Twilight Sailing is a popular activity among the members of the Southport Yacht Club (SYC)—both for active sailors and non-sailing members. Every Thursday, at twilight, the SYC holds the race inshore, starting from the SYC Main Beach Clubhouse.
Simon Turpin, Sailing Operations Manager of SYC, explains, “Twilight Sailing is part of the SYC Club Racing calendar. The racing is performed on the inshore waters of the Gold Coast Broadwater with an annual presentation held each year to present a trophy to the overall winner.”
The active sailing members of the Club volunteer their vessels for the twilight race. Simon says, “The owners of the vessels are active Sailing Members of Southport Yacht Club. They offer their vessels for other sailors to increase the activity of the sport, and encourage non-sailors to actively learn the sport.”
Participants can sign up as hands-on crew. As crew members, they can be assigned to any position from the bow to the stern. For those wanting to be a permanent crew member in one of the boats, it is required for them to upgrade to a sailing membership to ensure they have the appropriate insurances.
Simon states that Twilight Sailing is an activity for everyone. “It is a great sport that everybody can join in. people of all ages and fitness levels can learn the ropes of how to sail and join in with the great camaraderie that SYC has to offer.” According to him, participants can also sign up for a “more champagne-style cruising,” as a relaxing experience.
On average, there are 20 boats that join the twilight races every week. The vessels that race on a regular basis are predominantly monohulls. “Multihulls are more than welcome to participate, and they will race against each other on a handicap system,” explains Simon. The race courses change depending on the weather conditions.
Ray McMahon, a member of the SYC, has participated in a few hundred twilight races. “Over the past eight years, I have made a point of sailing on the entire fleet. Doing this has given me a good understanding of their skills and abilities, and has helped me to improve on where we need to improve their fleet skills.”
Twilight Sailing is a race as well as a social event. As a race, speed is an important aspect of the sailing experience. Ray admits that he is most comfortable driving the boat, and enjoys the pressures of making the boat go fast. He shares, “The most challenging thing is getting the boat to perform the way that is should. There is nothing worse than being on a boat knowing that is it just not going as fast as it should. Optimum speed means we should have a good chance at winning the race.”
Although speed is a big factor at the races, Ray emphasizes that safety on board is the most important aspect. “So many times I see boats on the water and seeing things that are not safe and potentially not realizing the danger that they are putting their crew in. Any boat that I am sailing on, I pay particular attention to the level of safety that they have on that boat to ensure all twilight boats have a fun and safe afternoon.”
Some participants have bought boats of their own after their twilight race experiences. But even then, they would still join the race on someone else’s boat. Ray shares, “I did buy my own boat, but still very much enjoy the experience of sailing on different vessels each week.”
Twilight sailing is an extremely important offering for Southport Yacht Club as it encourages non-sailing members to participate in the great sport, and to give them the opportunity to learn more about sailing.
Ray describes Twilight Sailing best: “A great way to socialize, keep fit and enjoy being on the water in a fun and safe environment, with that little bit of competition just to spice it up!”
by Roselle Tenefrancia
