Dinghy and skiff sailing in Sydney has always been associated with Balmain since the earliest days of the club when the wonderfully over-canvassed traditional skiffs sailed from the club from the late 19th century – with results the subject of keen bettors!
Historical wooden skiffs were sailed out of the Balmain club regularly until just a few years ago and many return each year to display their beautiful timber hulls and gaff rigs at the Balmain Regatta, held on the last Sunday in October.
Today the regular BSC dinghy fleet is mainly a mix of Tasers and Lasers engaging in competitive racing around the Balmain, Hunters Hill, and Drummoyne waterways west of the Harbour Bridge, competing in both our year-round Sunday racing program as well as in our summer twilights.
Our courses are always challenging and scenic, with many of the islands in the inner harbour to negotiate. Rather than following traditional Olympic courses, the club’s dinghy captain sets a course on the day designed to ensure a near-perfect sailing experience.
Balmain Sailing Club is one of the friendliest on Sydney Harbour and we always welcome new members.
Twilight sailing with the dinghy fleet is on each Friday evening during the summer time and is always followed by a BBQ. We normally have a sausage sizzle and a beer after the Sunday afternoon racing.
Our races have a nice wide start line right in front of the club, reducing the chance of collisions, making it an ideal environment for novices and less confident sailors to develop their racing skills.
All our dinghy races are under Balmain’s performance handicap system to ensure the results are fair for everyone, and that beginners and less-experienced sailors are not disadvantaged.
Just starting?
For beginners looking for a single-handed boat that has a good combination of speed and stability we would suggest the Sabre. It’s a good way to gain experience before moving to more challenging (and popular) classes such as the Laser or Taser.
And remember, once you can sail a dinghy, you can sail just about any kind of yacht – the principles are exactly the same. However, the reverse is not necessarily true; if you can sail a yacht, you can’t necessarily sail a dinghy!
If you'd like to try dinghy sailing or racing at Balmain or want more information, just come down to the club at 5pm before a Friday summer twilight race or an hour before the race on Sundays, or contact Brendon Stewart our Dinghy Captain (br.stewart@uws.edu.au).
And if you are completely new to sailing, you may like to consider our just-started Sailing School, which will give you an ideal grounding in all principles of dinghy sailing and handling. Just click on the link for more details.