The Royal Geelong Yacht Club has celebrated a historic milestone after the curtain closes on the 2023 Festival of Sails.
The club celebrated their 180th run of the opening passage race from Williamstown to Geelong during the weekend’s Festival of Sails event.
For local Geelong sailor Georgia Delaney, 18, this weekend marked her eight year competing at the Festival of Sails.
“I’ve been sailing for the past 10 years and I started at Royal Geelong in their cadet program and have loved sailing ever since, usually out sailing four or five times a week” she said.
“For me, it’s a combination of the excitement of racing, the focus on concentrating on the tactics to get an edge and knowing you’re competing against a great group of friends from all over Australia.”
The event featured many boats of all shapes and sizes racing for line honours on January 26 before undertaking three days of division racing sailing.
Festival of Sales chairman Paul Buchholz said he was overwhelmed by the feedback he received from the sailors that attended the event over the weekend.
“We’re always very proud of our event, but when visitors to our club tell you that it’s the best event in more than a decade, well we think that’s a pretty impressive accolade,” he said.
“And given the impact that the pandemic has had on major events over the past couple of years, it was terrific to finally see our event and many others getting back to normal.”
This year’s Festival of Sails attracted close to 115,000 visitors to the waterfront and coincided with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race over the unofficial long weekend.
“It has been a buzz of activity and entertainment on and off the water this weekend and terrific to see Geelong hosting not one but two great events that have really showcased our region,” Mr Buchholz said.
“We’re also really grateful to have the consistent and generous support of the Victorian State Government and the City of Greater Geelong which allowed us to deliver a fantastic Festival yet again.”
The Festival of Sails is Australia’s oldest sporting event and attracts many visitors each year, proving close to $14 million for the Geelong region.
