Sailing and Yacht Racing in Brisbane and Moreton Bay

Brisbane's keelboat racing is centred on Moreton Bay, the large sheltered bay east of the city, with the main clubs based at Manly and led by the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. The bay's reliable breezes and protected water make it one of the best year-round sailing venues in the country — and it is the home water of the Invicta campaign.

Moreton Bay: the venue

Moreton Bay is a broad expanse of water sheltered to the east by Moreton and North Stradbroke islands. That geography gives it dependable sea breezes and a spread of conditions — flat-water days inshore, more testing racing out towards the islands — without the full exposure of the open Pacific. It is large enough for serious offshore-style coastal racing yet sheltered enough for beginners, which is why the bay supports such a deep and active fleet. Manly Boat Harbour, in Brisbane's bayside suburbs, is the centre of it all.

The clubs

Several clubs share the bay, most of them clustered around Manly:

• Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) — Brisbane's largest and most prominent club, at Manly. Formed in 1885, it caters for the full span of the sport, from juniors in Optimists and Sabots to Olympic-level and offshore sailors, and hosts major regattas. It is the home club of this campaign — see the boat for more.
• Wynnum Manly Yacht Club — a long-established club on the Royal Esplanade at Manly, with a large membership ranging from cruisers to ocean-going keelboats.
• Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club — runs a varied racing fleet from trailer-sailers up to fixed-keel boats.
• Darling Point Sailing Squadron — among the other clubs active on the bay.

Several of the Manly clubs also collaborate on the Manly Combined Clubs racing series, which runs regularly through the season and caters for many different types of boat.

The racing

Moreton Bay racing runs through the season, from weeknight twilight races and weekend club series to major events. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron hosts the Brisbane Race Week regatta and starts its signature offshore event, the Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race, which heads north up the Queensland coast in winter. The bay is also a natural launching point into the wider Queensland and east-coast circuit, covered in our guide to east-coast yacht racing.

Getting involved

For newcomers, the bay is an easy place to start. The clubs run learn-to-sail courses, come-and-try days and crew registers, and they welcome people with no boat and no experience — crewing is the usual way in. Our guides to getting into sailing in Australia and joining a yacht racing crew cover the practical steps, all of which apply directly to the Moreton Bay clubs. Whether you want to race grand-prix boats or simply learn to sail, Manly is the place to begin on our home water.