Cruising Group celebrated its annual end-of-year get together last Saturday evening with friends and sailing colleagues, old and new. With the weather forecast predicting the probability of showers and possibility of thunderstorms, we once again had to reconfigure from the traditional “Hardstand Party” to a “Jock Sturrock Centre Party”, nevertheless, an enjoyable evening was had by all, capped off by some enthusiastic, if sometimes a little out of tune, singing of Christmas Carols. Our grateful thanks to the sailing office and catering staff for their help with setting up the venue.
Looking forward to 2026, our first event will the annual Cruising Group Birthday Cruise to RYCV in Williamstown, scheduled for Sunday 18th January. This will be our 35th such cruise to Royals, first held in 1991 as the inaugural event of the RBYC Cruising Group. The then newly formed Cruising Division of RBYC had their first outing, sailing across to the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. We have continued the tradition ever since, with some years having to cruise by car across the Westgate Bridge when the weather has not been conducive to sailing. Boats will leave RBYC marina around 10am and return mid-afternoon. Bring a BYO everything BBQ lunch to cook on their barbecues, organise a picnic lunch or order off the menu at the RYCV bar (Note that any alcoholic drinks must be purchased from the RYCV bar).
Please advise Terry Frankham ([email protected]) if you are planning to attend so that we can let Royals know of our attendance and berthing requirements, and you can be updated with any details. If you are boat-less and wish to attend, please contact Terry to see if there is space available on any of the boats heading over to RYCV. Members are also welcome to drive over and join us for lunch at RYCV.
Our first Guest Speaker Dinner for 2026 will be on Friday 20th February, when we are delighted to have Rob Hurrell presenting on his experiences participating in the recently concluded 2025 Sail2Indonesia Rally on Aquacadabra. Several RBYC Cruising Group members joined Rob for various stages of the rally, so this promises to be a fascinating and entertaining evening.
Over the last week of February and 1st week of March we are planning an “Explore the Bay” Port Phillip Cruise. An “expressions of interest” meeting for this will be held in late January 2026.