
The inaugural NSW Castle Yacht Championships were held on October 4+5 2025 as part of the Newcastle & Hunter Trailer Yacht Association's (NHTYA) 3 & 6 Hour Regatta.
This Regatta was chosen due to the large fleet of Castles regularly sailing at the NHTYA, and the fact that Lake Macquarie is a magnificent sailing venue. The 3 & 6 hour regatta consists of an approximately 14 nm 3hr race on the Saturday and an approximately 24nm 6hr race on Sunday encompassing a tour of the lake. Ian Smith represented Mornington YC sailing Blackjack.
Event report from Michael Collins
11 castles from around the country, 2 from Victoria, 1 from Queensland and 8 from around New South Wales turned up at Styles Point on Lake Macquarie to enter the first ever New South Wales Castle state titles since the boats started being built 40+ years ago. The fleet was sailing in both spinnaker and non-spinnaker configuration with a handicap allowance for non-spin.
 
There was near perfect weather, average temperatures 28C with winds not too strong not too weak, between 5 and maximum 15kn but sitting it about 10kn most of the weekend. South-east Saturday and north-west Sunday
 
The Saturday race start line was at Rathmines heading initially to Swansea, followed by a few loops of the lake via a series of LMYC markers, then back to the finish.
 
 
Race 1:  Notes from Mitch Bayliss (Pipalini) and Ian Smith (Blackjack):
 
Pipalini, He's Dreaming, Hataitai, Blackjack and Araluen II all got off the line fairly well and started the long port biased beat to Swansea Mark. Eventually He's Dreaming and Hataitai fell into bad wind and tacked off leaving the others to drag race. Pipalini was able to tack and cross in from of Araluen and Blackjack to be first to Swansea with Araluen not far behind. Those positions stayed as they were until the end of the race with the short spinnaker legs not letting Blackjack get past Araluen. The race took the fleet on port tack right across the track of  large fleets of closely packed Cadet and Laser dinghies which at times made for some very tricky avoidance decisions.

​On the second day the race started again at Rathmines Point worked its way up to Toronto in the opposite direction and wound its way all the way down to the other end of the lake around a Pulbah Island followed by a work back to the finish line. It started at 10:15. Along the way Sand Island marker was broken in half and very hard to see making for some tricky navigation.

Race 2:  Notes from Mitch Bayliss (Pipalini) and Ian Smith (Blackjack):
Pipalini won the downwind start with Araluen and Ozatel not far behind. Ozatel challenged Pipalini but didn't manage to get past. On the long beat to Toronto Pipalini stretched her legs with Blackjack, Araluen and Ozatel not far behind. On the broad reach to Belmont it was pretty even until Pipalini parked in no breeze at Belmont allowing Ozatel and Blackjack to come steaming in to within a few boat lengths. It was a close tussle from there to Pullbah Island where once again light breeze saw the front 3 come together. Once back in the breeze it was upwind to the hard to find Sand Island and Pipalini started to gap the chasers. By the turn for home Blackjack had passed Ozatel and began quickly closing on Pipalini but  fell into a big hole at Wangi Point.  On the final beat Pipalini cleared out and Blackjack also gapped the remainder of the fleet resulting in a Victorian one two result for the race and in the overall placings.
​

​While these races weren't your conventional 'championship' race courses, it was decided by the newly formed Castle Yacht Association of Australia that Newcastle & Hunter Trailer Association was a good starting point in a nice location and close enough that the organisers could convince at least one Queenslander and 2 Victorians to come tackle the 12+ hour drive.
The racing was conducted in very good spirit and was very competitive. The Castle trailer sailer class is currently undergoing quite a resurgence and now appears to be the most active trailer sailer class in the country. The next major event is the National Championships to be held in December in Canberra with a fleet of at least 20 boats anticipated.

Ready to take your sailing to the next level? 💪⚓
Kieser Mornington is partnering with the Mornington Sailing Club for a special presentation on how strength training can enhance your performance on the water — whether you’re trimming sails, balancing in rough seas, or chasing that next race win.
Join us for an evening of insights, connection, and community as our expert Physiotherapists and Exercise Scientists share how targeted strength work can:
✅ Improve balance and core stability
✅ Boost endurance for long days on the water
✅ Reduce injury risk and recovery time
✅ Enhance overall sailing performance
📅 Date: Monday 13th October
🕖 Time: 6-7:30pm
📍 Location: Mornington Sailing Club
🎟️ Cost: Free for Kieser members and club guests
Come along, bring a friend, and discover how a stronger body can make you a better sailor!
Spaces are limited, so secure your spot today: 
https://events.humanitix.com/strength-training-for-sailing-and-healthy-ageing-with-kieser-mornington
See you on deck,
Be Strong, Stay Strong

​The Lynch name is synonymous with MYC across three generations.  Nicholas's grandfather, Neil Brownbill, and his father John both served as Commodore, with John and his wife Diana now honoured as Life Members.  Nicholas grew up at the club, spending every Saturday crewing for Stuart Gooley before launching his real estate career in 1985 with Brett McEwing who at the time owned a 3/4 tone yacht called Fire & Ice.  Today, Nicholas's brother Simon carries on the family tradition as an active member with his couta boat, and you can expect to see both brothers on the water Thursday evenings.

Spirit of Downunder / Photo by Steb Fisher

Spirit of Downunder has a strong pedigree in ocean racing which skipper Rick Whitehouse will be keen to take advantage of when he races his Cameron Delange designed and built 12 metre yacht across Bass Strait and down the West Coast of Tasmania in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race (M2H).

Whitehouse, a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, bought the custom-built racing skiff from owner Laurie Ford in 2022 and will be sailing his first M2H, double-handed, alongside fellow Victorian, Marty Bennett.

Spirit of Downunder is already racing against the clock as the boat is readied for the Melbourne to Devonport ‘Rudder Cup’ qualifying race.

“The last time we sailed the boat was in the Melbourne to Devonport in 2023.

“It could be that I just end up doing the Melbourne to Hobart double-handed with Marty Bennett, as well as some other of the ORCV Coastal races.

“Marty and I did a few races together in 2023 before the boat stopped us doing anymore for a while, so after that, we decided to put in an electric motor and do a big upgrade of the electronics which has taken much longer than I thought it would,” said Whitehouse.

While Whitehouse is keen to avoid too much of the spotlight this early in his campaign in case things don’t come together, he is certainly enthusiastic about ocean racing since completing a circumnavigation in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race on the Chinese entry, Visit Sanya.

There’s no doubt that the Clipper open ocean racing experience coupled with intense training the program provides in advanced sea safety, planning for changing weather conditions, tides and strong currents will benefit Whitehouse when he tackles the challenges that the West Coast and the Southern Ocean can present.

Spirit of Downunder is an instantly recognisable boat with its distinctive graphics which Whitehouse believes is a combination of Indigenous and Aztec artwork. 

The boat, with its fractional rig, is a custom-built, full-size replica of an international one metre radio-controlled yacht designed by Gary Cameron in 1995. She was built in Mornington by Peter Delange and launched in 1997.

While the team’s goals are simple at this stage, “make it to the start line, finish and have fun,” Whitehouse is hoping for the perfect conditions to maximise the boat’s design in this year’s Westcoaster.

“The boat is designed to be very fast down wind and is perfect for this type of racing, although it’s not as quick upwind for me yet, but we’ll be looking for a moderately strong breeze from the north west of 15-20 knots in the race.

Whitehouse has chosen the double-handed option for his first Westcoaster to minimise the hassle of organising a big crew and for the sense of achievement you get from sailing short-handed.

“The advantage of double-handed sailing is that you don’t have to find a full crew, you get to sail periods of the race on your own, and you only have one other person to get along with.

“It certainly got pretty crowded on the Clipper Race with 20 crew.

“Marty and I have the same attitude towards safety, and we have the same attitude to getting things done and sailing the boat.

“I tend to do most of the navigation planning, and even though we haven’t sailed many times together, we are on the same page, with Marty really keen to do more short-handed sailing,” said Whitehouse.

Foggy Dew in the 2022 Winter Series Race 4 / Photo by Dave Hewison

Other double-handed entries received so far include Foggy Dew, sailed by Robert Darcy and Janet Wilks from Sandringham Yacht Club and Alex-Team Macadie skippered by Jock Macadie from the Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

Magellan during the 2024 Melbourne to Hobart / Photo by Michael Currie

Tasmanian sailor Richard Grant co-skippered Magellan to victory with his daughter Megan in the double-handed division in last year’s Westcoaster, and earlier this year finished second on AMS and third on PHS in the Melbourne to Osaka Race.

[Richard] Grant, from Bellerive Yacht Club is keen to see all of the double-handed entries do well in the race down the West Coast and offered some thoughts on things that they find helpful sailing two-up.

“Being familiar with your boat is so important, as is having clear reefing systems that can be handled by one person, to make things as quick and easy as possible and to avoid getting over-powered.

“What has worked for us in the past is to plan our race strategy before the start and set our waypoints conservatively so that we could safely sail the course without having to spend a lot of time at the chart table.

“Safety is always a priority, so we always make sure we do lots of training in our man-overboard recovery techniques and other emergency procedures.

“The ORCV and other sailors in the race offer lots of support to everyone competing which is one of the highlights of ORCV ocean races like the Westcoaster,” said Grant. 

And Grant’s final thoughts about the race?

“Make sure you get as much sleep as possible when off watch, drink lots of water and juices, but most of all, make sure you have fun.”

The M2H starts off Portsea at 1:30pm on Saturday the 27th of December 2025 with the race taking the fleet through Port Phillip Heads, across Bass Strait, down the West Coast of Tasmania, past Maatsuyker Island before heading east to Storm Bay to the finish at Battery Point in the River Derwent in Hobart.

The Westcoaster is part of the ORCV Offshore and Double Handed Championship and is open to monohull boats racing fully crewed or 4+autohelm or double handed, and multihull boats racing fully crewed or 4+autohelm.

Early bird entries close on Monday the 10th of November with final entries closing on Monday the 24th of November 2025.

Enter the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race here.

By Jane Austin/ORCV Media

If you’ve got a business that our members and sailing community would love to know about, why not come on board as a sponsor of Mornington Yacht Club? It’s a great way to get your name out there while helping us continue to do what we do best – sailing, fun, and community.If you’d like to find out more, please get in touch with us – we’d love to hear from you! [email protected]