The next programmed sailing day on Albert Park Lake is on Saturday 1st February with Summer Series Race in the afternoon and monthly Informal Race and Casual Sailing in the morning, with club boats available for Albert SC members. Then Top of Bay Regatta at Elwood SC on Saturday 8th February.

Members from the two Albert Park Lake clubs enjoyed the sailing and social activities at Australian Championship events over the late December to mid January period including : Paul Farrell and Jonathon Pulham in Impulse titles in Queensland, Hamish Gilsenan in ILCA titles in Queensland, Mike Horvath/Anthony Berger in Hartley TS16 titles in Victoria, Paul Taig/ Julia Ng in Pacers titles in Adelaide, Graeme Cox in Scow Moth titles in NSW, and Morton family in Mirror titles on Lake Hume.

In other National titles news
* 22 Mirrors sailed the Australian Mirror Championships at Albury – Wodonga Yacht Club in mid January. Raf and Malawa Heale, ASC 2024 Winter members, were the convincing overall winners. Reports and photos on https://www.facebook.com/MirrorsVic/

* 27 Optimist class sailors and their families sailed in the Australian Optimist Class Championships at RQYS, Brisbane in mid January. All of them sailed in the Optimist Winter Coaching program from Albert in 2024. Tom King, who was an ASC junior member from early 1980’s through to 1991 when he won the World Mirror Championship in Netherlands, gave the Victorian Opti sailors an insight on his Olympic journey (including 470 Gold medal in Sydney 2000) and his sailing life.

And in Other News
A Report and photo below of ASC club member David Scammell report on Retirement and Followup for Vendee Globe Retiree Pip Hare.

Rod Thomas
for Albert Sailing Club committee and members

Vendee Globe Retiree Pip Hare’s unscheduled visit to Melbourne

In early January Albert Sailing Club member David Scammell met up with Pip Hare, one of his UK sailing buddies he sailed against back in the late 1990s in the Laser 5000 two person skiff Audi Eurocup championships, a forerunner to the 49er.

Pip was competing in her second Vendee Globe race which is a single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race contested on IMOCA monohulls,
that takes place every four years. Pip was looking to finish in the top 10, adding foils to her 20 year old IMOCA 60, Medallia.

Unfortunately disaster struck on 15 December when Medallia was dismasted deep in the Southern Ocean around 800nm from Australia. Pip’s race was over and she made her way slowly under minimal jury rig towards Melbourne arriving 15 days later on 30 December..
https://www.sail-world.com/news/282173/Medallia-dismasted-800-NM-south-of-Australia

Pip had put a call out through David’s brother Simon of Suffolk Sails in the UK for help, which led to David making and offering help any level of help to Pip through Whatsapp. .

Pip showed David the inside of her boat in early January, see attached.. She was grateful for all the help and welcoming sailors on her arrival into Melbourne, but there was much to think about and organise. Pip had already decided she wanted to sail the next Vendee in a new built and faster IMOCA. But Medallia is required back in the UK quickly to enable Pip to do the required qualifying races which start in May this year and a new boat won’t be ready then.

Pip has returned to the UK. Her UK team will be back soon to remove the keel and ready Medallia for transport to the UK. Any ASC members or Facebook followers with contacts that maybe able to help with shipping / costs can contact David through Rod on sailing@albertsc.org.au.