Club in Focus – Kingston Beach Sailing Club

Established in 1954 and located at the southern end of Kingston Beach at the mouth of the Derwent River, Hobart, Tasmania, is the Kingston Beach Sailing Club (KBSC). 

KBSC is a family focused, community orientated and welcoming club where people of all ages can enjoy the sport of sailing.  

Whether you are a seasoned sailor or someone who is new to the sport, KBSC has a whole host of benefits for members to enjoy, including coaching, low-cost sailing lessons, power boat courses, racing, social events and boat storage. 

The club is often used for various community activities such as Yoga and Tai Chi classes and is a beautiful waterfront space available for venue hire. A Kayak Storage shed is also provided to local sea-kayakers which gives the club a great chance to meet new like-minded people.  

The club has been recently refurbished with interior and exterior fresh paint, new concrete under the clubhouse, guttering and a new roof. This was achieved through the hard work of their volunteers, as well as the help and generous support of their local community.  

The clubhouse recently, with new roof and fresh paint

Club Membership 

Membership currently sits at around 110 with a strong emphasis on family membership, which is the driving force of their volunteers.  

Currently the club has 35% female membership. KBSC proudly supports SheSails as women have always played a strong part in the success of the club, both on and off the water through sailing, running races and on the committee.  

The club has an impressive total of 55% of members under 25, including 45% under 18, thanks to their extremely strong Tackers and Green Fleet courses. With this young membership KBSC has a positive future ahead.  

A number of successful International and National sailors started their sailing journey at KBSC including, Nick Rogers, winner of 4 National Mirror Championships and 11 Australasian Dragon Championships, as well as success in the Soling and Etchell class, International sailor Darren (Twirler) Jones and 2nd World Mirror Champion David Graney. Recently, youth member Atlas Miller defeated 60 O’pen Skiffs (Gold Fleet) at the 2023 Manly Cup. 

Tackers kids with Instructors on Kingston Beach 

Classes Supported, Types of Sailing and Programs Offered 

KBSC is an off-the-beach dinghy sailing club and includes the following classes; 

• Opti 

• O’pen Skiff 

• Sabots 

• Mirrors and ILCA 4 

• B14s 

KBSC is an accredited Australian Sailing Discover Sailing Centre and offers Tackers 1, 2, and 3, and Out There Sailing. 

A Tackers session in full swing

Racing during an O'pen Skiff focus day

Key Club Events 

Last season KBSC held the B14 National Championships, a 3-day event with 17 boats from across Australia. The event was successfully run and organised by the club volunteers. 

KBSC regularly hosts Mirror State Championships, Sabot statewide events and regularly runs ‘Adventure Sails’, where senior sailors and rescue boats chaperone junior sailors on long distance sails to neighbouring beaches, or even across to the other side of the Derwent River.  

The club runs Team Racing in club Pacers, giving their youth sailors the chance to experience a different flavour of both boat and racing conditions. 

Tackers kids pulled up on Baronia Beach after an 'Adventure Sails' event

Challenges & Successes  

The biggest success stories at KBSC include the number of children that have attended the club to learn to sail that have then gone on to become Australian Sailing Dinghy Instructors. KBSC has seen multiple young sailors participate in a Tackers course not knowing how to use a tiller, who have then in the last 12 months gone on to compete on the National stage. Some have even progressed to the international stage, with KBSC having young representatives at both the Mirror and the O’pen Skiff World Titles for 2023. 

One of the greatest challenges KBSC faces is the constant battle with ageing infrastructure. However, the club are making improvements to tackle this with investments in refurbishments, including a new roof and concrete in the boat storage area. A focus is also on establishing a new, safer metal access ramp that will be more wheelchair accessible. 

To help fund these projects, the club runs AS Out There Sailing courses with a local school and has explored new sponsorship opportunities. They also rely heavily on community support and donations of time, materials, and expertise. Membership fees from the Kayak Shed, as well as a tax-deductible fundraising campaign through the Australia Sports Foundation, have also helped with the funding of these projects. 

KBSC is an important part of the local community and this is demonstrated by the passion of their volunteers and members.  

Learn to Sail session with Pacers leaving off-the-beach