BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

It’s certainly true of the St George Sailing Club fleet as momentum continues to grow in the years after a rebuild – on and off the water – at one of Australia’s most successful sailing venues.

With fifteen 16ft skiffs registered for the 2025/26 season – up from 10 last year – veteran St George members claim it is the highest number of entrants since 1992/93.

And in a further indication of the progress being made, seven of the 15 skippers are female.

The 13s are also buzzing, with three registered boats allowing that class to form its first fleet since the licensed club rebuild was completed several years ago.

No wonder it’s hard to wipe the smile from vice-president Shane Lackey’s face.

“To me it shows the model of support the board has set is working and the club environment we have is welcoming and somewhere sailors want to be,” he said.

“Even though we’re only two weeks into the new season, it looks like the fleet has stepped up its level of competitiveness. The middle pack looks larger than last season and any error out there will cost you.

“Another exciting development for the season is in the 13s with the three registered boats.

“Some look a little green in the boats but they are fully supported with coaching and I’m sure will come up to speed quickly.”

Three pointscore races have opened St George’s new season and some familiar names have filled the podium.

Bosker Build (Sarah Lee), TTR Civil (Phil Bower), Toogara (Tom Clout) and Infinity Rigging (Tom Dawson) have all made plenty of noise early, although some came a cropper on the shifting sandbars in last weekend’s double header short course races.

It was a timely reminder the Georges River remains a challenging place to sail, with St George to host the final two heats of the NSW Championships in November.

It will be unfinished business for the crew aboard Bosker Build after a disqualification at Manly ended their campaign last season.