Leven Yacht Club in Ulverstone, Tasmania | Sports club

Leven Yacht Club

Locality: Ulverstone, Tasmania

Phone: +61 437 469 896

Address: 3 Dial Street 7315 Ulverstone, TAS, Australia

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25.01.2022 Building on the success of the annual Cock o’ the West, Leven Yacht Club is branching out into new territory this season with the inaugural Cock o' the East regatta run this weekend out of St Helens Sailing Squadron on Georges Bay. A fantastic flotilla of twenty-six boats from all corners of the state turned up to contest the title in a truly mixed fleet comprising dinghies, sportsboats, trailer sailers and catamarans. Day one consisted of three short course races run back to...Continue reading

25.01.2022 This week’s race at the Leven Yacht Club had it all and will be talked about for years terrible behaviour on the start line; several capsizes with the officer of the day having to jump out of the rescue boat to rescue an upturned catamaran; winds that were much stronger than forecast; an abandoned race and even an abandoned boat. Officer of the day Ron van Beek set a triangular course off the mouth of the Leven River in what he thought was more sheltered water. About ten cr...ews ventured out with a couple deciding before the start that it might be best to seek the shelter of the rigging yard - a very wise decision. Van Beek did say at the briefing that the breeze was ten plus plus, whatever that meant. Gerald Hendriks and Phil Duthoit, both on trailer sailors got to the start line thirty seconds early and then decided to turn around and start semi out-of-control on a port tack. This caused havoc to the rest of the fleet who were correctly starting on a starboard tack. The words of displeasure from these crews could not be heard over the strengthening breeze and crashing two metre waves. Those boats remaining made it the windward mark with Rob Rickard and Perrun Harding, both on cats, leading the way with John Thompson on a sailboard not far behind. It was on the first reaching leg back into the bay that the carnage began. First it was Perun Harding on his mosquito cat who end for ended his boat and had to be assisted to right it. Thompson flew down this leg to put daylight between himself and all other boats except for Rickard, who by now was back at the start mark starting his second triangle. Basil OHalloran and Laura Dodwell on a 505 were going well at the start of the second lap to be third on the water. They headed out to sea to catch more breeze before disaster struck. On the first tack they capsized then capsized again and again until the 505 would not come up. The rescue boat arrived after rescuing others as did Thompson on his sailboard who could see that the situation was somewhat serious. With the breeze continuing to strengthen the boat was taken under tow but with little headway being made the boat was abandoned, as was the rest of the race. Most thought the 505 had gone to meet its maker but just after dawn the next day it was spotted off the mouth of the Forth River. In much more friendly conditions, it was towed in and amazingly recovered, a bit worse for wear. Leven crews will be headed to Devonport this weekend for one of the biggest races on the coastal calendar, the annual Cock of the Mersey. The big guns will be out and Ulverstone sailors can expect stiff opposition from Wynyard, Burnie and Devonport.

25.01.2022 Sailing this Saturday. If you can help with any of these activities; skippering a training boat, driving a rescue boat, setting up etc. please let us know. Even... come down and welcome the visitors from clubs along the coast who are coming to Mersey YC. 9.00am to noon - Learn to sail training for any age. 10.00am - Junior sailing with a race if there are sufficient competitors. 12.30pm - Briefing for senior dinghies, trailer sailers and keel boats for the Cock of the Mersey. At this stage weather looks suitable for an outside course. 1.40pm Cock of the Mersey Race Stay tuned for more from Vice Commodore Rob Sly.

25.01.2022 After several weeks of postponed races because of extreme winds, sailing finally re-commenced on Sunday at the Leven Yacht Club. The race, meant to be on Saturday, was carried over to Sunday, meaning a smaller than usual fleet of eight boats. Ron van Beek set a course from the mouth of the Leven River around the Third Sister. The fastest three boats completed two circuits while the remainder completed one in about an hour.... All boats got away to a good clean start and most rounded the island without having to put in a tack. Van Beek led the fleet on his modified NACRA 16 cat and was never headed. He was chased by Lou Jager, on his new NACRA 430 with Basil OHalloran and Amy Dodwell as crew on a 505. These boats all completed two laps. Only seconds separated the big trailer sailers of Phil Duthoit and Gerald Hendriks all around the course, with Duthoit crossing the line 21 seconds in front. Ross Henderson on Lapun just headed off John Thompson, who raced on a windsurfer one design. Beth and Laura Dodwell came home on a club RS Feva just minutes after Henderson. When the numbers were crunched, the handicap result went to the pumped up Jager on his new boat. This was an outstanding result as he got caught out on the second lap in a fading breeze. Duthoit came in just 13 seconds behind in second place with Hendriks three minutes behind in third. The Dodwell sisters, skippered by Beth, put in an outstanding performance by coming in fourth. The remaining places, in order, were OHalloran, Henderson, van Beek and Thompson. A big contingent of Leven sailors is expected to travel to Wynyard Yacht Club on Saturday for one of the highlights of the state sailing calendar, the James Lohrey Caravans & Auto Electrical Table Cape Classic.

24.01.2022 A small fleet of six boats contested race one in the Buttons Brewing Twilight Series on Tuesday night. With the last-minute discovery of a structural issue with her beloved cobra catamaran, Amy Dodwell and crew Erin Dickers were relegated to the club Redfin dinghy. Conveniently for sibling rivalry, sister Katie Dodwell was skippering the other large club dinghy with Emma Dodwell as crew. Substitute officer of the evening Isaac Mearns set an inside/outside river course doglegg...ed around the end of the western training wall. A very pleasant five to ten knot westerly breeze propelled the fleet over relatively flat water as the tide peaked. The two club dinghies lead the fleet out to sea with the Laser of visiting Burnie Yacht Club sailor Robert Puttman nipping at their heels. The light conditions were too frustrating for a slightly underpowered Thomas Reilly in a club Sabre dinghy and he retired toward the end of the first lap. This left Laser 4.7 sailor Beth Dodwell to chase down the trailer sailer of Anton Bezemer and Teresa Badrock ‘Precious Pup’ on her own; a task made difficult by the latter hoisting a spinnaker at every opportunity for a boost of speed. At the conclusion of two laps, the placings corrected for club handicap had Amy Dodwell in first place, Katie Dodwell in second and Puttman third. Beth Dodwell hung on to claim fourth, pushing the ‘Pup’ down into fifth. The second race in the series will be held on the evening of Wednesday the ninth of December. Race start @ 1800 hours.

23.01.2022 Some shots from Twilight 1 last Thursday, thanks to Phil Good. Good close racing around a tight course resulted in Katie and Laura Dodwell running away with the handicap win seconds clear of their sisters Amy and Emma Dodwell. Anton Bezemers heavily laden Waller 540 Precious Pup came home in third.

21.01.2022 With drizzle rolling in on the south westerly wind and a hefty swell chopping up the bay outside, it was only the most enthusiastic of young sailors who arrived at the club for sail training yesterday morning. The few sailors rigged the club’s four RS Fevas and hit the water just as the drizzle turned into a downpour, soaking the fleet as they congregated at the downwind start line. None of the four crews managed a spinnaker hoist before the start, much to the loudly vocalis...ed disapproval of Adrian Beswick, who stood on the riverbank viewing platform offering unsolicited advice. The large coloured sails did eventually make an appearance on the first leg, some sooner and with more grace than others, and the fleet wobbled down the river with their oversized crews. Amy and Katie Dodwell, returned for the day from their new world of out-of-control catamarans, switched their usual roles onboard, always an interesting watch for onlookers. Although it allegedly took Amy six tacks to reacquaint herself with the jib sheets, the two finished a full leg ahead of the nearest competitor, a win that chased away the subdued behaviour they had been sporting since last week’s Catamaran Carnage. Laura Dodwelll was showing the ropes to new starter Alexandria Bullem, both of whom performed admirably under the challenging conditions of test flying a brand new spinnaker. Dodwell demonstrated perplexing finishing tactics, first crossing the line from the wrong direction then throwing her crew overboard, perhaps to save weight for the trip in? Patrick Reilly helmed the third Feva with yet another Dodwell as crew, and were the only team to display fondness for their spinnaker, choosing to fly it beyond when was practical. This resulted in them finishing third, closely followed by Seth Jones who was sailing somewhat conservatively after his crew succumbed to symptoms worryingly similar to those of hypothermia. Despite the number of spinnakers tangled during hoists, all agree that the younger sailors did well to make it out for a sail at all in the downpour, which is more than can be said for the senior sailors who called quits from their living rooms hours before their scheduled start time.

20.01.2022 Sail training in Devonport Mersey Yacht Club, East Devonport, will be the scene for try sailing this Saturday. At 9.00am local coaches will conduct a learn to... sail clinic (juniors or adults) until approximately midday. In the afternoon keelboat sailing will be held on a course off the Mersey Bluff, with a start at 1.45pm. Visitors and newcomers welcome to come and try either dinghies or keelboats. For more information contact Vice Commodore Rob Sly on 0457 815 440

19.01.2022 The honour for 2019 Club Champion was on the line for Saturdays last race of the year. With several crews in the running for this prestigious award, twenty boats, one of the best local fleets in recent memory, lined up to race around the triangle-sausage course set off the mouth of the Leven River. Ross Henderson took on the role of Officer of the Day after his boat collided with power lines at Wynyard the week before, blacking out a fair proportion of that end of the coast....Continue reading

19.01.2022 In whats become a pattern this season at Leven Yacht Club, the morning sail training group got the best of the weather on Saturday. Unlike previous weeks however it was too little wind that was the issue rather than too much. For ten members of the training group who were having an introduction to sailboarding session under the experienced eye of vice commodore John Thompson, the five-knot breeze on a crystal-clear high tide in the river besides the clubhouse couldnt have ...Continue reading

19.01.2022 The 2020 Cock o the West, held last weekend attracted the largest fleet in the events history with twenty-one boats competing in the event over two days includ...ing a full complement of seven trailer sailers packed full of boisterous crew. Leven, Burnie, Wynyard and Port Dalrymple Yacht Clubs were all well represented in a fleet ranging from mixed purpose dinghies to carbon/nomex catamarans. Day one began with a steady but chilly twelve to fifteen knot south-easterly breeze blowing in under a dark sky. Streaks of foam on the water combined with the dark outlook made the weather feel more ominous than it actually was resulting in the resolve of some crews wavering before the briefing and subsequent race start which was capably handled by stalwart OoD Des Becker. The start line was busy but relatively orderly with Leven catamarans of Rob Rickard, Isaac Mearns and Ron van Beek breaking away to an early lead in front of the fleet. Looking calm and confident in the middle of the fleet, Port Dalrymples Piers Findlay and Dimitri Skrinnikoff in their sleek Flying 15 began a game of cat and mouse with Levens Basil OHalloran and Tom Killalea on their 505 that would continue all weekend. On corrected time, Findlay took the win eight seconds clear of Burnies David Stutterd on his Laser. Port Dalrymples Tristan Gourlay snagged third in a very generously yardsticked Pilot Bay 18. An honourable mention goes to Wynyards James and Belle Lohrey who finished in seventh but were several minutes clear of the other bunched trailer sailers at the bottom of the table. Race two got away to a similar start to the first but with one less participant. The blue Cobra catamaran of Levens Amy Dodwell and Erin Dickers was MIA, drifting upside down toward Risby Cove. It took the combined efforts of a jetski, powerboat and several extra volunteers half an hour to get the cat back up the right way. Meanwhile, race two was well underway. Van Beek kept Mearns on his toes and finding some form, snagged third and second respectively. Once again Findlay slipped in at the top of the fleet a mere forty seconds clear. Dishonourable mention to Levens Fraser Goldilocks Mearns, who, after sitting out the first race, launched his boat for just long enough to decide that he still wasnt happy with the wind strength before heading back to shore again. Port Dalrymples Rob Moreton brought home the wooden spoon in a Pilot Bay 21. For crewmember Alanna Story, the pain of last place paled in comparison to the realisation that she was going to have to listen to fianc Skrinnikoffs tales of winning for the rest of the evening upon arriving back to shore. Day two got off to a slow start with no wind whatsoever for the first few hours. Sailboards and ski biscuits kept participants entertained until some tendrils of breeze found their way across the harbour. The fleet was bolstered with the arrival of local Ben Harper on his Masrm 720 trailer sailer and the lasers of Burnies Sonya and Luciano Rodriguez and Levens Martin Shipp. Isaac Mearns dominated the slightly biased line, making himself popular by cutting the entire fleet off in the final seconds before the gun. The light breeze turned most of the previous days rankings on their heads with the trailer sailers moving up the rankings. Levens Phil Duthoit with son in law and grandson as crew managed a third. Levens Lou Jager redeemed himself from two DNFs the day before to manage a second but no-one could catch the Flying Fifteen. Despite a change of crew with Piers subbing out for wife Sarah Port Dalrymples finest were unbeatable. The Findlays and Skrinnikoff took the regatta win with three wins, Stutterds consistent performance netted him second with Rickard slotting into third. Thanks to Des for hosting us, Bushy for the loan of the committee boat and Ezra Meijer for keeping track of times. Full results are in the comments below.

18.01.2022 LYC Management Committee 2019-20 Executive Committee People: Commodore: Isaac Mearns Vice Commodore: John Thompson... Rear Commodore: vacant Treasurer: Fraser Mearns Secretary: Lou Jager Ordinary Committee People: Colin Tunn Andrew Edwards Rob Rickard Alana Gale

18.01.2022 For the second year in a row, fleet size records fell at the annual Cock o’ the West regatta last weekend. Thirty-three boats from all across the state competed... in medium to light winds under clear skies. The usual suspects from the coastal clubs were bolstered by a keen contingent from Deviot Sailing Club and five boats from the mighty Lauderdale F18 Posse. The howling Southerly which had been buffeting the harbour all week petered out just in time for the start of day one, subsiding to a perfect ten to twelve knot breeze. Race officer Fraser Mearns set an elongated triangle course, making the most of the available space inside Long Bay. The start of race one was conservative, crews perhaps rattled by the incredible disparity of boats surrounding them. The i550s of Nicholas Richardson (WYC) and James Lohrey (WYC) took this to the extreme, still at the other end of the course when the start gun fired. The F18 cats footed off and that was the last anyone saw of them until they were lapped. Within the body of the fleet however, several groupings were forming which would have tight competition for the rest of the weekend. Carrying over from their Cock o’ the East rivalry, the Elliott 7s of Colin Tunn (Pacman) (LYC) and last year’s Cock o’ the West Dimitri Skrinnikoff (Sheep Stations) (DSS) picked up right where they’d left off in St Helens, racing neck and neck around the course. A slipped spinnaker halyard on Pacman dropping the kite into the drink was all it took to cost Tunn and crew the win in this two-horse race. The Taipan 4.9s of Des Becker (MHSC) and Brad Strange (DSC) duelled closely until a capsize took Becker out of the race. New sailor Amin Parsi (LYC) had major difficulties on his RS Feva, completing no less than seven barrel rolls while trying to recover his capsized dinghy before being towed home. The F18s were unassailable, completing four laps and taking out the top five placings in Darren Flanagan, Jason Smyth, Robin Fleming, Rohan Hollingsworth and Chris Mundy all of Lauderdale respectively. Race two had a much tighter start dominated by Nick Jones (WYC) in his laser 4.7 and Richardson’s i550. The staying power of the spinnaker cats was tested as Mundy retired shortly followed by Flanagan with an allegedly failed spinnaker halyard. This explanation of high strength dyneema failing in less than twelve knots garnered some raised eyebrows in post-race discussions. Further back in the fleet, the Dodwell family’s (LYC) Status 580 was hosting guest crew in the form of Anton Bezemer and Teresa Badrock. These two kept the regular crew largely distracted from snacks and focussed on the race, keeping the boat tangling with Phil Duthoit’s (LYC) Farr 6000. This thorn in Duthoit’s side seemed to be a severe aggravation and after some robust discussions at the top mark, the situation came to a head at the bottom buoy rounding. Duthoit had the inside line and with white line fever well and truly in play, was going to claim buoy-room come hell or high water resulting in an incredibly late call to drop the kite. Buoy room was secured, immediately followed by the Farr losing thirty metres of ground as the spinnaker flogged in the oncoming breeze. The top three placing were the F18s of Smyth, Hollingsworth and Fleming with Isaac Shipp (LYC) on the Vayne family Skud 18 and Richardson’s i550 rounding out the top five. Day two got off to a slow start as the race committee waited for the wind to arrive. Eventually five to ten knots filled in and the planned long-distance race was shortened into another short course mêlée with the aim being to be finished before the forecast lunchtime wind shift. Fleet numbers were boosted with the arrival of Martin Shipp (LYC) and Beth Dodwell (LYC) in laser dinghies. The start line was packed with Jones once again waving the flag for Wynyard Yacht Club making another dominant start. Over the next forty-five minutes, the wind gradually faded away meaning that the slower classes of boat finished after a single lap were significantly advantaged over the faster classes who had to complete a second lap in the light air. The results were given one final shakeup when the Westerly shift blew through as the last handful of boats were finishing, boosting their average lap times. Corrected times, although perhaps jumbled, were extremely close with only seconds separating the vast majority of the fleet. Duthoit took the win, followed by Richardson, Flanagan, Ben Harper’s (MHSC) Masrm 720 and Tunn respectively. The overall regatta and catamaran division win was claimed by the consistent Jason Smyth, Rohan Hollingsworth in second and Nick Richardson in third, also being the leading trailerable yacht. The dinghy division win was taken by Dave Stutterd (BYC) in eighth position overall. Dimitri Skrinnikoff took home the apprentice shield for highest ranked sailor with less than four years experience after placing fourteenth and Laura Dodwell took home the highest ranked female skipper for her fifteenth overall placing. Thanks to Des for hosting us, Scott and James Newett for the loan of the boat and the time spent on the water and everyone who travelled to the wild west for another year.

18.01.2022 LYC Management Team 2020-21 Commodore: Isaac Mearns Vice Commodore: John Thompson Rear Commodore: Amy Dodwell... Treasurer: Fraser Mearns Secretary: Lou Jager Committee Members: Colin Tunn Andrew Edwards Rob Rickard Alana Gale

17.01.2022 The Leven Yacht Club is diminished at the passing of life member and past commodore Mr Miles Pete Ponsonby. Involved with the Club since its earliest days, Miles defined life member, maintaining an interest and active presence at the Club throughout nearly seventy years of his adult life. Even if they did not know him to speak to, anyone who has spent any time at the Club would recognise the tall slim gentleman with the head of white hair who was often seen standing on the ...riverbank inspecting the sail training group and chatting to the other old salts. A keen sailor and boatbuilder, Miles shepherded the Club through a difficult period where he was the sole active member, commodore of himself, by building a rainbow class dinghy in the upstairs clubrooms. When the time came to sail, realising that he would need help to get the dinghy down to ground level, Miles placed an advertisement in the Advocate stating that he was holding a garage sale to sell off all of the privately owned equipment within the boatshed. The ruse attracted old members to the Club to defend their property and new parties looking to get involved, all of whom were signed up as members by the wily commodore. Many people would be familiar with the large rusty propeller that serves as the base of the flagstaff on the Club waterfront. It started life as a spare for the dredge Leven which used to operate in the river when the wharf was an active port. For years after, it sat on the riverbank at Ponsonby Cove until Miles decided that it would make a good feature piece at the Club. His initial request of a crane operator to move the propeller was met with a reply that written approval would be required from the Port Authority. A suspiciously short time later, Miles returned, letter in hand and the propeller has sat proudly on the Club grounds since. Miles was known to sign off letters to the Club Committee with keep an eye on my propeller. When floods damaged the Club retaining wall in 2016, the first people on the scene were surprised to see that the propeller had already been craned out of harms way some time in the early hours of the morning. We take comfort in knowing that Miles was aware that his propeller was recently returned to pride of place on the reinstated viewing platform as part of ongoing repair works where its provenance can continue to be a topic of conversation for generations to come. The Club extends sincerest sympathies to Margaret and the entire Ponsonby family.

17.01.2022 Just one week to go until we hit the road for the inaugural Cock o' the East - the first event in our travellers series. All welcome!

15.01.2022 The only things controversial about the club championship race at the Leven Yacht Club on Saturday were the start and the finish. Ten boats raced around a triangular course set off the mouth of the Leven River in near perfect conditions; a flat sea and strengthening 4 knot breeze from the south. Phil Duthoit called out the big guns, Loey Hays and Steve Ponsonby, as crew on his big trailer sailer, clearly with his eye on victory. This crew had forty-five minutes of start pract...ice before the gun only to hit the line a full ninety seconds late and well behind other boats with the exception of Perrun Harding on a mosquito cat. As the race settled down the cats of Ron van Beek and Rob Rickard got out to a good lead. Colin Tunn on Pacman with Emma Dodwell and Howard Smith as crew got away well to round the first mark just behind Harding. Crews sailed as many triangular laps as they could in around one hundred minutes. Van Beek and Rickard sailed six laps, Tunn and Harding five and all others four. The race was for a change uneventful with crews showing some respect for one another and the rules of racing. The race was decided on yardstick where boat times are decided against an international rating system with faster boat designs having a lower yardstick than slower boats. Rickard’s A class catamaran for example has a yardstick of 67 whereas Phil Duthoit’s trailer sailor has a yardstick of 125, meaning Rickard has to go almost twice as fast as Duthoit. At the end of race Gerald Hendriks argued that because he did not fly his spinnaker he should be rated against a higher yardstick. This has been referred to the international sailing jury which has called a special sitting to adjudicate on this matter before next race. Harding finished in tenth behind Ross Henderson and Martin Shipp on Lapun and Tom Butler with Meg Bracken as crew on a redfin. Hendriks and Alana Gale came home in seventh with Rickard in sixth and van Beek fifth. If Tunn had successfully flown a kite he might have finished better than fourth. Sam Hill on a club Feva sailed beautifully to come in home third, four minutes behind second placegetter Duthoit. In a breakthrough result, Katie Dodwell with Cody Marshall as crew on the club Vision won the event by 90 seconds. This crew sailed beautifully and flew their kite at every opportunity, setting an example for more conservative crews.

14.01.2022 Ideal 10 knot north-easterly breezes greeted sailors at the Leven Yacht Club for the first race in the club championship series. There was a lot of chatter in the rigging yard as new boats seem to have grown like mushrooms over the winter recess. It was too cold and a bit early in the season for some of the more experienced skippers and only twelve boats hit the start line for the race in the bay off the Leven River.... After a reasonably clean start, crews fought for advantage around the triangle/sausage course. The heavily modified NACRA of Ronnie van Beek raced off to a lead and was never headed, completing four laps while most others completed three. It didnt take long for the usual mishaps to occur. Last years Club champion, Isaac Shipp, perhaps demonstrating a bit of youthful vigour, decided to follow the lead of last years runner up John Thompson by taking a sailboard for a spin. This quickly proved calamitous as his mostly stationary vessel was almost run over by several crews. After an unsuccessful rescue attempt by a mixed crew of mostly Dodwell girls, Shipp eventually had to retire from the race. The big surprise of the day was the vastly improved performance of Lou Jager on a newly acquired NACRA 430. Jager finished in fourth position just ahead of Basil OHalloran with new crew Katie Dodwell on board on a 505. The real battle however was amongst the trailer sailors. Phil Duthoit and Thomas Reilly took the cautious approach and decided not to fly their kite to gain a handicap advantage and went on to win on yardstick from van Beek with the ever consistent Gerald Hendriks and Lois Hays in third. Jager and OHalloran were followed home in sixth by Anton Bezemer on another trailer sailor. Thompson had a disappointing result on his sailboard to finish seventh with the final places filled by Ross Henderson and Howard Smith. Only two minutes separated the top seven crews. The big guns are expected out this weekend for race two in the club championship series

14.01.2022 Another great day of sailing run on Saturday by Wynyard Yacht Club. Some seventy three participants were on the water for the two races of the day. LYCs training group carried the club with Tom Butler and Sam Hill taking out the mornings Inglis River Classic on the clubs RS Vision, edging out Wynyards Nick Jones in his Sabot. Pia Tucker and Bellah Maxwell again representing LYC sailed magnificently to slip into third. The afternoons Table Cape Classic was dominated by the host club taking out the top seven placings in a fantastic mixed fleet of thirty boats. Ethan Price took the win in a Hansa 303 scant seconds ahead of Nick Richardson on his i550 and Jess Andrewartha in her mirror in second and third respectively.

14.01.2022 Sunday saw the running of another hugely successful Try Sailing Day at the Leven Yacht Club. After a light start, the breeze filled in to a perfect ten to twelve knots and the tide peaked just after midday with beautifully clear water. Forty participants got their feet wet trying out sailing on a wide variety of different boats with many trying several different types over the course of the afternoon. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers too numerous to mention who made the day run smoothly from start to finish and helped project the clubs signature friendly and welcoming vibe.

13.01.2022 FOR SALE COBRA CATAMARAN YO YO $1900 Hulls, mast and trampoline in good condition.... Trailer in very good condition and registered until 29/4/2021 and includes new rims and tyres plus a spare. Also included in sale is: -More than one mainsail and jibs all in good condition -Custom black boat cover Located in Acacia Hills Tasmania. Call Keith on 0450 535 144 for more information.

13.01.2022 Members of the Leven Yacht Club opened up our facilities to the community for our annual Try Sailing Day yesterday, offering a fun and family friendly event out on the water. With the event having been postponed from its original date due to heavy winds, the rescheduled day brought light breezes and sunshine, making the day safe and drama free for all ages. The newcomers were sailed out of the river and into the sheltered bay, where the sea breeze and flat water made perfect ...conditions for them to be taught to control the boats by the experienced sailors onboard. A fun day was had by all and Leven Yacht Club looks forward to welcoming participants back to our regular sailing in the coming weeks. Our next outreach event is SheSails@Leven 2021 however newcomers are welcome any time!

12.01.2022 The LYC sailing calendar for the upcoming season can be found at the below link: https://dl.dropbox.com/s/f00kvepxu3/Sailing%20Calendar.pdf

12.01.2022 All who witnessed the start of the Club championship race at the Leven Yacht Club on Saturday described it as the best in the history of club. The usual rule-breaking skippers behaved themselves, perhaps because the commodore was in the rescue boat, and all crews hit the line in a blanket start on starboard tack. Fraser Mearns on his mosquito cat, after a long absence from sailing, got away to a flyer and headed the fleet towards the first windward mark of the triangular cour...se. The breeze was a steady five knot northerly and the sea was flat. The excellent conditions resulted in the biggest fleet of the season to date, fifteen boats. Rob Rickard on his go-fast A-class cat rounded the windward mark first and was never headed, completing four laps in the allocated one-hundred-minute race. When the numbers were crunched, Basil OHalloran and Laura Dodwell, back from Morocco especially for the race, won comfortably on yardstick by four minutes. Dodwells kite and trapeze work, and calmness under pressure show she has a big sailing future. Mearns dusted off the cobwebs to come home in second, well ahead of the more fancied cats of Rickard, Lou Jager, Amy Dodwell and Keith Park, also returning after a long absence. Colin Tunn, with crew Alan Rendell and Emma Dodwell on board won the battle of the trailer sailors to finish third, just a minute behind Mearns. Phil Duthoit, with Kate and Patrick Reilly as crew were fourth with Isaac Shipp on a laser in fifth. Ross Henderson, Rob Rickard and John Thompson on a sailboard rounded out the next three places. Next weeks race is the fourth in the Club Championship series and more seasoned crews will not be wanting to see a repeat of this weeks result. Ron van Beek should be back, making for a more interesting start.

11.01.2022 Season 2018-19 came to a formal close recently with the LYC Annual Dinner. For those who missed out on the final presentations, the Commodores notes are below. Horses Arse Our first award for the evening is the illustrious Horses Arse trophy which we award to the OoD responsible for the worst course of the season. I must confess that I wasnt here on the day of the race in question but the Vice Commodore, several members of the sailing committee, most competitors and sever...Continue reading

10.01.2022 It was a rough day at the office for Colin Tunn, Alan Rendell, Bek Dodwell and Emma Dodwell. Great whole-club effort to retrieve Pacman with the least damage possible.

09.01.2022 If you cant make our Try Sailing Day (and even if you can), heres another great opportunity to give sailing a try with our friends along the coast in Devonport.

08.01.2022 There’s an element of the unknown when running new events. This proved not to be a deterrent or obstacle for Leven Yacht Club when it came to delivering our second #SheSails Women’s Sailing Day on Sunday 14th March. Nineteen participants were able to enjoy a taster of sailing. Sixteen Leven members were supported by Mike Darby and Penny Tassicker from Wynyard Yacht Club, Dave Stutterd from Burnie Yacht Club, Cody Marshall from Mersey Yacht Club and Sarah Findlay from Port Dal...rymple Yacht Club. This combined effort of support, experience and fun added to a brilliant day on the water. When rigging began, there were a few concerned looks and murmurs as gusts whipped hair across faces. This quickly turned to easy smiles as participants began to arrive. New sailors were shown the basics of capsizing and tacking onshore. By then the wind had settled to twelve knots and participants were eager to get on the water. Fifteen knot gusts were handled with poise. There were no capsizes and rescuing wasn’t on the agenda for this sturdy bunch. Instead, Desmond Becker was able to teach Emma Dodwell the fine art of slow maneuvers in the Duckie. Martin Shipp, with side kick Erin Dickers, had the task of trying to chase down every boat, so Bek Dodwell could capture the moment for new sailors. Each will receive a digital photo of this memorable day. Some of the highlights of the day were enjoyed aboard Bad Cat. Many thanks to Benny Parsons for offering to take his recently acquired boat out at the last minute. This meant that the six extra new sailors who decided that morning to come along could be involved. Bad Cat’s first voyage since returning to the club, with Kate Reilly and Phil Duthoit as crew plus the five new sailors, was flanked by a playful pod of dolphins. Leven Yacht Club decided to run a SheSails Women’s Sailing Day in response to Australian Sailing identifying that 30% of members in Tasmania are women. Creating opportunities to encourage women to learn to sail and supporting those already sailing will hopefully see this figure increase. After the strong and enthusiastic response from the community and support from clubs in the north, we’re looking forward to running this event again next year. Leven Yacht Club SheSails Team Beth Dodwell, Kate Reilly and Teresa Badrock.

08.01.2022 Four months of missed races due to weather variously described by club members as "atrocious", "abysmal" and "downright mean-hearted" made for an enthusiastic fleet hitting the water in perfect conditions on Tuesday night. An animated briefing was conducted by first time OoD, Amy Dodwell, who stood regally atop a chair brandishing her chalk scepter, speaking more of where local marine wildlife could be sighted than which direction the wind was coming from. This resulted in th...e fleet leaving the river believing a starboard course awaited them only to find a red flag flying from the rescue boat, signifying a port course, a change that one Dodwell team found embarrassingly hard to accommodate. Some say Phil Duthoit jumped the gun in his Farr, and more still that his jib is above legal size, but Duthoit made both an excellent start and race time, coming in first on yardstick, although was mid fleet in fifth on handicap corrected time. Sam Hill, believing himself twice the man as fellow competitors, sailed a two-handed boat solo, although for having the extra sail and no crew weight, he was awarded a time penalty. He made a poor start after attempting to barge Anton Bezemer over the line and was forced to tack back around, although made up ground admirably well. Katie Dodwell, current Twilight Series frontrunner, helmed the lead feva to the first buoy but there she stayed when she and crewing sister Laura were caught in irons, allowing the one-man-band to overtake them, a lead Hill maintained for the rest of the race. As the battle of the fevas continued, Hill only extended his lead, turning Dodwells annoyance to wrath and crew fearful for her safety upon reaching land. Another Dodwell helmed a third feva but, with combined efforts of entanglement with her own spinnaker and rounding each buoy like she was circumnavigating a small island rather than a floaty, Beth came in a disappointing 7th. Phil Duthoit made and maintained a healthy lead on fellow Farr sailor, Gerald Hendriks, although Hendriks made a comeback from shame when he handed the tiller over to his son, Mitchell, on the last lap and the father/son team came in first place on corrected time. Teresa Badrock came in a minute after Hendriks with Katie Dodwell taking third, a placing that had the "obviously at fault" crew pardoned from her planned flogging. Hill, Duthoit and Bezemer took the next three places, followed by Beth Dodwell, Tom Reilly, Ron van Beek aboard the only catamaran, and Seth Jones. With the prime conditions and well-planned course (both, of which, the OoD is claiming credit for) the evenings race proved to be a huge success, described by one club member as "magical". The club will be ready to hit the water again this coming Saturday for the Three Rivers Race, a day that according to legend summons either overpowering gales or no wind at all, depending solely on which is least favourable for the fleet on the day.

08.01.2022 A small fleet of nine boats signed in for the annual Forward Hand race at the Leven Yacht Club on Saturday. In this race the normal crew helms the boat while the regular skipper acts as crew. Officer of the day Tom Killalea set a triangle sausage course off the mouth of the Leven River. Boats struggled to get to the start in light winds with an incoming tide. It was a shock to more seasoned skippers when Killalea started the race a full five minutes before Laura Dodwell, with... Basil OHalloran as crew, reached the line. Interestingly Killalea was, until Saturday, OHallorans regular crew. All crews had a very interesting beat to the first mark in extremely variable winds. The conditions did not suit the go-fast cats who were at times overtaken by slower boats. Teresa Badrock was acting as skipper on Precious Pup, normally helmed by Anton Bezemer, and took a very aggressive and competitive approach to the race. Martin Shipp had control of the big trailer sailor Lapun and made up huge amounts of ground on other boats when heading downwind. Sam Hill helmed a lightweight sharpie and had a great battle with the bigger boats. Phil Duthoit, Shipp, Badrock, John Thompson on a sailboard and Hill all crossed the line within thirty seconds of one another. The cats of Fraser Mearns, Rob Rickard and Ron van Beek finished in the last three places. The day belonged to Laura Dodwell on the 505 Cosmic. Despite missing the start by five minutes she went on to win the race on handicap by a massive five minutes. Rumour has it that she bossed OHalloran into flying the kite and forced him onto the trapeze when the breeze kicked in. Shipp sailed a beautiful race to finish second with Duthoit just six seconds behind in third. Then followed Badrock, Thompson and Hill with the three cats bringing up the rear. The Dodwell sisters are proving to be a force to be reckoned with and will need to be watched next Saturday in the biggest race of the Ulverstone calendar, the annual Cock of the Leven. A huge fleet is expected from right across the north of the state. Race briefing will be at 12:30 with the starting gun to be fired at 1:30.

08.01.2022 #shesails 2021 @ LYC

07.01.2022 Dear members, This evening club management met to discuss the clubs position with regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While the NW coast of Tasmania is currently enjoying a clean bill of health and it was broadly agreed that the risk of transmission at one of our events is extremely low, maintaining this favourable situation relies on organisations such as ours within the community acting with social responsibility and minimising the opportunity for transmission to occu...r. To this end, it was decided that it would be inappropriate for us to promote the gathering of people at club events for the immediate future. All sailing events including this weekends Cock o the Leven are postponed until further notice. Isaac Mearns Commodore

07.01.2022 Fourteen boats rigged up for race two in the club championship series at the Leven Yacht Club on Saturday. Some rigged up a little later than others and Ross Henderson on Lapun failed to cross the start line in time. Reasonably calm conditions in the morning changed to lively and gusty south-westerlies just before start time. Officer of the day Anton Bezemer set a triangular course in the western bay. Cody Marshall made it onto the water but capsized his cobra in the bay befo...re the start in increasing winds. Mere seconds after righting his boat, he was steamrolled by Amy and Katie Dodwell sailing the other cobra in the fleet, causing a minor flesh wound to Dodwell’s boat. Discussion is continuing as to who was at fault with the Dodwell sisters claiming, perhaps correctly, that they were on a starboard tack with right of way. This is not disputed by Marshall who claims he was too busy organising himself and his boat after the capsize to notice the fast approaching Dodwells. Marshall failed to make it to the start line in time. Of the remaining boats, three who started failed to finish. Des Becker from Strahan was sailing his new toy - a seriously fast taipan with Beth Dodwell as crew and called it quits after a high speed capsize. Basil OHalloran and Laura Dodwell suffered a capsize at the first gybe mark and retired with gear damage. This was perhaps for the best as OHalloran was inexplicably sailing the wrong way around the clearly defined course before the capsize. This left seven boats to fight it out for the points. Colin Tunn on Pacman sailed a conservative race without hoisting his spinnaker and suffered for it, finishing in seventh a full twenty minutes behind Tom Butler sailing three up on a club RS Vision. Phil Duthoit in fifth was one minute ahead of Butler and one minute behind Isaac Mearns with Luciano Rodriguez as crew on the big go-fast blade. Mearns has been auditioning new crew every week this season in anticipation of a new ride arriving later in the season. This was Rodriguez’ first sail on a catamaran and his kiteboarding background served him well, keeping the boat well-trimmed around the course. Isaac Shipp and Ken Vayne sailed the Vayne’s Skud beautifully to finish third while Ron van Beek sailing solo on his cat scorched around the triangular course beating boats that on paper should have been faster to finish second. The day belonged to Vice Commodore John Thompson on his windsurfer one design. Hot off his second placing at the Tamar Yacht Club Spring Regatta, Thompson blitzed the fleet to win by a full five minutes on yardstick and handicap corrected times, causing uproar amongst the trailer sailer crowd who would prefer to think of sailboards as speedhumps. The long-range forecast is shaping up well for the annual time trial dash around the Third Sister next week and with some fast boats in the fleet, records may well tumble.

07.01.2022 Hot off the press, the provisional 2020-21 sailing calendar can be found at the below link. Sponsor details to be finalised, but dates should now be fixed. The interclub travellers series for this season is shaping up to be huge! https://www.dropbox.com/s/f00kvepxu/Sailing%20Calendar.pdf

05.01.2022 After weeks of adverse weather, the perfect five to ten knot Westerly and flat water served up on Thursday night for the second race in the Twilight Series attracted an excellent fleet of twelve boats. Officer of the day Isaac Mearns assisted by new race officer in training Keith Park set an elongated river-based course with a long reaching legs from the clubhouse out into the bay off West Ulverstone beach and back. The tide was just starting to flow out as the start gun went... and the subtle current pulled two boats over the line early. There was some contention aboard the committee boat as to whether Anton Bezemer returned all the way to the start line to start correctly in the club sabre as required by the rules however the remaining competitors were too focused on jostling for position to notice. Amy and Beth Dodwell arrived late to the start on their re-refurbished Cobra catamaran with the leaders already leaving the river mouth. There was a new face in the fleet, that of four-year-old Max Beswick. His father Adrian recently purchased a sabot for Max to learn to sail in. Not just any sabot though, the very sabot that Adrian had learned to sail in himself some twenty-five odd years ago. Max was talking up their chances before the race anticipating a podium finish. With his eyes firmly on the prize he refused the offer of a finish gun after just one lap and went on to complete the full two. Although his dads massive performance handicap factor hit their corrected time hard, on yardstick the pair managed a mid-fleet finish which is particularly impressive given the tripling of the boat design crew weight and light wind of the evening. Three Sabres, three RS Fevas, and a Laser 4.7 filled out the body of the fleet. With similar yardsticks these boats competed closely over the length of the course. Katie Dodwell with sister Laura as crew went on to take the win closely followed by Martin Shipp in second and Lou Jager in third.

04.01.2022 Were looking forward to launching the first #SheSails events at Leven Yacht Club. A great opportunity to encourage women to learn to sail. Remember to book by contacting Teresa on 0437 868 969. Theres 6 spots left in each session.

04.01.2022 A good fleet of thirteen boats lined up for the start of the third club championship race on Saturday. There were mixed forecasts and sailors were faced with fifteen knot south westerly winds gusting to twenty-seven knots. Officer of the day Isaac Shipp set a triangular course in the bay off Goat Island. In a very scrappy start, some crews missed the start by several minutes while others like Gerald Hendriks got away well. It was a tacking duel to the windward mark just off G...oat Island followed by a very fast reach to the gybing mark. With the south-westerly bullets increasing in strength, this mark got the better of some crews. Ross Henderson and Martin Shipp on Lapun performed an accidental gybe which caused chaos on the big trailer sailer. Beth Dodwell sailing a laser struggled at this mark but persevered and sailed a brave race before retiring after several swims. Bec Foxen, on another laser, also sailed well and also went back to the clubhouse early after ninety minutes in very trying and tiring conditions. Even though John Thompson on his sailboard was backwinded by Gerald Hendriks at the gybe mark and completed seven laps, he went on to win the race comfortably by ten minutes, proving that he is the one to beat this year. Rob Rickard on his A class cat sizzled around the triangle to complete ten laps and finish second, just a minute in front of the ever-consistent Ron van Beek. Dave Stutterd came home in fourth after finishing six laps in his laser with Gerald Hendriks in fifth edging out Phil Duthoit and Perrun Harding. The race was so exacting that Stutterd was observed having a nap in the rigging yard after finishing. Amy Dodwell sailed a magnificent race without a capsize on her cobra to slot in between Colin Tunn on Pacman in seventh and Ross Henderson in ninth. Leven sailors and representatives from many other clubs in the state will be headed to St Helens for the long weekend to compete in the inaugural East Coast Classic.

03.01.2022 Leven Yacht Club Inc. Commodores Report 2018-2019 Dear Members, It is my privilege to present to you the Commodores Report for the Leven Yacht Club Inc. 2018-2019 season. Id like to start by recording my thanks to the Management Committee for their support throughout the year. I feel that our executive has had a particularly effective combination of officers this year and am delighted that many have accepted nomination to potentially reprise their positions next season....Continue reading

03.01.2022 Leven Yacht Clubs sail training group visited Mersey Yacht Club on the weekend to compete in the first leg of the North West Championships. Our volunteers did a great job to move seven dinghies and a support boat along the coast allowing our sailors to compete with sailors from Mersey and Burnie Yacht Clubs. A river race was set in a perfect Northerly breeze. The fleet got away to a good clean start with the Laser of Rob Puttman and the RS Vision of Isaac Shipp, Liam Vayne an...d Ezra Meijer opening up an early lead. The extra age and experience of the skippers of these two boats shone through and they led for the whole race taking first and second respectively. Straight out of the blocks and into third place was Patrick Reilly in his debut outing in a Sabre dinghy. Reilly put in a consistent performance and will be one to watch in the coming weeks as he comes to grips with the new boat. The four RS Feva dinghies tussled neck and neck for the whole race. Tom Butler came in just ahead of Pia Tucker & Bellah Maxwell, Beth Dodwell & Teresa Badrock and Seth Jones & Tom Pratt respectively but only by virtue of sailing single handed and not having extra weight on board. The four Fevas were separated by less than a minute on corrected time. William Dynan skippered a Redfin dinghy capably crewed by Hosea Meijer. This was the pairings first outing together. Isaac Mearns was on board in an instructing role but his extra ninety kilos probably did more harm than good to the performance of the crew. It will be interesting to see how these two perform without the millstone instructor aboard in coming weeks. Joe and Caleb Meijer brought up the rear in Joes homemade dinghy but showed great improvement being only a couple of minutes off competitive pace. Merseys Paul Barrass was a DNF. Crews dont have long to wait for the next round of the series with the Wynyard leg being held on the 14th of this month. Thanks to Phil Good for the photos and support from his RIB during racing.

03.01.2022 Sailors at the Leven Yacht Club were hungry to get on the water on Saturday after many lost weeks of sailing this season due to strong winds. The rigging yard was a different place as site works are in progress for new and much needed launching ramps. Eleven crews faced the starters gun in the Tradesmarts trophy race. Officer of the day Karl Kunta set a sausage course off the mouth of the Leven River with sailors doing multiple laps for approximately 100 minutes.... The start in 15 knot easterly breezes on a choppy swell was, as usual, chaotic. Who knows what Basil OHalloran and Tom Killalea, back from Russia just for the race, were thinking when they tacked on to a port tack seconds after the start, causing pandemonium to other crews. The two big cats of Ron van Beek and Rob Rickard got away well and were first to round the windward mark in seven minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet. It was interesting that no crews had the courage to hoist a kite on the dead downwind return leg, electing to be cautious instead. The trailer sailers of Gerald Hendriks, Anton Bezemer, Phil Duthoit and Ross Henderson had a great tussle with each other, and with the club RS Vision helmed beautifully by Tom Butler. This boat was in with a real chance of claiming victory until it was pole-axed by an out-of-control Precious Pup, helmed by Bezemer, causing a capsize. OHalloran somewhat foolishly decided to pop his kite on the last three downward legs, resulting in a spectacular capsize right in front of the rescue boat and the spectator fleet. Luckily rescue boat skipper Phil Good did not have his camera out as he was too busy taking over from the officer of the day who was suffering from a case of mal de mer. With one person short on the rescue boat the race was brought to an early finish after just 75 minutes with boats completing between 4 and 7 sausages. The International Sailing Commission sat well into the afternoon to decide what action was to be taken over the collision. Inexplicably, it decided that Bezemer would win the race, decided on club handicap, from Gerald Hendriks with the most unlucky - some would say robbed - Tom Butler in third. Ross Henderson finished just out of the placegetters with father and daughter team John and Georgia Thompson in fifth. The yardstick result was narrowly taken out by van Beek from Thompson on the 470. Questions were asked of Thompson after the race as to why he chose not to fly his kite, with other crews offering useful suggestions. Uncharacteristically it appeared as though Rickard sailed with a small sail, resulting in a finish towards the bottom of the fleet. There will not be any sailing next weekend and the next race will be a Club Champiopnship event on February 1.

01.01.2022 The Tamar Marine sponsored sixth race in the club championship series was being billed as the Basil OHalloran comeback race (mainly by O’Halloran himself) last weekend. After the loss of his primary 505 dinghy last month, the backup boat had been dragged out of the shed and prepared for relaunch. Officer of the day Phil Duthoit ably assisted by son in law Thomas Reilly set a course that, if squinted at in the right way, vaguely represented a triangle, in the bay off the mout...h of the Leven River in a lumpy ten knot nor-easterly. Determined to raise the standard of starts, Duthoit advised at the pre-race briefing that several rules usually disregarded by a large percentage of the fleet would today be enforced. Freed up from race management, club bosun Phil Good was able to take on the role of photographer. Unfortunately, in between shepherding competitors away from reefs carelessly included in the course area, his lens missed the debacle that followed. The usually reserved Rob Rickard broke the line early and was called back to restart. Plagued by selective deafness, Ross Henderson appeared to miss the airhorn countdown and also broke the line by a full boatlength. In the midst of the fleet, O’Halloran’s 505 got mowed down from behind by Colin Tunn’s Elliott 7 and snagged on the latter’s bowsprit. This is not the first time this aftermarket fitting on Tunn’s boat has been the centre of controversy after questions were raised as to its class legality recently at the Cock o’ the East. With confusion over who was at fault, the only penalty turns being completed were the ones O’Halloran’s 505 completed around the horizontal axis. Once the shouting was finished, the race settled down to a familiar pattern with the catamarans pulling out into the lead. New crews Amin Parsi and Adah Durant were out on Isaac Mearns and Perrun Harding’s boats respectively and performed well although all boats carrying extra crew suffered in the choppy sea state. An exception to this rule was the Skud 18 of Liam Vayne. With father Ken crewing and mastermind Isaac Shipp as tactician, this boat finished well up the rankings and took the handicap win by a massive fifteen-minute margin. With performances like that, Vayne’s handicap will rapidly steepen in coming races. Gerald Hendriks’ reluctance to hoist his spinnaker once again hurt his performance and pushed the big Farr 7500 well down the results table. On yardstick corrected time, visiting Burnie Yacht Club laser sailor David Stutterd showed a clean set of heels taking the win while still finding the time to nurture and coach his flock of laser neophytes. (Beth Dodwell’s sixth place ahead of several significantly more experienced sailors was a standout.) Second went to Ron van Beek with only seconds separating Rob Rickard in third, Vayne in fourth and Fraser Mearns in fifth. Saturday’s race is the annual Mayor’s Magnificence and Sponsor’s Day. Competition for titular platter is expected to be fierce.