RSYC Junior Sailing Program - The Suva Scallywags

01/08/2026

01/08/2026

We are getting closer to the National Sailing Regatta, and our Optimist Green Fleet sailors are putting in strong work each Saturday.

For this young fleet, preparation is about far more than results. It is about learning to rig their own boats, sharpening tacks and gybes, improving starts, reading the wind, and growing confidence in making decisions on the water.

Every Sailing Saturday is another chance to build good habits, grow independence, and get more comfortable sailing a full racecourse.

There is still plenty to learn, but the progress is clear — one rig, one tack, one lap at a time.

28/07/2026

Maybe it’s time for a sailing movie night at RSYC. Which one would you pick?

What is your favorite sailing movie?

28/07/2026

23/07/2026

Girls in ILCA 4 across Oceania, this invitation is for you. ILCA Sailing has opened applications for the 5th Youth Solidarity Program at the ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship 2026 at Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne from 1 to 8 January 2027.
https://osaf.yachting.org.au/news/ilca-4-youth-solidarity-open-for-melbourne-champs-week
One female youth sailor is selected per ILCA District. Event entry is free of charge for the selected sailor. An ILCA 4 charter boat in race condition is also supplied free of charge. Squad coaching pairs with Youth Solidarity merchandise in the support package. Applicants arrange their own passage and accommodation. Female sailors aged 13-16 who are Oceania citizens and ILCA District members may apply by 1 August 2026.

Building ILCA 4 miles at home helps. The 2026 Fiji Sailing National Championships include ILCA 4 on 23 and 24 August in Suva. Full Suva details from the Oceania Sailing Federation at
https://osaf.yachting.org.au/news/fiji-sailing-nationals-and-race-officer-course-set-for-suva

Questions to [email protected]. Share with club ILCA 4 fleets and parents. Oceania Sailing Federation | ILCA Oceania Youth Solidarity relay

12/07/2026

Remember when yacht clubs were packed with shaggy-haired teenagers rigging 420s and arguing over who forgot the bailer? Fast forward to today, and most docks sound more like a symphony of creaky knees than a summer camp.

Recent numbers tell the tale: just 2% of Americans aged 20-39 owned a boat in 2015, down from 4% in 2005. On both coasts and around the Great Lakes, young sailors are vanishing like wind on a hot afternoon. The average boat owner is now 54.

11/07/2026

Learning starts ashore. Coaches from Royal Akarana Yacht Club (New Zealand) guide our newest optimist sailors through the fundamentals before taking to the water, while RSYC coaches are upskilling alongside them through observation, discussion, and shared coaching experience.

10/07/2026

🔙 Hanging on the walls of our clubhouse, this framed photograph and plaque commemorate the Ratu Mara – Michael Somare Papua New Guinea Sailing Tour, 1984.

Featuring John and David Philp, Patrick Holland, Robert MacGregor, Douglas Kilner, Jonathon Guzzwell, Ben Herter, Curly and Liz Caswell, and Jan Dunlop.

For many in our sailing community, these aren’t just names or faces in a photograph. They are friends, family, mentors and familiar faces who helped shape the spirit of sailing in Fiji. They strengthened friendships with our Pacific neighbours and proudly represented the Royal Suva Yacht Club wherever the wind took them.

As the next generation of junior sailors prepares to launch for semester two of 2026, may they always remember they are part of something much bigger than themselves. Every tack, every gybe and every race adds another chapter to the story of sailing in Fiji.

Vinaka vakalevu to those who came before us. Your legacy lives on every time a young sailor heads out onto Suva Harbour.

Fair winds and following seas. 🇫🇯🩵