Wintersail 10th to 12 July at Albert Park YC

Wintersail is a great event for Minnow sailors -novice to intermediate to advanced.  The event is sponsored by Yachting Victoria and has great prizes!!

For more details and entry please see the Yachting Victoria website link at http://www.vicsailingteam.yachting.org.au/default.asp?Page=42336 

News from First Minnow Champions

In 1975 the inaugural Minnow Championship was held in Victoria. It was won by Michael Walters in Tortoise II.  The following year brother Paul Walters won the Victorian Junior Championship in Seaweed and then again in 1977 in Rockweed.  

Michael now lives in Switzerland and Paul teaches at an International School in Libya,  their progression from the Minnows is quite amazing.

Both boys sailed competitively until University,  when Michael caught the Orienteering bug.  He moved on to 24hr Rogaines at which he and his friend won the first World Championship at Beechworth in 1992. Michael now runs in Ultra Marathons each year including running the gruelling Mont-Blanc circuit of 160 kms with about 2000 other competitors.

Paul has a similarly amazing story.  He gave sailing away when he went to Uni but instead of running around mountains he climbs the high altitude peaks.  He scaled the north face of Everest in 2000 and has climbed many other 8000 metre peaks. Paul was at the top camp of K2 awaiting his opportunity to summit when that terrible disaster hit last year when many climbers perished. Thankfully Paul has the smell of the sea in his nostrils now and has been on some ocean racing boats in the Middle East and has signed on for an all-amateur boat to sail in this years Cowes week in the U.K..

All this seems a long way on from sailing Minnows. However there was something there in the Minnow experience that developed Michael and Paul's determination and helped them cope with their somewhat extreme activities. 

Minnow Memorabilia

The Minnow Association has had several enquiries recently from ex Minnow sailors and families looking for certain information and memorabilia. We would be particularly interested to hear from:

Anyone who may hold a copy or know the whereabouts of 1970's Super 8 Movie footage of Minnows sailing the Winter Series at Albert Park Lake;

Anyone who may have owned or passed on Minnows made by Ian Batenburg in Darwin with:       

Sail number 824, built 1987,  ? -went to Adelaide

Sail number 826, built 1988,  Wizzle-Ntice -went to Queensland

Sail number 865, built 1988,  Snappy Tom -went to Adelaide

 Please contact camilla.graves@bigpond.com if you can assist.

Albert Sailing Club Annual Regatta, 20 and 21 June 2009

Minnow class sailors are invited to sail in Albert Sailing Club’s annual Inland Waters regatta which is being sailed on Albert Park Lake on Saturday 20^th (pm) and Sunday 21st June (am and pm). The Minnow fleet has had some good sailing to date in the Albert Sailing Club regatta in the past and this should be another good weekend.

The regatta follows a short race series format with races of 30 to 45 minutes in three sessions starting at 1.45 pm on Saturday, then Sunday am and pm. Courses will be sailed in the northern half of the lake, and will generally be triangles or trapezoids depending on wind direction and conditions.

Regatta documentation including the Notice of Race, Entry Form and Sailing Instructions are available from the Albert Sailing Club website.  Albert Sailing Club is located at the start of Aquatic Drive, South Melbourne at the north western corner of Albert Park Lake. The club has a large well-appointed clubhouse with full facilities for sailors and their support crews. A canteen will operate at lunchtime on both days. Spectators are well provided for with close-up viewing of the racing available from the clubhouse and the northern shores of the lake.

This has been a popular regatta for over 25 years. It is part of Albert Sailing Club’s winter sailing season which commenced in early May and continues through each weekend until the end of September.

The members of the Albert Sailing Club look forward to another successful Albert Sailing Club Inland Waters regatta, and will as always provide a warm welcome to visitors.

Australian Championships 2010

Black Rock Icicle Regatta starts 25th April 2009.

All Minnow sailors are invited to participate in the annual Icicle Regatta at Black Rock Yacht Club. The series consists of 6 races on Saturday afternoons starting on Saturday 25th April.  For more details please visit www.bryc.yachting.org.au 

School holiday sailing Clinics with Sarah Blanck

Attention all Minnow sailors : Sarah Blanck is offering a series of sailing clinics starting in school holidays.  Sarah , a very successful Olympic sailor started her career in the Minnow and is a great supporter of our class.  For more information please go to: http://www.sarahthesailor.com/

2009 State and National Championships Report

Our expert reporter gives a comprehensive summary, see link below.

Many thanks to Russell Bates for the great photos.

Albert Sailing Club winter sailing program. All Minnows invited!

The Albert Sailing Club will again be conducting a full winter sailing program from mid April to September 2009 and extends an invitation for the Minnow Association members to participate. Participation can be for all or part of the winter season; designated Class Association Travellers Series races; and/or the club's annual Mudpuddler Regatta which is scheduled for saturday 20 and sunday 21 June.

An information flyer which provides details of Albert Sailing Club's winter season program and applicable race fees is attached see link below. As at early February, the water levels in Albert Park Lake were higher than they had been in February for a number of years, and with average rainfall in Autumn water levels should be good for sailing during the mid year months.

2009 Victorian Minnow Championships Results

It was fantastic turnout for the Minnow State Championships.

For Results please click on links below:

OPEN FLEET  http://Www.Sscbc.com.au/site/yachting/results/sscbc/2007/club/otbvics/series.htm

For overall results see "Minnow combined".

NOVICE FLEET   http://Www.Sscbc.com.au/site/yachting/results/sscbc/2007/club/novvics/series.htm

Lidgett Cup Results 2009

Last weekend (February 14th and 15th 2009) saw a strong contingent of Minnows competing in the Lidgett Cup at Davies Bay.  As always a very well run and fun weekend with a combination of coaching and racing.

The Advanced Minnows was won by Tess LLoyd with Jack Graves second and Zac O'Connell third.

Intermediate Minnows was won by Harry Jacobs with Sian Harding second and Tom Lindholm third.

Novice A, a combination of Minnows and Optimists was won by Molly Jo Ann Ford in her Minnow with Romy Abbott third.

Well done not just to these winners, but to all participants, we hope to see you at Sorrento this weekend coming (Feb 21st and 22nd) at the States!

Victorian Minnow AGM 2009

Please note the Minnow Association AGM will be held this Sunday at Sorrento SCBC at the conclusion of racing prior to the Presentations for the State Championships.  Agenda and Minutes of 08 meeting available via the link below. 

2009 Victorian Minnow Championships Sailing Instructions

Please click on link to open.

2009 Victorian Minnow Championships NOR and Entry Form

The Victorian Minnow Championships will held at Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club on the weekend of 21st and 22nd February.  All Minnow sailors are invited to enter. Please click on link below for Notice of Race and Entry Form.  We hope to see you all there!!

2009 Australian Minnow Championships Results

For the final results in the 2009 Minnow Nationals at Blairgowrie please click on link below:

Sail Sandy October 18 and 19 2008

13 Minnows entered Sail Sandy in 2008 which proved a bit of a marathon with 4 heats back to back in 5 hours on Saturday, and 2 heats morning and afternoon in challenging windy and wavy conditions on Sunday. It was extremely impressive to see the efforts of all the Minnows just to finish every race.  

Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron were well represented with Gemma Burns in Dart 2 and Hayden Brown in Barging Buoy working extremely hard to finish every heat and even drawing with each other in Heat 6.  

William Knight in Magoo from Davey's Bay also put in a great performance in getting around the course in every race.  

Charlie Dixon, the youngest participant in very aptly named Ocean Rider put in a courageous performance in negotiating the big waves.  

Sam Hannah in Caspian Tern and Jack Abbott in Jacka both pushed the top end of the fleet and kept the pressure on.  

Bella Dixon in Ultra and Charlotte Llewellyn in Sunset tackled every race with style and mastered the waves beautifully.  

Drama's on Sunday with Zac O'Connell in Zac-a-tack and an Ok Dingy colliding and snapping Zac's centreboard - Zac was on starboard of course - some of these adults need more practice!  

Tess Llyod in Blonde Bombshell lost two masts within an hour which must be some sort of record!  

Jack Felsenthal in Maximus had a close battle with each of the top 4 boats and sailed a very consistent regatta.  

In the end Jack Graves in Ozone had a narrow win over Tom Trottman in Griffin, in a hard fought battle that came down to the wire.  

The Minnow's showed their class once again in this major regatta with Jack second and Tom fourth over all in a fleet of 135 boats.  Well done to all participants. Sail Sandy is always a most enjoyable and well organised regatta so please encourage more Minnows to compete next year!  

2009 Minnow Nationals

Dates have been confirmed for the 2009 Minnow Nationals being held at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron.  The event will run from Tues 6th January to Sunday 11th January 2009.  The NOR will be finalised and distributed to interstate associations soon.

Minnows dominate at YV Junior Regatta, Chelsea

The YV Junior and Youth Regatta was held at Chelsea Yacht club in early April.  The minnow class achieve great results.  Overall six minnows finished in the top ten, which proves what a great training class the minnow is!

2008 Victorian Novice State Championships

The 2008 VIC Novice State titles were held on Sunday, 9th March at Blairgowrie Yacht Club in light winds, which was a change from the blustery conditions at McCrae two weeks before.

The Minnow Association would like to thank Blairgowrie for hosting the event

Jamie Taylor took out first place in Division A sailing Checkmate followed by Adam Kudnig 2nd and Hayden Harding 3rd, and May Warner in Never Give Up, was 1st in Division B.

For full results click on the link below.

2008 Victorian State Minnow Championships - McCrae Yacht Club - 23rd & 24th February 2008 RESULTS

The Channel 7 Victorian State Minnow Championships were held at the McCrae Yacht Club on the weekend on the 23rd and 24th Feb in strong, blustery conditions.

The open fleet was won by local McCrae sailor Tom Vincent sailing Shaddow.  Congratulations.

Following Tom was Lachlan Imeneo, McCrae, then Tess Lloyd SSCBC and Parkdale, then Mitchell Cittadini SSCBC, then Jack Jessup SSCBC.

Sam Hannah, SSCBC was awarded the 2008 Junior Victorian Champion. 

The Novice fleet and some juniors were at the mercy of the gale warning and unfortunately, racing was abandoned for them. 

For full results click on link below.

2008 Australian Minnow Championships - Rockingham results

Well done to our sailors at the Rockingham regatta.  A sensational effort from our Victorian sailors, with 4 of the top 5 being from down south.  The top 5 overall in the open division were

• 1st-James Oliver
• 2nd-Tom Klemens
• 3rd-Anna Philip
• 4th - Shane Phillips (WA)
• 5th - Tom Trotman

James Oliver sailing 'Whisper' won his first Nationals title, with Anna Philip winning the Junior Australian Minnow Champion title.  Great work by both competitors.  Congratulations to all competitors - we hope you had a great time!!  Full results at www.tcyc.com.au

2008 Australian Minnow Championships results and news!!

The 2008 Australian Minnow Championships were held at The Cruising Yacht Club in Rockingham, WA, from the 7th to the 13th January.   for more information, click on the MORE button below:

New Rule changes - does your boat comply?

For new and amended rules for the Minnow class, please click on the link below.  Ignorance of the law can't be an excuse so please read and ensure your Minnow complies with Class regulations.

Coaching - new on-water policy

MSA has issued a new policy regarding on-water coaching, specifically that no coaching on the water will be allowed during State or National Regattas.  Please click on the link below for detailed information.  This new policy will ensure everyone has a fair go.

Centerboards

The Minnow Association has confirmed that compliance with the design template for centerboards shall be compulsory for all competitors at the Nationals. Details available on the website.

Questions regarding centerboards can be directed to the Minnow Association President

 Mark Lloyd Ph: 0418 365 370.

New Rules of Measurement - Centreboards.

The MSA has introduced new rules of  measurement for centreboards.  Please click on the link below to access a detailed article which outlines these changes and new guidelines.

Wonderful Wine, Great Prices - Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz & Sauvignon Blanc

Yes, is it time to enjoy a glass of wine with friends (isn't it always!).  Returning by popular request, the MSA is proud to offer you quality wines at brilliant prices.  If you enjoy wine – and don’t need the label to tell you how good it is, we know you will enjoy the wines that have been selected.  Stock up for summer as each purchase raises money to benefit our Minnow sailors.

The order form is via the link below.  Orders can be faxed through and delivery can be arranged for a minimal cost.

Results from YV Junior Regatta at Elwood April 18 and 19 2009

A great turn out of fourteen Minnows completed in this year OAMPS Vic Youth and Junior Regatta which was sailed in mainly light winds off the beach at Elwood Yacht Club.

Sam Hannah showed great consistent form carrying 9 heats of seconds and thirds to finish second overall to Jack Graves who won an incredible seven heats in the ten race series. 

Jack Felsenthal and Zac O’Connell both sailed well to finish just outside these top two.

Rupert Arter and Liam Edleston in new boats, Griffin and Phantom, showed that they will be at the top of the pile come the next Nationals.  Close behind Charlotte Llewellyn also in her new boat Living Dollsailing a consistent series.

Felix and Sylvie Saisch pulled off the great feat of finishing on equal parts after the 10 races.

Sylvie the older sibling winning on a count back, to keep her younger brother in his place, by a place!

Only one point behind Isabella Dixon could have made it a three way tie.  It goes to show that each place in each race is important in the final count, as I am sure all of these sailors could think of how they could have made up those extra few places.

Likewise Gemma Burns and Sarah Boyce tied on points with Gemma on top with count back and a best effort of 6^th in one heat.

Hugo Llewellyn and Scott Munday rounded out the field, although both missed more than three heats in the series.

It was a long two days which required great concentration in the light and testing conditions.  Well done to all.

For all results please see http://www.yachtingvictoria.com.au/default.asp?Page=41208

Minnows For Sale

If you are looking to buy or sell a Minnow, check out the For Sale link. Your next minnow buyer / seller could be waiting for you there!

Nepean Boats. We build and repair Minnows!!

40 Peninsula Ave, Rye VIC 3941
5985 1972, 0438 503 017

Our new timber Minnows, are ready to sail. The hull is spray painted in the colour of your choice, with the deck and cockpit finished in clear 2 pack. Boats have Hooper sails and a high performance Ronstan rig. $4500. Call in to our yard and inspect the Minnows under construction.