AHOY! CLUB SETS SAIL IN TITLE QUEST
ROYAL Geelong Yacht Club hopes to sail straight into first place after being named a finalist in the Australian Sailing Club of the Year awards.
Also competing for the prestigious title are NSW’s Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and Western Australia’s Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. The winner will be announced at the Australian Sailing Awards in Sydney next Friday.
The club, which employs 12 staff, has 220 volunteers and a membership base of more than 1150, was nominated by Yachting Victoria for the national award.
Commodore John Kint said the club was extremely proud to be recognised for its efforts.
“It’s a wonderful acknowledgment for our members and our achievements and contribution to the sport of sailing … to be recognised by your peers and fellow yachting enthusiasts as a club that stands out above all others in the country would be the highest praise indeed. I know all of our members would be incredibly proud of that accolade,” he said.
The year has already been successful for the RGYC. It took out the crown of 2017 Victorian Yacht Club of the Year, the RGYC Sailing School was named best in the state and the club won a global bid to host the 2022 Fireball World Titles after securing the national championship event for 2019.
The club is bidding to host two other significant world title events in 2020, which, if successful, will see an estimated economic benefit to Geelong of almost $3.7 million.
In January, RGYC’s Festival of Sails will celebrate its 175th anniversary.