Albury-Wodonga Sailing Club

About Albury-Wodonga Sailing Club

Straddling the Murray River border between New South Wales and Victoria, the Albury Wodonga Sailing Club draws its membership from two states without belonging wholly to either — Australian Sailing calls it a true cross-border club. Founded in 1958 and known for most of its life as the Albury Wodonga Yacht Club, it sails on Lake Hume at Bonegilla, roughly a quarter of an hour's drive from the twin cities that give it its name. The club's own chosen nickname, the Little Club in the Country, captures the mood: laid-back, volunteer-run to the last person, and inclined to measure a good weekend by wood-fired pizza and bean bags on the lawn as much as by race results.

Do not mistake the relaxed posture for small ambition. This is the home of Sail Country, the regatta that has taken over the Melbourne Cup weekend each November since 2014 and pulls hundreds of sailors from the two capitals, Canberra and the regional centres in between. Australian Sailing ranks it, by registration numbers, among the top ten regattas in the country. The club also points to a long record of hosting state and national titles, trading on what it calls a unique freshwater experience on one of Australia's largest inland waterways.

Membership stood at 186 in March 2021, ranging in age from eight months to 86 years, with 32 newcomers signed in a single season. Long-serving member Brian Royal has been recognised as Club Person of the Year for his regatta organisation and fundraising, and the club showed what Australian Sailing described as great resilience through the COVID years, inventing new social activities to pull members back together. For inland sailors between the two biggest cities in the country, this is the natural home port.

Services

• Sailing club

Service area

Lake Hume / Albury-Wodonga region