Seasons greetings to all Minnow sailors and families.  The Albert Sailing Club have again this year turned on the hospitality and some great racing conditions on the lake. Thanks must go to the great man Tezza O'Donnel for his huge effort in making the Minnow Class feel at home at ASC, and well done to all sailors who competed in the Winter Series on Albert Park Lake.  The final results over the three race series;  1st.    Stephen Collings   2nd    George Davies    3rd.  Kate Hanna.

The training supplied by our Yachting Victoria coaching staff has moved the whole fleet up a couple of notches and this was truly evident at MYC during Spring Sail where Sarah Blanck and Jo. Coached the more experienced  Minnow sailors in the gusting 20 – 25 knot easterly, and all the sailors more than handled the conditions. We were all impressed.  Looking into 2006, the Victorian Titles will be held the following weekend after the Lidgett Cup at Daveys Bay  Yacht Club. We have secured sponsorship from Channel 7 for this event and into 2007 for the next Victorian based Australian Titles. Our new found association with Channel 7 will stand  the Minnow Association in good stead and allow us to fund some great events in the future.

I would like to thank some un-official Minnow committee members, who behind the scenes are keeping the cogs well oiled, they are Mark Gray and Megan Oakley. Mark has redesigned our Minnow web site and streamlined its use and content, also improving our bottom line. Megan  has been helping out with Minnews and other communications which has taken a great deal of pressure off the rest of the committee members. On behalf of all the committee we thank you both.

The committee would like to take this opportunity to wish all the sailors traveling to QLD in Jan. 2006 all the very best of luck in the 2006 Australian Minnow Championships.

Mark Lloyd Minnow President

The 2005 Junior Regatta was held on the 23rd  & 24th July 2005 on Albert Park Lake. The regatta is used as a selection process for the Victorian Junior Sailing Team and is open to sailors (in monohulls) under 16 years of age.

The 2005 Junior regatta boasted gusty, ferocious winds of up to 30 knots and, in these difficult conditions, the eight races tested  the boat handling skills of our juniors..  The competition was tough and everyone was incredibly impressed at the ability levels shown by our brave Minnow sailors.

Based on their results, we congratulate the following sailors on being selected for the Victorian Junior Sailing Team:

• Great Christmas Idea No. 1—Forget the Grange—impress your friends with  a bottle from the MSA range of fine wines  - order form included.
• How does your Minnow Measure up?  Find out inside all the dimensions and specifications for Minnows to sail in the National Championships.