Steve O’Brien and Chuck Hall from the Altona Yacht Club. 85759 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By ALESHA CAPONE
THE Altona Yacht Club has facilitated the first seafaring steps of many sailors in the West.
Whether you want to boat the bay or become a marine marvel, learning to navigate your way around gunwales, goosenecks and gybing is an essential skill.
The yacht club has invited marine-minded residents to join their upcoming October sailing school.
Assistant training officer Chuck Hall has been a member of the club for more than 40 years.
He said sailing has been in the spotlight since Australia won three gold medals in the sport at the recent London Olympics.
“We are hoping with the success of the Olympics there will be a raised interest in sailing,” Mr Hall said.
“We hope we’ll be flooded with inquiries,” the Altona Yacht Club’s (AYC) training officer Steve O’Brien said.
The men said the AYC classes were supervised by volunteer qualified Yachting Australia Instructors.
“The course is geared for people with little or no sailing experience,” Mr Hall said.
“After eight weeks the trainee will be able to rig, launch and sail one of our yachts.
“They will learn knots, how to read the wind and water, parts of the boat and of course skippering and crewing.
“The club is run solely by volunteers and we really love it.
“The thrill of seeing people come into the club and they’ve never sailed before and after eight weeks, to see them sailing by themselves is wonderful.”
The October sailing course will be held on Saturday mornings for eight weeks and has 12 places.
The AYC also offers a junior sailing school for children aged 10 and over.
Contact Mr O’Brien on 9369 4676 or see www.altonayachtclub.org.au for more information.
