Milang to Goolwa Freshwater Classic

The Milang to Goolwa Freshwater Classic is South Australia's premier freshwater race — a downwind dash across Lake Alexandrina from Milang to Goolwa, drawing a huge fleet of trailable yachts, catamarans and dinghies. As the centrepiece of Goolwa Regatta Week, it is one of the great mass-participation events of Australian sailing, and proof that grassroots racing can be every bit as spectacular as the offshore classics.

What it is

The Classic is a freshwater passage race across Lake Alexandrina, the large lake near the mouth of the Murray River. From the town of Milang, the fleet races across the lake to Goolwa, and the sheer number of boats — trailer-sailers, multihulls and dinghies all together — makes for a memorable sight. Being freshwater and relatively shallow, the lake serves up its own distinctive conditions, different from the open-sea racing elsewhere in the state.

An accessible, grassroots classic

Part of what makes the Classic special is how inclusive it is. This is a race for boats you can tow to the water and launch from a ramp — trailable yachts, catamarans and dinghies — so it is open to a huge range of sailors, not just those with big offshore boats. That accessibility is exactly why it draws the fleet it does, and why it sits at the heart of the local sailing community. It is South Australia's freshwater answer to Victoria's great trailer-sailer classics.

Goolwa Regatta Week

The Classic is the highlight of Goolwa Regatta Week, held each January and run by the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club — one of South Australia's most historic sailing institutions, with origins reaching back to before 1854. That heritage, on a lake at the end of Australia's greatest river, gives the event a character all its own.

How to enter and follow

Entries and event information are published by the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club. Crews towing a boat to the lake should read the Notice of Race, check the requirements for their class, and enter before the deadline. If you are new to this style of sailing, our guide to getting into sailing in Australia is a good start, and the sailing terms glossary covers the language of the racing.