St George 16s

19/05/2026

Congratulations to all our winners at St George Sailing Club for the 2025/2026 sailing season!

Don't forget our Sailing AGM is Thursday evening - please show your support for our elected officials and consider filling a role.

Presentation Photo album here: https://manly16s.pixieset.com/2026stgeorgepresentation/

13/05/2026

Last call for Presentation tickets!

If you haven't - hurry! Tickets close this afternoon at 5pm.

The 2025 / 2026 St George Skiff Sailing Season wraps up with a night for the skiff sailors.

28/04/2026

They took the long road home and clocked up some overtime but St George boat Wichard Pacific powered home to win the prestigious ANZAC Day 16ft Ack Ack Trophy race, unveiling a skipper of the future in the process.

Seventeen-year-old Manly sailor Tayla Lees – after only a handful of starts piloting a 16 – showed great calm and exposure to beat home a host of more experienced sailors.

Combining with owner/sheethand Luka Damic and bowman Cameron McDonald, the 13ft and Flying 11 graduate cruised to victory in a near-perfect 10-12 knot nor' easter.
The ANZAC Day race was started by a group of returned servicemen from the 53rd Ack Ack regiment more than 50 years ago.

It was their way of commemorating the day while celebrating their love of sailing.
Winning on ANZAC Day puts you in rarefied air at St George, with many Manly boats heading over the bridge to join their Saints colleagues on such a special occasion.

"It was an amazing opportunity as a 13ft skiff sailor to be asked to sail with some very experienced 16ft skiff sailors," Tayla said after Wichard's win.

"They were really friendly and encouraging and helping me learn lots during the race, especially about sailing with the tide in the river which is a massive game changer when competition is tight.

"It really was an honour on take the win on such a historical day that means so much to so many."

Damic and McDonald, who know the tricky St George "track" like the back of their hands after many years sailing there, were blown away by how well their teenager skipper handled the conditions.

It's even more impressive when you consider the trio had never previously sailed together.

"Tayla's obviously very young and still learning lots but she was very impressive out there," Damic said.

"A 16 can be a difficult boat to sail but she absorbed everything we said and her boat handing was good.

"We never looked like swimming or being uncomfortable or being put in a difficult position.

"She's just going to get even better the more she sails a 16."

Such was Wichard's dominance, the crew had time to recover from a lap miscalculation and still win with around two minutes to spare.

Tayla explained: "We weren’t too sure how many laps there were but luckily we had enough of a gap between us and second place to sail the extra distance just to be safe."

In the 13s, St George team #26 (Phoebe Branch/Marcus Wong) looked to have a win in the bag but a botched tack heading toward the final windward mark led to a capsize, allowing scratch St George team Infinity Rigging (Tom Hughes/Noah Chenhall) to charge through and claim the win.

Remarkably, Phoebe and Marcus only joined forces at the start of the season and have made great progress, with a 13s camp over the Easter period fast-tracking their education.

To push Infinity Rigging all the way and finish ahead of more seasoned teams from Manly points to a bright future in the class.

The other class winners on ANZAC Day were:
MG14: Venturi (Ruby Smith/John Caley)
Skate: Any Which Way (Tim Sellars/Damien Vlotman)
Windsurfer: Sham Watkins

Photo gallery: https://manly16s.pixieset.com/2026anzacday/16ftskiff/
Words | Adam Lucius
Photos | Mark Bramley

Manly16's
Aussie Skiffs \\ 13 & 16 Footers
St George Sailing Club
Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club

25/04/2026

Our 2026 ANZAC Day Race winners

16ft Skiff: Wichard Pacific
13ft Skiff: Infinity Rigging
MG14: Venturi
Skate: Any Which Way
Windsurfer: Sham Watkins

25/04/2026

Hands up if you sailed the ANZAC Day Race @ St George Sailing Club today 🙋‍♂️

17/04/2026

Thats a wrap on the St George Sailing Club Easter Clinic!

We had a fantastic week introducing our recent Learn to Sail graduates to the St George Junior Race Team in preparation for the 26/27 Sailing Season.

A few of our newer 13ft Skiff sailors hit the water in the afternoons to focus on tuning and boat handling as well.

Thanks to all who attended and to those for making it happen. Looking forward to next season!

Manly Junior Sailing
Aussie Skiffs \\ 13 & 16 Footers

09/04/2026

A great day to sit , watch and enjoy the racing.


fansSt George Sailing Club
St George Sailing Club - History
IMAGES | Michael Chittenden.

09/04/2026

Yvette Heritage is glad she picked up the phone when St George skiff sailor Sam Featherston rang at the start of the season searching for a skipper.

Heritage had a 16s pedigree but had been out of the class for 12 years when Sam hit her number and delivered the right proposal at the right time.

"Thanks to Sam for the last-minute call up and invitation to sail with them this year," the R. Beauchamp Metal Workers skipper said after claiming the season handicap pointscore in the ninth and final heat of the 2025/26 club championship.

"This was my first season sailing with Sam and Tim Narborough. Honestly, these guys are what made steering a 16 a feasible reality for me this year.

"They worked tirelessly on the boat, where I am quite time poor. Above all, the guys made sailing fun.

"No matter our result, we would always have a laugh and keep a positive attitude."

It was just as well they possess a positive vibe because the series-deciding race didn’t exactly go to plan on Saturday.

"We were five points in front and knew that Tribeca (Ben Bradley) and Toogara (Tom Clout) could beat us given our handicap took a significant hit in the previous race," Heritage explained.

"Tribeca and Toogara usually finish ahead of us, so all you can really do is try and minimise boats and time between you and your competition.

"We had an ok start, but the race wasn’t our best. We are a very light boat and don’t go so fast in stronger conditions and then my port hiking strap broke at the end of the first lap.

"We also did our best to ruin the result by having a nosedive in the last beat away.

"The race ended up being a drop for us so we were fortunate to come away with the season pointscore by one point."

And in doing so, another piece of history was made.

With the Sarah Lee-skippered Bosker Build clinching the club championship for the third year running, it is the first time two women have taken two top placings in the club's history.

Yvette, 42, said: "Sarah’s talent speaks for itself, however I think the results are a reflection of the number of female skippers currently in the fleet at St George.

"With seven female skippers, the odds are just as likely for a male or female to win the pointscore.

"For me, it’s not about winning as a female… I think sailors these days just want to beat their competition - male or female.

"I think it’s great to see that more and more females are continuing to sail into adulthood or coming back to sailing after a spell."

Multi Australian championship winner Lee Knapton took out Saturday's scratch race on Off The Map on a day where the rarely used south-south westerly track was preferred.

Thirteen 16ft skiffs made it to the start line, with windsurfers and MG14s also making the journey in the stiff 18-25 knot breeze.

The 13s fleet didn’t venture out but Infinity Rigging (Tom Hughes/Noah Chenhall) already had the club championship/season pointscore double wrapped up.

The other overall winners for 2025/26 are:

MG14s
Club Champ - Venturi Ruby Smith
Pointscore - Barra Neil Tasker

Skates
Club Champ - Any Which Way Tim Sellars
Pointscore - Take It Easy Michael Winney

Windsurfers
Club Champ - Sham Watkins
Pointscore - Wayne Bowness


fans
St George Sailing Club
St George Sailing Club - History
VIDEO | SailMedia