maylands yacht club fishing

Contact us: [email protected]

© Copyright 2023 - Oceanshaker.com

• Windsurfing
• Submit News

Select Page

WA Sabre States kick off at Maylands Yacht Club

Posted by Down Under Sail | Dec 3, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 |

By Chris Holyday

The first two races of the Western Australian Sabre States have been run and won with a solid turnout of boats this past weekend at the Maylands Yacht Club.

Maylands is located almost five kilometres up-river from Perth city, and some 24 kilometres up-river from Fremantle Harbour.

It is Perth’s most eastern yacht club and on occasions in summer, it might not see the cooling south westerly sea breeze known as the Fremantle Doctor, forced back by the prevailing summer easterlies.

Sunday 29 November was not one of those days when 21 Sabres enjoyed the sprawling lawns and easy flat launching into the still waters of the Swan River.

It was the club’s first time hosting the Sabre class State Championship and it was a rather wintry-like grey and overcast day with a gusty sea breeze from the south-southwest and only 22 degrees that greeted the sailors just before race one.

Fortunately the wind settled down soon after the start.

The Maylands Yacht Club is still subject to the rising and falling tides of Fremantle, usually up to one metre, being part of the greater Swan River estuarine system.

Parts of the shoreline are heavily treed, and some tall buildings such as St John of God Hospital (the old St Annes Hospital), do create difficulties that test out the unwary sailor.

In addition, the tide flows around a large bend in the river at a wide lake-like main section where racing takes place.

A number of the fleet that had sailed at Maylands previously knew what to expect – as well as where not to sail – particularly upwind where one side of the shoreline should be avoided, which they most likely all know now.

All sailors faced the same challenge of squeezing around the windward mark at Bunbury Bridge, a mark that dates back as far as 1905 when an earlier East Perth Yacht Club used to exist close by.

The wind generally backs to give a starboard lift at that mark, but it is fluky, whereas coming in to the mark on port tack can usually provide a more reliable breeze sweeping under Windan Bridge – if you can avoid the starboard tack boats filing in.

Add to the mix a quite strong current at that narrow point, and it can be a daunting rounding!

After that, the downwind square run can also lead to boats passing you to leeward – again, if you have sailed too high into calmer waters.

I had the pleasure of picking up one of those starboard lifts very early on the first leg upwind in race one.

I had a bad start, so port-tacked half way across river immediately after, until I felt a strong header to swing across on starboard to gladly see the windward mark way off ahead in line with my forestay.

The leaders were working their way up the leeward shore, as they normally should, but I was just lucky enough to hold that lift and drop in close behind Scot Olsen three quarters of the way up that leg.

I could see Scott keeping his boat dead flat and as lifts came in from starboard, he was almost imperceptibly lifting the boat’s nose slowly higher with minimum rudder movement and maintaining maximum speed – very smooth indeed.

It was an unusual feeling for me to glance back over my shoulder to see most of the fleet behind us – and that feeling did not last long as Tony Carr in Zero Tolerance and Andy Rose in Lost Horizon were further to windward of both of us, with Bill Gillham not far behind them in Avenger.

I held on to that starboard tack too long, copped a bigger header coming into the Bunbury Bridge mark on port and found myself in the second group of three chasing Sabres behind these four leaders.

Those four boats had a great battle all race and I was pleased to scrap it out with The Rooster (Carl Girolamo), Aero (Richard Martin) and Fly In Fly Out (Lane Bauer) for the next four places after the leading group.

Tony Carr (Zero Tolerance) had a well-deserved win in race one with Scott Olsen close behind.

I was very happy with a sixth place in that race – my best ever in a State or National series in Perth where Scott Olsen of Fremantle Sailing Club and a cache of Perth Dinghy Club sailors have traditionally taken out all top 10 places.

In race two, my memories are clouded by a disappointing start where I was sitting behind the front group again – note to self: a bit more aggression to take on the front line next time.

The wind was dropping the further this race went as a good front had passed through the course area just before race one.

We enjoy flat water sailing at all times at Maylands – the only waves to speak of coming from passing power boats!

This leads to close racing on our tight courses and this race was no exception with Scott Olsen and Tony Carr again taking out first and second places respectively – this time the order was reversed and Scott prevailed.

It was great to see ‘the two Martins’ – Richard and Ray (not related I believe) fill third and fourth spots. Ray has sailed for MYC in the past in both Lasers and Sabres and knows our waters very well. He is always up there in light winds.

Maylands Yacht Club was proud to host the first two WA State Heats and we look forward to travelling down river to the wider waters of Matilda Bay and the Perth Dinghy Sailing Club for the next heats in the New Year – even if it means sailing in their short and sharp choppy waters… just kidding – but we do like our flat water sailing at Maylands!

Footnote – for those in New South Wales it is similar to sailing at Connells Point Sailing Club versus sailing at Georges River Sailing Club in a black nor’easter!

The Sabre Sailing Association would also like to thank its sponsor – Boating Hardware.

All photos courtesy of MYC Laser sailor and support boat helper – David Ponton – thanks David.

About The Author

Down Under Sail

Related posts.

JJ Giltinan | Four seasons in one, drama as the Aussies hit back

Entries closing soon for Laser nationals in Adelaide

Teakle Classic | Interviews from first day of Lincoln Week | VIDEOS

Tasmanians look to go back-to-back with new-look team in 2022 SAILING Champions League – Asia Pacific Final 

Leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow us on Facebook

Recent posts.

• Cape 31 Class on show at Hamilton Island Race Week
• Cape 31 Class to host inaugural Australian Championship at 2024 Hamilton Island Race Week
• Magpie soars like an eagle to claim 2024 Etchells World Championships
• Magpie flies away with 11 point lead on Day 4 of the 2024 Etchells World Championships
• Shiftier than a bag of snakes! Frustrating conditions on Day 3 of the 2024 Etchells World Championships

• AMERICA'S CUP
• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Heats 1 & 2 Sabre WA 2020/21 State Championships – Maylands Yacht Club

Maylands Yacht Club is located almost 5 kilometres upriver from Perth city, and some 24 kilometres upriver from Fremantle Harbour. It is Perth’s most easterly yacht club and, on occasions in summer, might not see the cooling Fremantle Doctor (south westerly seabreeze) force back the prevailing summer easterlies. Sunday 29th November was not one of those days – when 21 Sabres enjoyed the sprawling lawns and easy flat launching into the still waters of the Swan River. Our first hosting of the Sabre State Titles Heats, it was a rather wintry-like grey and overcast day with a gusty seabreeze from the south/south west and only 22 degrees that greeted the sailors just before Heat one. Fortunately the wind settled down soon after the start. Our club is still subject to the rise and falling tides of Fremantle, usually up to one metre, being part of the greater Swan River estuarine system. Parts of the shoreline are heavily treed, and some tall buildings such as St John of God Hospital (the old St Annes Hospital), do create eddys and wind sheers to test out the unwary sailor. In addition, the tide eddys and flows around a large bend in the river at a wide lake-like main section where we race. A number of our visitors had sailed with us previously and knew what to expect – and where NOT to sail, particularly upwind where one side of the shoreline should be avoided – I think they all know now where that area is located. And we all faced the same challenge of squeezing around the windward mark (Bunbury Bridge, a mark that we have dated back as far as 1905 when an earlier East Perth Yacht Club used to exist close by). The wind generally backs to give a starboard lift at that mark, but it is fluky – whereas coming in to the mark on port tack can usually provide a more reliable breeze sweeping under Windan Bridge – if you can avoid the starboard tack boats filing in. Add to the mix a quite strong current at that narrow point, and it can be a daunting rounding! After that, the downwind square run can also lead to boats passing you to leeward – again, if you have sailed too high into calmer waters.

I had the pleasure of picking up one of those starboard lifts very early on the first leg upwind in Heat One. I had a bad start, so port tacked half way across river immediately after, until I felt a strong header to swing across on starboard to gladly see the windward mark way off ahead in line with my forestay. The leaders were working their way up the leeward shore (as they normally should, but was just lucky enough to hold that lift and drop in close behind Scot Olsen three quarters of the way up that leg. I could Scott keeping his boat dead flat and as lifts came in from starboard, he was almost imperceptibly lifting the boat’s nose slowly higher with minimum rudder movement and maintaining maximum speed. Very smooth indeed! It was an unusual feeling for me to glance back over my shoulder to see most of the fleet behind us! That feeling did not last long as Tony Carr in Zero Tolerance and Andy Rose in Lost Horizon were further to windward of both of us with Bill Gillham not far behind them in Avenger. I held on to that starboard tack too long, copped a bigger header coming into Bunbury Bridge mark on port and found myself in the second group of three chasing Sabres behind these four leaders. Those four boats had a great tussle all race and I was pleased to scrap it out with The Rooster (Carl Girolamo), Aero (Richard Martin) and Fly In Fly Out (Lane Bauer) for the next four places after the leading group.

Tony Carr (Zero Tolerance) had a well-deserved win in Heat one with Scott Olsen close behind. I was very happy with a sixth place in Heat one – my best ever in a State or National series in Perth where Scott Olsen of Fremantle Sailing Club and a cache of Perth Dinghy Club sailors have traditionally taken out all top 10 places!

Heat Two My memories of this race are clouded by a disappointing start where I was sitting behind the front group again! NOTE TO SELF – A bit more aggression to take on the front line next time …….

The wind was dropping the further this race went as a good front had passed through the course area just before Heat one. We enjoy flat water sailing at all times at Maylands – the only waves to speak of coming from passing power boats! This leads to close racing on our tight courses and this race was no exception. Scott Olsen and Tony Carr again took out first and second places – this time the order was reversed and Scott prevailed. It was great to see ‘the two Martins’ – Richard and Ray (not related I believe) fill third and fourth spots respectively. Ray has sailed for MYC in the past in both Lasers and Sabres and knows our waters very well. He is always up there in light winds.

Maylands Yacht Club was proud to host the first two WA State Titles heats and we look forward to travelling down river to the wider waters of Matilda Bay and the Perth Dinghy Sailing Club for the next heats in the New Year – even if it means sailing in their short and sharp choppy waters! Just kidding – but we do like our flat water sailing at Maylands! (Footnote – For those in New South Wales it is similar to sailing at Connells Point Sailing Club versus sailing at Georges River Sailing Club in a black nor’easter!)

Sabre Sailing Association would also like to thank our sponsor – Boating Hardware

All photos courtesy of MYC Laser sailor and support boat helper – David Ponton – thanks David!

Choose your state:

Western Australia

South Australia

• AMERICA'S CUP
• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Boats for sale

Former yacht club commodore died after falling into water at Poolbeg marina, inquest hears

Seán McCárthaigh

A former commodore of a yacht club in Dublin drowned after falling into the water at a marina on the River Liffey while trying to get onto a boat after a social event last year.

An inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard the body of John Wedick (78) – a well-known figure in sailing circles and a senior member of the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club – was found floating in the water at the club’s marina on Pigeon House Road, Ringsend on the morning of November 19, 2023.

The widower and father of five from Camolin, Co Wexford, who had been commodore of the club on several occasions, had attended a social function to mark its 50th anniversary on the previous evening.

The deceased’s son, John Wedick Junior, who gave evidence of formally identifying his father’s body to gardaí, told the coroner, Clare Keane, that his father was in good health and spirits when he last saw him, which was the day before his death.

He described how his father was looking forward to attending the event at the yacht club as the anniversary celebrations had been delayed for a number of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Wedick said the deceased would have known the area around the marina and the yacht club well, and he had also grown up in the area.

In reply to a question from the coroner, he said the area around the marina was “relatively well lit.”

The inquest heard that Mr Wedick was due to stay the night on board his son’s boat which was moored at the club’s marina.

The deceased’s son said he understood that his father slipped while getting into the boat and fell in the water.

He confirmed to Dr Keane that his father was able to swim.

In a written statement, a bar manager at the yacht club said Mr Wedick had attended a private members’ function in the clubhouse and was “in great form” and did not appear in any way upset or distressed when leaving the event sometime after 1am.

Garda Paul Fay of Donnybrook Garda station, gave evidence of being alerted to the discovery of a body in the River Liffey at the Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club’s marina at around 9am on November 19th, 2023.

Garda Fay said he saw a body laying face down in the water between a pontoon and rocks when he arrived at the scene.

He also recalled noticing a large cut on the victim’s forehead.

The inquest heard the victim’s body was recovered from the water by Dublin Fire Brigade personnel and brought ashore at the Jeanie Johnston marina where Mr Wedick was formally pronounced dead at 9:27am.

Garda Fay said CCTV footage from the yacht club had caught the deceased’s last moments and showed him going through a gate that led to a pontoon in the marina before going to his son’s boat.

He described how the footage did not show Mr Wedick falling into the river but that his body was visible in the water afterwards.

Garda Fay said the victim looked fine as he was walking to the boat and did not look unsteady on his feet.

He also confirmed that the weather was dry at the time.

The deceased’s son pointed out that his father would generally wear sailing shoes when he was in the marina but was wearing dress shoes on the night because he was attending a black tie event.

“I’m not sure what grip they had,” he observed.

Although two other people had gone into the marina around the same time, Garda Fay said they had gone in a different direction on the pontoon and he was satisfied there was no third party involvement in Mr Wedick’s death.

“It just looks like a tragic accident,” the garda remarked.

Dr Keane said postmortem results showed he had sustained some abrasions on his scalp but it had not been possible to determine how they had been caused.

The coroner said there was some evidence of chronic heart disease but she did not regard it as a contributory factor in his death.

Dr Keane said Mr Wedick had mild alcohol intoxication, but the levels were “certainly not at the high end.”

Returning a verdict of accidental death, she said the deceased had died as a result of drowning.

She offered her condolences to members of Mr Wedick’s family who attended the inquest and acknowledged how traumatising such an “out of the blue and unexpected death” was for them.

Mr Wedick, who was known as “Johnny”, was also a founding member of the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Club and was involved in the restoration of a 50-foot fishing vessel, The Bracan Lass, which had been docked in a dilapidated state in Grand Canal Dock for many years.

His love affair with sailing was formed in his youth where he grew up in his grandmother’s house in Ringsend and he joined the local sea scouts at the age of 10.

A former chef who set up his own wholesale meat distribution business, Mr Wedick moved from his home in Artane to Wexford in his retirement but remained actively involved in the Ringsend club until his death.

More in this section

Irish Liverpool fan killed after being struck by car in Italy

7 minutes ago

3 hours ago

4 hours ago

8 hours ago

Latest National News

an hour ago

Select your favourite newsletters and get the best of Roscommon Herald delivered to your inbox

Welcome To Radio Sailing @ Maylands

Get into radio sailing, new members welcome, welcome to radio sailing @ maylands.

Maylands Yacht Club offers a range of activities including Radio Sailing. The information provided on this site is specific to radio sailing only, for further information relating to other sailing activities at Maylands Yacht Club please visit the official website at http://maylandsyachtclub.org.au .

Coming Events

No events scheduled

Thursday, 01 January, 1970

Latest results.

• About About About Committee Club History Member FAQ Club Rules and Policies Club Newsletters
• Learn to Sail
• Membership Membership Membership Terms

Sailing Info

The 2023/24 Sailing fixtures  are now finished - the fixtures held can be downloaded HERE . Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see the Winter 2024 fixtures.

Fleet courses can be downloaded HER E. There are three separate fleet courses here - page through to your class of boat. NOTE: The Sabre Fleet sails the same courses as the Laser Full and Radial Rigs.

Sailing Instructions for MYC can be downloaded HERE .

A map of the course marks can be downloaded HERE .

The 2024/2025 Season DRAFT Duty Roster can be downloaded HERE

Sailing Fixtures - Winter 2024 Note that winter fixtures are not formal Club races and the safety boat may not necessarily be on the water.  Start time is 1pm.

Files available for download