 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2017) |
Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht club was founded in 1891 by Mark Foy [1] in the birthplace of the famous Sydney Harbour sailing skiff classes. It was founded to allow people to enjoy skiff sailing regardless of financial background. The Sydney Flying Squadron, affectionately called The Squaddy by its members and locals, is Australia's oldest open boat sailing club on the shores of Sydney Harbour.
Sydney Flying Squadron is located at the end of Careening Cove, Milsons Point in Sydney, NSW; the Squaddy features spectacular water views and is situated next to Milsons Park which provides a large grassy rigging area during summer months. Racing takes place from October to Easter with a break over Christmas.
Sydney's open boat scene boomed in the mid-1890s and the Johnstone's Bay Sailing Club had become the most vibrant and progressive club on the harbour. Races were held for all open boats up to 26 feet including several of the new 18-foot type that has begun to emerge. In January 1894, Mr T. Goodall, owner of the crack Brisbane 22-footer Caneebie, was in Sydney to follow the anniversary Regatta and discussed with Billi Golding, Caneebie's builder, the possibility of an inter-colonial sailing contest between NSW and Queensland 22-footer. Golding placed the matter before the energetic Johnstone's Bay Sailing Club who immediately opened negotiations with Queensland Yacht Club, and in March sent its three best 22-footers, Latona, Portia and Irex up to Brisbane for the first inter-colonial yacht races for open boats. Honours were shared in a two race series between the local champion Bulletin, owned and skippered by James Whereat, and Sydney's Irex, owned and skippered by Nick Johnson. A re-match in Sydney was promised and set to coincide with the 1895 Anniversary Regatta.
The advent of inter-colonial open boat racing set the Sydney scene humming. Every yacht club wanted to be involved, even a recently deceased one. In the Sydney Morning Herald 12 April 1894, on page 6, a small paragraph appeared starting: “Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht Club” A meeting of sailing men was held at Rainsford's Cambridge Club Hotel last night for the purpose of re-establishing this club. Mr F.J. Donovan was voted to the chair, and called on Mr M. Foy to explain the object of the meeting. That gentleman then states his ideas on the matter, after which it was decided that the club be formed, and that it be open for boats from 18 ft to 26 ft’.
At its first meeting in August 1894, members voted to name the club, the Sydney Flying Squadron. Mark Foy was elected Commodore with Vice-Commodores, Messrs A. Roderick and Billy Golding. Club colours were to be a blue burgee with a white triangle. All boats were to carry ‘Large distinguishing colours on sails.’
This was a radical step. Sailing clubs and yacht clubs of the time restricted sails to plain colours and no insignia. There was considerable opposition from the establishment. Another radical step was to introduce a scratch start. This meant the fastest boat started off scratch, or at a particular time, and every other boat had a handicap. They started a number of minutes before the scratch boat. A boat with a 10-minute handicap started 10 minutes before the scratch boat. The intention was that all boats would finish at the same time.
Previously racing had all boats starting together. The handicap was applied after the race finished so until the officials had worked out each boat's finish time and handicap, nobody knew who had won. The scratch start provided a much more exciting race. The fleet was often close together at the finish line. Of course, spectators loved this approach. Sails with colourful insignia enabled them to tell boats apart, and you could see where any boat actually was in the race. The fastest boats had to work their way through the fleet and hopefully catch the slowest boats on the last leg. There was another benefit. Gambling. At the time, there were anything up to 10 or 12 ferries following the racing. Each would have bookmakers on the boats illegally taking bets. Which boat would round the next mark first? Could one boat pass another on a spinnaker run? Who would win?
The police would regularly raid the ferries, but by the time the ferry had slowed down enough to allow the police boat to come alongside, mysteriously no money would be in site. Just a bunch of avid spectators.
Sydney Flying Squadron conducts racing on Sydney Harbour for senior skiff classes on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer months, September through April. On Saturdays, the flying 18 Foot Skiff class, both Modern and Historical as well as the Flying Dutchman class race from 2:30 pm. On Sundays TBA.
18 Foot Skiffs Carrying over 1200 sq feet of sail power, the high performance 18-footer is recognised as the "formula-one" of sailing. It is the apex predator of sailing with nothing in its like harder or faster. It is recognised worldwide. And it's right here at the Sydney Flying Squadron.
Historical Skiffs The Historic 18 Footers are replicas of famous 18's from the period between 1900 and 1950. They are constructed and sailed by members of the Australian Historical Sailing Skiff Association (AHSSA) which was formed in 1991 by a group of ex-skiffies with the aim to preserve the history of Sydneys classic open skiffs.
Flying Dutchman Flying Dutchman are raced all around Australia and in 44 other countries. World Championships are held annually, as are Australian National and State Titles.
12 Foot Skiffs The 12 ft skiff is a development class that is sailed in NSW, QLD and New Zealand The main regattas are the State, Australian and Interdominion championships. NSW also holds interclub regattas during the season at Lane Cove, Saratoga, Abbotsford, SFS and Greenwich.
International 14's The International 14 is a high performance development skiff with two crew on trapeze supporting 50+ sq m of sail area including an asymmetric kite. I14's are sailed throughout Australia as well as worldwide in Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.
| DATE | H 18 | O18 | FD | TAIPAN | SOCIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 29-Sep | Spring Series H1 | Spring Series H1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 06-Oct | Season Opening Mark Foy Day Spring Series H2 | Season Opening Mark Foy Day Spring Series H2 | Season Opening Mark Foy Day Spring Series H1 | ||
| Sat 13-Oct S | Spring Series H3 | Spring Series H3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 20-Oct | Spring Series H4 | Spring Series H4 | Spring Series Heat 2 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 27-Oct | Club Champ H1 - Bish Bolton Trophy | Club Champ. H1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sun 28-Oct | Balmain Regatta | Balmain Regatta | |||
| Sat 03-Nov | Spring Series H5 | 5 Spring Series H5 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 10-Nov | Spring Series H6 | Spring Series H6 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 17-Nov | v Spring Series H7 | Spring Series H7 | Spring Series Heat 3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 24-Nov | Spring Series H8 | Spring Series H8 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 01-Dec | Club Champ H2 - Bish Bolton Trophy - Legends Day | Club Champ. H2 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 08-Dec | Summer Series H1 | Summer Series H1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 15-Dec | Summer Series H2 | Summer Series H2 | Summer Series Heat 1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 22-Dec | Summer Series H3 | Summer Series H3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles - Christmas Party | ||
| Sat 05-Jan | Club Champ H3 - Bish Bolton Trophy | Club Champ. H3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 12-Jan | Summer Series H4 | Summer Series H4 | Summer Series Heat 2 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 19-Jan | Summer Series H5 | Summer Series H5 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 26-Jan | Australia Day Regatta | Australia Day Regatta | Australia Day Regatta | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Thurs 31 Jan | Australian Championship Heat 1 | ||||
| Fri 1 Feb | Australian Championship Heat 2 | ||||
| Sat 02-Feb | Australian ChampionshipHeat 3Final | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |||
| Sat 09-Feb | Club Champ H4 - Bish Bolton Trophy | Club Champ. H4 | Summer Series Heat 3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 16-Feb | Summer Series H6 | Summer Series H6 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 23-Feb | Autumn Series H1 | Autumn Series H1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 02-Mar | Port Jackson Champ Ladies Day -Queen of the Harbour | Port Jackson Champ Ladies Day -Queen of the Harbour | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
| Sat 09-Mar | Autumn Series H2 | Autumn Series H2 | Autumn Series Heat 1 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | |
| Sat 16-Mar | Autumn Series H3 | Autumn Series H3 | Race Ferry- BBQ- Raffles | ||
Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on marinas for docking, and being typically only for exclusive social leisures such as cruising, fishing trip or racing.
Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or other fixed navigational devices or racing longer distances across open water from point-to-point. It can involve a series of races with buoy racing or multiple legs when point-to-point racing.
Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:
Dinghy racing is a competitive sport using dinghies, which are small boats which may be rowboats, have an outboard motor, or be sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern sailing dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
Model yachting is the pastime of building and racing model yachts. It has always been customary for ship-builders to make a miniature model of the vessel under construction, which is in every respect a copy of the original on a small scale, whether steamship or sailing ship. There are fine collections to be seen at both general interest museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and at many specialized maritime museums worldwide. Many of these models are of exquisite workmanship, every rope, pulley or portion of the engine being faithfully reproduced. In the case of sailing yachts, these models were often pitted against each other on small bodies of water, and hence arose the modern pastime. It was soon seen that elaborate fittings and complicated rigging were a detriment to rapid handling, and that, on account of the comparatively stronger winds in which models were sailed, they needed a greater draught. For these reasons modern model yachts, which usually have fin keels, are of about 15% or 20% deeper draught than full-sized vessels, while rigging and fittings have been reduced to absolute simplicity. This applies to models built for racing and not to elaborate copies of steamers and ships, made only for show or for " toy cruising."
The 18 ft Skiff is considered the fastest class of sailing skiffs. The class has a long history beginning with races on Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1892 and later in New Zealand. The boat has changed significantly since the early days, bringing in new technology as it became available. Because of the need of strength, agility and skill, the class is considered to be the top level of small boat sailing. Worldwide this boat is called the "18 Foot Skiff". It is the fastest conventional non-foiling monohull on the yardstick rating, with a score of 675, coming only third after the Tornado and Inter 20.
The Flying Eleven is an Australian boat designed as a high performance racing skiff suitable for 12- to 18-year-olds. High performance sailing is fast becoming the goal of a great many dinghy sailors with the appearance of 49ers as an Olympic class.The Flying Eleven is a logical step in the transition between junior classes such as the Manly Junior or Sabot and prepares young sailors for classes such as Cherubs, 420s, 470s, 29ers, Moths, 13s or even 49ers.
The 12 ft Skiff is a development dinghy class dating back to the early 20th century. It is sailed in Australia and New Zealand. It is 12 ft (3.7 m) in length, hence the name, and is a two-man boat. Both the crew and the helm are able to use the trapeze at the same time. It has an asymmetrical spinnaker and a jib, in addition to the mainsail.
The Nepean Sailing Club (NSC) is a sailing club located on Lac Deschênes in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The club is based in Dick Bell Park, along Carling Avenue, adjacent to Andrew Haydon Park in the former city of Nepean.
The term sportsboat first appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s to describe trailer sailers that were optimised for high performance at the expense of accommodation and ballast. The very definition of the term "sportsboat" is evolving.
Iain Murray is an Australian sailor and yacht designer
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
Historical 10 Foot Skiffs are sailing skiffs raced by members of the Australian Historical Sailing Skiff Association at Drummoyne Sailing Club on the Parramatta River in Sydney and at the Brisbane 18 Footers Sailing Club on the Brisbane River in Bulimba, Brisbane. Racing is held under the auspices of the AHSSA. The 10 footers are beautiful boats with a strong sense of camaraderie among the crews, who are reliving the sailing events of the past.
The Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) is a private social club, yacht club, and tennis club based in Britannia, a neighborhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1887 by a group of cottagers.
The JJ Giltinan International Trophy is considered the world's premier 18-foot skiff open championship, the eponymous brainchild of noted Australian sports entrepreneur J. J. Giltinan.
Akarana is a racing yacht which was built in Auckland, New Zealand in 1888 by Robert Logan (Senior) to represent that country in the Australian Centennial Regatta held on Hobson's Bay, Victoria. She was restored as New Zealand's bicentenary gift to Australia and is today currently the oldest vessel in the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Mark Foy was an Australian retail businessman and entrepreneur who established the department store Mark Foy's in Sydney. He also opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains, a hydropathic resort with Swiss doctors and spa water from Baden in Germany. In addition he was a keen sportsman with interests in rifle shooting, boxing, sailing and motor racing.
Sailing is a popular sport and recreational activity in Australia with its varied coastline and often warm climate.
Chester Yacht Club (CYC) is a private yacht club located in Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada, established in 1902. The Chester Yacht Club is home to Canada's largest keelboat regatta, Chester Race Week, which occurs every August. Notable members of the Chester Yacht Club include Olympians Jacob Saunders and Graeme Saunders, who started sailing with the club's junior sailing school in 2002, and philanthropist Sir Christopher Ondaatje, who owns a nearby island. The club is also active in one-design racing, highlighted by the Bluenose one-design sloop and International One Design (IOD) fleet.
