Competitions draw radio yacht sailors from across WA

Small-scale yacht enthusiasts will battle it out at the weekend when the Geographe Radio Yacht Club hosts two concurrent competitions at Provence Estate.

The South West IOM State Championship 2016 and the Busselton Cup will run parallel to each other at the estate’s back lake tomorrow and Sunday, bringing “International One Metre” radio yacht sailors from across the region and down from Perth.

The annual event is one of several held in WA throughout the year, allowing participants to gain points and enable entry into interstate and international events.

Geographe Radio Yachts club member Warren Elliott said the yachts being sailed were “by far” the most popular class and were sailed by thousands of enthusiasts worldwide.

He said the sport’s biggest appeal was that it was not restricted to age, gender or physical ability.

Mr Elliott pointed to Terry Clifton, a quadriplegic member who controlled his yacht with a custom-made mouthpiece-type controller.

“He won’t be joining in this time because of medical reasons, but it takes a lot of talent to be able to steer a yacht with your mouth,” he said.

“In our club, we have people from 16 up to 80 — that’s one of the big appeals.”

Commodore Wayne Rumble said another popular point of the hobby was affordability.

“You can buy a second-hand yacht for about $1000, but once you’re established it’s just $10 a month for membership,” he said.

“It’s not like a big yacht, which can be a bit of a money pit.

“A lot of our members are actually ex-sailors.”

Mr Rumble thanked event sponsor Churchview Estate for supplying wines for prizes.

“They make it possible for us to give out prizes and bring more people here to compete — we wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” he said.

Sailing will run from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Saturday then 9am to 1pm on Sunday at the lake, located at the corner of Aurelia Avenue and Gigondas Street.

The competitions are conducted within the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing.