MBYC Montrose Bay Yacht Club

27/10/2026

This Sunday at MBYC. Members around in the morning to assist would be appreciated. We have some registrations already. Share this around.

25/10/2026

Ominous black clouds and a building southerly breeze greeted 8 Sabre skippers in the second round of pennant racing at MBYC today. Morning rain kept many away, but those who made the effort were rewarded with (as predicted!) a dry afternoon. The breeze never lived up to the threatening look of the cloud buildup, and skippers raced in 8-12 knots of shifty S-SW breeze, suiting the lighter breeze experts perfectly.

The comment was made pre race that it was entirely possible to finish anywhere between first and last, such is the close nature of the Sabre fleet. This proved correct as skippers played a nautical version of snakes and ladders all afternoon, as breezes shifted and currents behaved unpredictably.

Standout for the day was John Cooper in Mad Max, who scored two 2nd places before dropping a 7th in the last race. John was closely followed by Elise Ford in Nauti Shorty (5,4,1) and Paul Matthews in This is it (3,8,2). Ken Barnes in Hooligan and Dave Smith in Texas Pete both won races, but an OCS for Ken spoilt his chances of a top result.

Handicap results saw Dave (1, 3.5,3) lead the way from John (2,2,6) and Paul (3,8,2).

Next Sunday sees a “Discover Sailing” morning, followed by the annual Brett Webster trophy series. Racing gets underway, as always, at 1330

Pictures by Chris

22/10/2026

The second round of pennant racing for the season takes place on Sunday at MBYC.

Conditions are forecast to be dramatically different to last Sunday’s drifting conditions and summer temperatures. Conditions this Sunday are expected to be much cooler and the breeze is forecast to be S-SW at 5-15 knots.

Whilst rain is forecast for Hobart, competitors can be completely confident that no such thing will happen on the river…. Trust me, it never rains on sailing days!

The light breezes last week allowed those who excel in those conditions to make a solid start in the hunt for this year’s pennant. Current handicap leader, Commodore Glenn is closely followed by Paul, Darren, Elise and Steve. More solid breezes will no doubt bring others into contention. Watch out for Anthony and Max, who have been in hot form over the past few weeks, along with Ken (these days, he’s a pacemaker in more ways than one!) Tim, Peter, Gordon, Roger,Coops and Mark.

The one design aspect of our racing brings with it some intriguing battles.

Our growing Impulse group are providing stiff competition for each other. The rapidly improving Darren will be looking to continue to challenge Roger and Gordon.

Meanwhile, the Sabre group continues to exhibit close racing. With a fleet well above 10, placings have been shared amongst most skippers in the races held so far this year. There are plenty of skippers with their eye on first place each week. So far, in the 7 races sailed, we have had Paul, Tim, Elise, Ken and Mark leading the fleet home. Several others have been in the mix regularly.

Look out for these “races within the races” as the afternoon unfolds.

Get down to MBYC on Sunday and join the action. Racing kicks off at 1330.

Mark

Click on a file below . .     

19/10/2026

As predicted, Sunday’s pennant racing at MBYC saw conditions vary from a drifting 1 lap first race, to an abandoned second race as tide outpointed wind, to a third race sailed in a light to moderate SE sea breeze. Apart from the usual competitors, it was great to see Jeff Viney and daughter Molly enjoying an afternoon on the water together in a Pacer.

Race 1 saw skippers battling near enough to zero wind. An upriver first beat saw some skippers opt for the inshore route and others gamble on more wind mid river where the tide was strongest. As it turned out, both possibilities succeeded for some, but others were left floundering. The standout performers were undoubtedly Anthony and Max in Heron Dynamite Jack, who kept pace with the leading Impulse and Sabre skippers. No mean feat!

Down wind (if there was wind!), Darren in his Impulse, Ego, was best performed, crossing the line ahead of Gordon and Roger. First Sabre was Paul in This is it, ahead of Elise, Ken and Mark. On both handicap and yardstick, Anthony and Max were way too good, making a strong start in the pennant series.

Race 2 was abandoned when what wind there was, died completely, leaving competitors at the mercy of the outflow of the river. Some chose to finish up for the day, whilst others waited patiently for the SE to make it. One even worked on his capsize drill to cool down and fill in some time. (Mark says that the water was quite warm!)The breeze teased us for 20 minutes or so until finally filling in around 3.20pm.

Those still afloat sailed a full course race 3 in around 8-10 knots of SE breeze. A good contest ensued all through the fleet. Leading the way was Darren, followed by Elise, John Cooper and Paul.

Elise led the way on yardstick, followed by John, Paul and Peter Wright.

Handicap honours went to Commodore Glenn, followed by John, Elise and Paul.

So after the first round of racing, Glenn, Paul, Darren, Elise and Steve Brown lead the handicap standings.

Yardstick rewarded Sabre skippers. Paul and Elise head the standings, followed by Darren, Ken and Peter.

Next Sunday sees round 2 of Pennant racing. The question will be, who can shake up the leaders? Or will the current leaders continue to dominate? Get down to MBYC on Sunday to join the action and find out who climbs a ladder and who slides down a snake.

Pic by Wendy Matthews

18/10/2026

A teaser. Today was a super long day and nobody took any photos . . ALMOST.
I took some video of the trainers out this morning so introducing Hamish, Max, Spencer and Jeff Viney with his daughter Molly. Mike was out there somewhere but he always disappears over the horizon.
The wing surfer turned up out of nowhere.
Marks wrap up and the results will post tomorrow.

17/10/2026

Preview….

Pennant racing for season 26-27 kicks off tomorrow with the first 3 races of the series.
The weather man says that we will see light breezes in the morning (Ideal for our beginning sailors!) with a SE sea breeze in the early afternoon. At this time of year, sea breezes often appear mid to late afternoon, meaning we will most likely sail early races in very light winds, with the SE filling in later in the afternoon.
These predicted conditions will test all and give everyone in the fleet a chance to sail in their preferred conditions.
Early races should suit our light weather specialists, Roger Masters, Peter Wright and Dave Smith tend to particularly excel at in these conditions.
As the SE begins to fill in, watch out for our “all rounders” - Ken Barnes, Paul Matthews, Elise Ford, John Cooper, Anthony and Max.
And if the SE picks up above 15 knots, keep an eye on winner of the first two weeks’ racing , Gordon Stewart and Sabre heavy air experts, Tim Mitchell and Mark Rasmussen.
Whatever happens, the handicap results will be wide open, with honours going to those who can master the tricky conditions and keep their cool in summer conditions.
Get down to MBYC tomorrow and join the fun. Beginners will be on the water early and race 1 begins at 1.30.

12/10/2026

Results from Sunday are up on website

Click on a file below . .     

11/10/2026

Today’s racing at MBYC saw skippers contesting the Tony Green trophy series in blustery NW conditions, which tested skippers greatly at times. Some hectic downwind rides were the highlight of the afternoon as the wind built well above 20 knots.

Race 1 saw 11 starters. 5 Sabres, 3 Impulses and one each of Heron, Pacer and Mirror. Conditions varied in both direction and velocity. The race was characterised by regular place trading amongst the fleet as conditions favoured different skippers at different times.

As the breeze built, Gordon Stewart (Arial 2) led the Impulses from Roger Masters (Comet) , who had led early.

Tim Mitchell (Alter Ego) and Mark Rasmussen (Viking)took control of the tightly contested Sabre fleet, with Tim leading all the way and Mark working his way through the fleet as the breeze built.

The best of the rest were Anthony and Max (Dynamite Jack) who sailed their Heron well to finish in contact with the Sabre fleet.

Race 2 saw the breeze building to a solid 20 or more knots at times. Again, Gordon was too good in the Impulse fleet, followed by Roger. Darren Flanegan (Go) suffered both a capsize and rig failure as the breeze began to gust well above 20 knots.

The Sabres again had a close contest with Tim, Mark, John (Mad Max)and Ken (Hooligan) all leading at various stages. A wicked shift saw both Tim and Mark dunked head first as boats involuntarily tacked, Mark recovered better and took the lead, which he held for the remaining lap, extending late in the race as the breeze gusted above 25 knots on the last beat. John Cooper and Ken Barnes made up the top 3.

Overall, Mark had the best day amongst the Sabres, (2,1) followed by John (3,3). Whilst Gordon (1,1) led the way from Roger (2,2) in the Impulses.

The race committee wisely abandoned race 3 as finishers in race 2 battled strong and gusty winds.

A gear breakage mid race cost Anthony and Max any chance of a handicap win. Gordon (1,1) led the handicap standings, followed by Mark (4,2) and Tim (1,8).

Some sore and bruised bodies will be in evidence tomorrow!

05/10/2026

Opening Day results. I had some queries about Yardstick results so I have done those and put them up on our website.
https://www.revolutionise.com.au/montrosebay/sailing/2026-27-dinghy-results

04/10/2026

Lots of photos of opening day thanks to Wendy, Chris and Jen.

Opening Day at MBYC saw a cool S-SW breeze, ranging from 5-15 knots and swinging in direction regularly.

A fleet of 16 greeted the starter, 10 Sabres, 3 Impulses, one each of NS14, Heron and Mirror.

The club welcomed new boats and owners, Roger Masters in the beautifully restored Impulse, Comet and youngster George Jansen, with crew Oscar, had their first morning sail in Heron, Gorilla Biscuit.
New owner Darren Flanegan made an impressive debut in his Impulse, Go.

We also welcomed the club’s new RIB as part of our on water safety setup.

3 races were contested, with a feature being the close racing right through the fleet, with some skippers finding that a little early season rust needed to be dislodged - some questionable choices close to marks resulted in a near demolition derby at times, whilst judging closing speed whilst on Port tack seems to be something to be revisited by some!

Leading the fleet in all 3 races were the Impulses. Gordon Stewart in Arial was most consistent, with two wins and a second. Roger was next best (3,2,1), whilst Darren should be pleased with 2,3,3 on his first outing.

Amongst the Sabres, Paul Matthews was the most consistent, with two wins and a third. Tim Mitchell was next best with placings of 3,2,3. Mark, Ken and Dave kept the leaders honest at various stages.

On handicap, best performed was Gordon, followed by Roger and Paul. The consistent John Willson rounded out the handicap leaders.

Next Sunday sees the Tony Green Trophy races. We look forward to perfect weather and another big fleet.