Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron

The Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron

A five minute walk from Dave and Iulia’s place is the St Kilda Yacht Club where Chris had found out we could crew for a sailing team. We jumped at the chance and on the two Wednesdays we were in Melbourne we could be found out on the ocean participating in the weekly yacht race.

Spirit

We were met by Nigel, crew to the boat ‘Spirit’. He took us under his wing and showed us the ropes. It was Chris’ first time sailing and it was a great way to start. In keelboat sailing everything is obviously a lot bigger than with dinghy sailing and the legs of the race have to be a lot longer - there is more space and also more time to explain things. Chris learned all about sheets and cleets, tacks and jibes, main sails and spinnakers. To be fair, Nigel and Paul (the helm) had it all under control and while they needed an extra hand with one or two things, Chris and I were pretty much able to watch and learn.

I have never been in a keel-boat that heeled so much though - Mum, you wouldn’t have liked it! I know Keel boats can’t capsize (it’s very difficult anyway), so knew we weren’t about to tip over, but we really were vertical! After a while, we gained more confidence and didn’t need to hold on until our knuckles were quite so white!

Despite being almost vertical for much of the race, I loved that we were able to have a beer mid-race! I’ve never been able to do this before in dinghy racing, for obvious reasons, and thought this was wonderful! It was only on the down-hill leg but it was a great feeling, sitting back watching all the other boats, feeling the wind in our hair while drinking a cold, fresh beer. Good times.

Chris spent most of his time sprawled across the top of the deck, hanging on for dear life every time we tacked (there was only enough room for three of us in the hull’s seated area and Chris drew the short straw, having to cling onto the roof of the boat! He loved it, really, and came out swearing like a sailor! (Only joking, Lisbeth!).

After the race when we’d helped pack the sails away, we followed Nigel and Paul back to the clubhouse where we sat down to listen to the prize-giving. This was new for me too - it’s a big club so they can have a prize-giving after every race rather than at the end of a season or a special regatta. There is a big dinner you could buy too and it really was a wonderfully social occasion. If I were to move to Melbourne I would definitely join the club to crew for someone - it costs $300 a year (about 160 pounds) and that’s it - no other cost, ever. It’s such a social sport, people were extremely friendly to us, and I love the element of competition.

Two weeks later, we were back again, this time sailing for the ‘Matrix’ team. This was a far bigger boat and without a spinnaker so we were in the pursuit race. There were eleven crew and a helm - Chris and I really did nothing in this race but move our weight accordingly as there were enough hands on deck already. We were just grateful to be taken out and be able to join in with such a fun race. It’s a wonderful way to meet people too.

Matrix

If you’re ever visiting Melbourne for a week or more, I recommend you hunt this place down and join in on a Wednesday night. You’re guaranteed to have a good time! Trust me, I’m a sailor…