With a history dating back to at least 1905, the Speers Point Amateur Sailing Club (SPASC) is located at the northern end of the renowned Lake Macquarie in New South Wales and is one of only three clubs from around Australia selected to host members of the Australian SailGP team – including Jason Waterhouse and Nina Curtis – when they visit our shores this February.

SPASC prides itself on being a welcoming and friendly club and is set in a premier sailing location with their clubhouse offering a paramount view of the Lake. In addition, SPASC provides excellent facilities for rigging and launching boats and even convenient camping accommodation during major regattas.

SPASC Clubhouse

SPASC is a highly active club and enthusiastically engages with sailors from all walks of life regardless of age or ability.

The club attained Australian Sailing Discover Sailing Centre accreditation in 2022 and now has three accredited Dinghy Instructors and three Assistant Dinghy Instructors to support their Junior Sailing Program that runs from October to March each summer season.

Membership

SPASC currently has just under 120 members, having been successful in growing their membership base in recent years. Comprising of 30 senior, 23 junior, 20 family, 11 SailPass members and more, the SPASC fosters a tight-knit and warm sailing community.

Membership has grown over the past the past three years due to the implementation of both their Junior Sailing and Friday Twilight programs. These new programs have also seen the percentage of female to male members improve over recent times, with the club now proud to report that they are 34% female, a statistic they hope to see continuously grow. In addition, the SPASC were successful in introducing and retaining new members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Completely volunteer run, the SPASC Executive Team comprises of nine members, each who work tirelessly to support SPASC's many activities including Saturday racing.

Pirates Picnic at SPASC

Classes Supported and Types of Sailing

Due to their location, the club focuses on off-the-beach classes (no keelboats) and have a fantastic mix of dinghy and catamaran classes.

SPASC has a sailing fleet of 73 boats (58 excluding club boats) including 28 catamarans and 45 monohulls. Their fleet is made up of various boats, including:

• A Class
• Arrow
• Nacra 5.8
• Nacra 20
• F18
• Hobie 18, Hobie 16 & Hobie 14
• Tasar
• Laser
• Optimist
• O’pen Skiff
• Hartley TS16
• Corsair

The club have 6 support boats including an upgraded Committee Boat for race management, a new Mercury RIB with a 5HP outboard motor and 2 second hand RIB’s & O/B motors for Junior Sailing, as well as two other aluminium support boats with 30HP outboard motors to ensure the safety of sailing participants.

43 of these boats are currently stored within the SPASC Clubhouse.

Key Club Events

SPASC has been selected as one of only three clubs around the country that will be welcoming members of Australia’s SailGP team along with the championship. SPASC will host a one-off training session for our junior members with sailors from the Australia SailGP Team.

The annual Sailing Program at SPASC includes Saturday afternoon races from early September to Anzac Day each year including the annual 14’Cat & Monohull Regatta, Catagatta, Marathon/Pulbah Island Race and Anzac Day Regatta. SPASC also regularly hold State and National Titles for various sailing classes, bringing visitors to Lake Macquarie region, boosting the local community.

Twilight Sail 2022

Programs on Offer

The club successfully runs a Friday Twilight Sailing Series, holding 2 races from 5:30pm to 7:00pm during daylight saving hours. These races involve single handed off-the-beach monohull dinghy classes (primarily Lasers) using a unique online sign-on process via revSPORT.

The SPASC also successfully operates their Junior Sailing Program on Saturday mornings from late October to mid-March based on the 'Green Fleet' concept, involving Optimists and O'pen Skiffs. This program has been effectively managed by the SPASC’s Junior Sailing Manager, Andy Clark.

On March 5 2023, the club will also be offering a She Sails Discover Sailing Day to support the 2023 Lake Macquarie Women in Sport Festival and help introduce women to the sport of sailing.

SPASC Clubhouse

A club that goes above and beyond to provide the best sailing experience to their members both on and off the water, SPASC is a small club doing big things.

Their executive team has worked tirelessly to create a successful and welcoming club – efforts that have paid off and guarantee the bright future of the SPASC for years to come. To read more about SPASC, click here.

Current President: Bill Gearing