Each Spring and Summer, many sailors of all ages and particularly the “yachties” enjoy watching high performance Skiffs racing on Sydney Harbour and other waterways around Australia and wonder if it is something that they could also do.

At Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff Club there is a very welcoming culture and a strong desire to share the joy that comes with Skiff Racing and it’s for this reason that at least once a year our current Skiff Sailing Members (aged from 15 to 70+ years) and Club Officials and Volunteers give up a Saturday and welcome new sailors from all over Sydney to come and Try Skiff Sailing.

Saturday 3^rd of May was perfect sunny conditions for the most recent event with a comfortable 8 knot Southeasterly breeze enough to give more than 15 sailors who registered, the opportunity to try Skiff Sailing after on shore briefings. Many new sailors were able to take the helm and steer a Skiff for their first time while many others built on their knowledge of trapeze skills, setting the enormous Spinnakers and learning more about sail trimming in these high performance classes.

At the end of the day there was naturally some debriefing necessary in the Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff Club bar which lasted for some hours with many sailors asking to join the Whats App chat group so they could find themselves a ride when racing commences again in September 2025.

Article Credit - Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff Club