Junior sailors Aaron Todd and James Shave.
Camera IconJunior sailors Aaron Todd and James Shave. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Sun City Yacht Club celebrated its 40th open day at Two Rocks Marina

Lucy JarvisNorth Coast Times

About 40 people attended the opening ceremony of the sailing season of the club, which started in November 1974.

The guest speaker was Doug Kerr, who has been sailing since 1957 and is the treasurer of Yachting Australia.

Mr Kerr said he was first associated with the Two Rocks club in 1977 before the America’s Cup, when he would travel from Attadale in the mornings to train for two hours before heading back to work in Kwinana.

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‘We did a quick run down the beach the other side of the marina, came back, put the boat in the water, went sailing at 6am,’ he said.

‘We would sail to 8am ” by 8.30am we couldn’t be out there any longer.

‘That was the average day in the life of a yachtie wanting to sail in the America’s Cup.’

Mr Kerr said encouraged the club to consider a Yachting Australia program that provides a fleet of plastic yachts, or Optimists, that could be used for training.

‘The whole idea is to encourage youngsters from the ages of six to 12 to participate in sailing,’ he said.

‘They can be members of yacht club families, but primarily it’s focused on primary schools.’

Commodore John Utley said the committee had focused on dinghy sailing and encouraging its younger members, including his two daughters.

‘We really want to build on that,’ he said.

Mr Utley said the past year had been difficult of the club, particularly with the loss of his wife Dannelle who ‘left a big hole’ in the committee and prolonged closure of the boat ramp last summer.

‘During the year, we lost access to the boat ramp ” we ended up having to lift the dinghies over the rocks to get them into the water,’ he said.

Mr Utley said marina managers Yanchep Sun City had recently built a dinghy ramp specifically for the club, south of the main boat ramp, before its lease expired on November 9.

He said during the club’s Discover Sailing Days, more than 50 people tried the sport and they hoped membership would continue to increase.

More: Sailors hope to navigate marina berth