The following BYS Members have been announced as finalists:
- Laura Harding, Female Sailor of the Year
- Brian Jones, Volunteer Award
- Angus McIntyre, Junior Sailor of the Year
- Chris Wilson, Lifetime Achievement Award
So lets meet our nominees ….
Junior Sailor of the Year – Angus McIntyre
BYS junior Angus (Gus) McIntyre has had a successful 2021-22 sailing season, participating in all major events held for the Victorian Laser 4.7 (ILCA 4) and Sabre classes. In Novemeber Gus became the Vic Open 4.7 Champion, enjoying a great on-water tussle with Aidan Simmons & Riley Cantwell at the 2021-22 Laser State Titles hosted by Mornington YC. He continued his form into the 4.7 events at Sail Melbourne and the 2022 Victorian Youth Championships, winning both regattas by comfortable margins. Gus also raced regularly with the club Sabre fleet throughout the 2021-22 season in preparation for the 2022 State Titles at BYS in February and he completed in the Worlds in Vilamoura, Portugal where he competed with 15 other members of Team AUS in August. It was also pleasing to see Gus obtain his AS Assistant Instructor certification this season and join the BYS coaching staff conducting the Tackers & BYS Junior sailing programmes and is a real role model for our junior sailors.
Volunteer of the Year – Brian Jones, Sailability
Brian Jones has made a significant contribution to the sport of sailing over the past 53 years, and particularly for his dedicated work with Sailability over the past 21 years. Brian’s involvement in Sailability began in 2001 when Mornington Yacht Club appealed for volunteers for their program which offered sailing to people with disability. Brian was heavily involved in preserving the historical record of people and events since 2002, working with film maker members Ray and Shaun McKenna to produce “Sailability – Have a Go.” Under Brian’s leadership the program was awarded “Victorian Inclusion Program of the Year 2020” at the Australian Sailing Awards.
Female Sailor of the Year – Laura Harding
The Female Sailor of the year award is given to a female athlete who has performed outstandingly in the sport of sailing within the nomination period. BYS youth sailor and instructor, Laura and co-sailor Annie, members of the Australian Sailing Squad, showed themselves to be one of Australia’s leading 49erFX teams and a team to watch on the road to the Paris 2024 Olympics after a successful 2021-22 season. Winning back-to-back events at Sail Sydney and Sail Melbourne, it was their breakthrough 4th place at the Hempel World Cup Allianz Regatta that stamped them as a team to watch on the international stage.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Chris Wilson
Chris has managed to fit several lifetimes of achievement into his 84 years! Still active both on and off the water, Chris has been multifaceted in both his participation and his service to the sport of sailing. At the age of 18 Chris joined Elwood Sailing Club and crewed on an Elwood Seahorse – they won the Victorian Championship in a friend’s boat before becoming the owner of his own Seahorse. In 1958, he built his first Quickcat and sailed in the first Quickcat championships at Mornington; he became an active member of the Australian Catamaran Association (ACA), and co-authored the book – “Catamaran Sailing to Win” (1974). Competing both nationally and internationally, Chris eventually made his way the BYS (1995), becoming Commodore in 1999. During this time Chris encouraged BYS to apply to be the host club for the Hobie Cat World’s as part of the ‘99 World’s Sail Melbourne event. A few years later he repeated this as event manager for the World Championships for the Disabled Sailing also held at BYS. Still very mush involved in sailing today, Chris has retained his accreditation as a National Judge. His achievements are too numerous for this abridged version to do justice – find Chris and have a chat!
In addition, BYS has been nominated as the “Discover Sailing Centre of the Year” !! The Discover Sailing Centre of the year award is awarded to the centre that has contributed to the conduct of significant events and programs while developing themselves and the leadership of others. Kudos to everyone at BYS – what a great way to start the 71st Sailing Season!
