Goolwa Radio Yachting Group

About our group

The Goolwa Radio Yachting Group (GRYG) meets every Monday and Friday from 2:00 pm. to 4:30 pm at the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club basin, weather permitting. We are very fortunate to have a regular PRO – Phil- who keeps us all in check. All races are handicap with timed staggered starts. This is to encourage all sailors with a range of experience (and yacht) to all compete with a chance of success. After the racing all are welcome to join us at the GRYC club rooms for a drink and some banter. Every month the group catches up to enjoy a dinner together and compare stories from the water.

Sailing Venue

The group sails in the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club basin, inside the public jetty to the south. While this restricts us in terms of courses appropriate to wind direction, it is a relatively sheltered area which has proved beneficial to beginning radio sailors.

Sailing occurs from the channel in front of the car park towards the public jetty. Buoys are placed around the course. The start and finish line is within the channel by the car park.

Membership

There is no joining fee associated with the GRYG at this stage, but we do collect member details for contact and safety reasons. Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club supports the radio sailing group in many ways and we encourage all our participants to consider becoming members of that club.

History

The group was initially based on sailing a ‘Phantom’ yacht. Most sailors now sail the International One Metre (IOM) a world class radio yacht. There is considerable information on the GRYG website (listed below) about modifying Phantoms, but it is a lot of work and they are not built strongly. Some of our members occasionally still sail their Phantom. There are newer designs which are still relatively cheap such as the DF95 which do sail quite well and are built more solidly than the Phantom.

We encourage IOMs as the yacht of choice though we will accept most radio yachts. Very large or heavy ones can be a problem in retrieval and potential damage to other boats so come and talk to us first. IOM yachts have three rigs and are very exciting yachts, able to sail in winds to 30 knots or more (without breaking!)

For more information on the GRYG and our boats, click the below link:

http://rcyachting.scoastmac.org.au