Thrills and Spills for the 30^th AWKR

Over the Queen’s Birthday Weekend RMYS hosted the 30^th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta, with 24 all-female crews competing from NT, QLD, NSW, SA, TAS and VIC.

There were some very cold and challenging conditions, but the atmosphere at the club from everyone around was just amazing all weekend. It was fantastic to see the club full of people and laughter again, especially after the regatta has been cancelled for the past 2 years.

I would like to make a special mention to all the volunteers that make this regatta so flawless. Ross Flood and all the on-water volunteers did the most amazing job, and Lou Hutton as Race Officer managed to get all 6 races in, including a 12-mile course on Day 2. Thank you also to the Protest Committee consisting of Darren Eger, Tony Dawson and Roger Bennet who were on site all weekend – although luckily not needed.

It was also fantastic to see the Boat Buoys back again, the work that they do over the weekend is so appreciated and they are a much-loved part of the regatta, both on the marina and running the post-race BBQs. We are grateful to have Rebecca Badenoch and her law firm Culshaw Miller Badenoch Lawyers sponsoring this great initiative. Rebecca has not only been a long-term competitor, she has also been an AWKR sponsor for 15 years.

A huge thank you to Janet Dean, who worked tirelessly all weekend on the results and ensured that everything ran seamlessly, as well as Cath Mahony who set up all the events and ensured everything was in its place. Thank you to Matt and Jan for being around all weekend to keep things running smoothly and help competitors with all kinds of things, as well as the RMYS office in helping this regatta happen.

I would like to thank the boat owners at RMYS that lent their boats for the regatta, and everyone that came down and watched racing shared a drink and sausage sizzle or came down for a dance to The Titanics on Sunday night.

Well done to all the RMYS crews that competed, Vella Starr skippered by Nadine Tabek and the Genoa Committee, Sunshine skippered by Ailsa Pender, Georgia skippered by Sarah Clough, Sequel skippered by Monica Jones and No Man’s Land skippered by Sal Balharrie, who also won the trophy for best performing owner/skipper.

It was great to have amazing sponsors again this year with support from Culshaw Miller Badenoch Lawyers, She Sails (Australian Sailing), Andrew Clarke from SBYC, James Lynch and the Doctor’s of Northcote sponsoring the prize glasses, Doyle Sails, Musto, Hey Tomorrow Wines, Wolf and the Willows beer, Aqua Boogie Seltzer, Jimmy Rum and more.

It was also very special to be able to honour Gai Clough the AWKR founder at this event, who sadly passed away in 2020, with her husband and Past Commodore Les Clough speaking at the event and her daughter Sarah sailing on the RMSTA boat Georgia with an RMYS crew.

For a more detailed update on the sailing side of the event please check out the article on Sail-world here: https://www.sail-world.com/news/250169/Australian-Womens-Keelboat-Regatta-overall?source=email&fbclid=IwAR0YgMfjJEHttJEUgo4Ql6cisL4IlAEeEHbBrqT4y87OUKgLDjxWikHWwFM

Kristen Buckland – Chair of AWKR 2022