Laser Squadron out and about ahead of Sail Melbourne
By Tony McPhail and GC Member Grant Dow
The summer season is upon us, and the RBYC ILCA ”Squadron” has been out and about representing RBYC. To kick the year off over the Melbourne Cup weekend, ILCA Victoria ran the Inland Waters Championships and a two-day training camp at the Bendigo Yacht Club on Lake Eppalock. Our Squadron which now numbers more than 30 boats, was well represented by the following: Owen McMahon, Andrew Crawshaw, Damon Cook, Michael O’Brien, Stuart Bloom, Philip Sloane, Simon Lynch, Jason King, Robert Jefferys, and Tony McPhail. Owen finished second on a countback. The rest of our fleet filled the results from top to bottom.
Next week, Squadron members Nick Ede, Steve Gunther, Ian Tudball, Michael O’Brien and Tony McPhail will represent RBYC at the ILCA NSW & ACT Open and Masters championships at the Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club on Lake Macquarie over 15-16 November.
Then onto the ILCA Victorian State Championships at Geelong on 22-23 November. We expect another strong representation from our Squadron members.
To round out the start of the session, we have Sail Melbourne at RBYC on 27-30 November. Again, a solid number of our Squadron will represent RBYC at this important regatta, where we expect to see a number of Olympic and World Championship contenders competing on the waters off the club.
And to top this all off, the Squadron has its regular Thursday and Sunday OTB racing. New sailors of all experience levels are welcome to join in. ILCA’s are relatively inexpensive to purchase – for as little as a few thousand dollars you can get yourself onto the water and be competitive, and immediately have 30 new friends. The group prides itself on comradery. A beer and a plate of food after de-rigging is a must!
Further into the 2026 season brings even more events with the National ILCA Masters in NSW and the Victorian State Masters being sailed.
