Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron 140th Opening Day - Professor Graeme Nimmo RFD

Member for Lytton, Ms Joan Pease MP; representing the Royal Australian Navy, Commodore Stephanie Moles RAN; Councillor Krista Adams and Councillor Alex Givney; Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Commodore John Warlow, Vice Commodore Curtis Skinner, Rear Commodore Todd Anderson, CEO Ms Karen Baldwin and the Board of Directors; Past Commodores; Flag Officers of the Southport and Wynnum Manly Yacht Clubs and the Manly Harbour Boat Club; Life Members; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the original custodians of the lands around Brisbane; the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging, and to any First Nations people here today.

As Patron of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron it gives me great pleasure to be here celebrating such an important milestone.

One hundred and forty years since a shared interest in sailing and boat brought a group of gentlemen in the bustling capital of the then young colony of Queensland together to form a sailing club.

Of course, the river and Moreton Bay would have looked a little different then; the days of sail for commerce were not over and the port was still in the heart of the city.

Sailing for pleasure may have been less common in the period, however thanks to this group of yachtsmen and their Bulimba-based Brisbane Sailing Club a start was made.

Much happened in the intervening years to transform that club from its humble beginnings into the organisation we know today, with interventions by not one but two British monarchs – Edward VII to grant the Royal title to the then Queensland Yacht Club and Queen Elizabeth II to approve the change to squadron –  and there has of course been a venue change as well.

I am proud to represent a continuation of this connection to the Monarchy, in my capacity as the Vice-Regal Patron.

Which brings us to today, here in Manly, the magnificent modern home of the Squadron which not only does a great job of honouring its past but also safeguarding its future.

By any measure, the club is thriving, with more than 3,800 members and recent deserved recognition in the form of Club of the Year from Clubs Queensland and from the Marina Industry Association.

And with the 2032 Brisbane Olympics on the horizon, it appears every effort is being made to attracts new entrants to the sport, and to support those young sailors already showing promise.

This includes several young members who have competed internationally, including in Italy and Spain, in the last 12 months thanks to the Wyuna Foundation and the John Harrison Olympic Support Fund, the Squadron was able to offer grants to promising young athletes, helping them pursue their goals and represent he squadron on the international stage.

As I have observed in previous speeches, I personally take great pleasure in sailing as often as I can, particularly on Recherche in the WAGS competition, although I was also lucky enough to crew recently for two races on Oasis at the Hamilton Island Race Week.

I know that I don’t need to convince this audience that sailing and boating are marvellous pursuits for all sailors young or old. I am sure we all agree with Kenneth Grahame in Wind in the Willows that;

“there is NOTHING — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

So, with that I wish you fair winds for the new sailing season!