260 sailors take to Manly Harbour for Sail Brisbane
by Australian Sailing 18 Dec 2024 15:25 NZDT
17-21 December 2024
Racing at Sail Brisbane © Mike Middleton
The iconic Sail Brisbane regatta has returned to Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) in style, with more than 260 sailors from around the country racing across 22 classes over the five-day regatta.
Taking place from Tuesday 17 - Saturday 21 December, Sail Brisbane 2024 will see sailors ranging from seven years of age to Olympic talent compete in their respective classes on Moreton Bay, the waters set to host the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As one of Australia's premier Olympic and Invited Class Regattas, Sail Brisbane is critical to the growth and success of junior and youth sailors, enabling them to race alongside their Olympic heroes.
Ben Callard, Head of Community Support and Events at Australian Sailing, says he is delighted to see the event attract so much talent.
"We're thrilled to have Sail Brisbane take place at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron again this year," said Callard.
"We've got more than 260 sailors here this year which is great, and the event itself is really important because we've got a good mix of sailors from across the pathways."
Chairman of the Sailing Committee at RQYS, Greg Kemp says the club is excited to host the exciting event.
"Sail Brisbane is one of our primary regattas; we've been holding it for over 20 years and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year as we move forwards towards 2032," said Kemp.
"It's a great development regatta, it gives our young sailors the chance to sail alongside some of our Olympians, some of our nations best sailors," he said.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian and current Australian Sailing Team (AST) athlete Mara Stransky is set to begin her campaign today, noting she is excited to race at the club where she first began her sailing journey.
"Sail Brisbane is a great regatta for me because it's my home yacht club and not somewhere I get to race very regularly," said Stransky.
"It's super nice to see so many boats rigging up together on the lawn and all going out to race together on the bay.
"It's really heartening to see so many young kids here. A lot of these kids I've watched grow up, so it's super exciting to see them progress and see how excited they are to race against our Australian Sailing Team sailors who are here."
Sail Brisbane will take place at RQYS from 17-21 December.
More information can be found here.