Balmain Sailing Club is a sailing club in

Municipality of Leichhardt The Municipality of Leichhardt was a local government area in the inner-west region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is about west of the Sydney central business district. On 12 May 2016, Leichhardt merged with Marrickville Council an ...

in the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The club currently has approximately 300 members and races a keelboat fleet and a dinghy fleet. The club runs a full racing calendar throughout the year, with Summer, Winter and Spring series, along with Summer Twilights (pre- and post-Christmas) and a number of non point-score races. Keelboat fleet races are organised across 4 divisions, with entrants from clubs across the western harbour area on Sundays, and as another 4 divisions in the Friday Twilight Series during summer. The dinghy fleet races in two divisions.

Location

The club is located in Water Street on the northern side of the Balmain Peninsular in the suburb of Birchgrove, with water-front access directly into

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

History

The club was originally formed in 1885. After a long period of little activity, the club was re-formed in 1995.

Balmain Regatta

The club hosts the annual Balmain

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

, which is claimed to be the oldest in Australia, on the last Sunday in October each year. The event was first held in 1849 and ran continuously until the outbreak of World War I. With the revival of the club in the 1990s, the regatta restarted in 1996 and has run annually ever since. The event includes classic 18- and 10-foot skiff, dinghy and yacht races and is a celebration of the local community connection with Sydney Harbour and the local boat-building industry.

Board of Directors

As of 2020–2021: * Commodore: Campbell Reid * Vice-Commodore / Race Director: Alan Gregory * Secretary: Colin Grove * Treasurer: Ed Tacey * Director: Conrad Johnston * Director: Ray Miller * Director: Chantelle Hodgson * Director: Mike West

References

* Solling, M; Reynolds, P; ''Leichhardt: On the margins of the city'', Allen & Unwin, 1997, . * Balmain Sailing Club websit

Accessed August 2006.

External links

Balmain Sailing Club

Local Images at InnerWest ImageBank

Local History Collection, Leichhardt Council
{{Coord, -33.851739, 151.177657, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AU-NSW, display=title Yacht clubs in New South Wales 1885 establishments in Australia Sports clubs established in 1885 Sporting clubs in Sydney Annual sporting events Balmain, New South Wales