Sydney Boys High School

Sailing

Sailing! - An opportunity to get the wind through your hair and salt on your skin.

Sailing is a fun and enjoyable sport at High that caters for everyone of all sizes and skill sets. In this program you get taught essential basics of rigging (preparing) boats and actually sailing them on our pristine oceans. The collaborative environment there makes it a place where you and your mates can go have fun on the water, while also having some competitive experiences. The sailing program has also recently proven to be very successful with our 1st grade team reaching the national level in 2022. With enough training and effort, you too can reach this level competing with the best teams in the country.

At High our biggest racing events are school run Regattas and the NSW Secondary Schools Teams Racing Championships. The Regattas, run by various schools such as Scots and Ascham are competitive racing tournaments that boys training in 1st and 2nd grade can compete in. These Regattas are really fun and great training for future competitions.

The NSW Secondary Schools Teams Racing Championships is an end of season 3 day competitive regatta for the boys chosen for the First and Second Grade team, where we compete against a multitude of schools including those we usually race against on a Saturday, and other schools across the state such as Canberra Grammar. If your team is placed within the top 3 you get the opportunity to go to Nationals.

Seniors

Wednesday Training - School Afternoon
Students leave school at the start of lunch (12:30 pm) and travel by school coach to Woollahra Sailing Club in Rose Bay. It is envisaged that the boys are on the water approximately 1.15-1.30 pm. Training is conducted qualifies by our coaches, Hugo Leeming and Sam Steinberg. Boys learn about boat handling and how to sail faster as they develop their skills in preparation for Saturdays.

Sailors are dismissed from the venue at approximately 4:00-4:30pm once everything has been packed away.

Juniors

Thursday Training - School Afternoon
Students leave school at the start of lunch and travel by school coach to Woollahra Sailing Club in Rose Bay. Training is conducted by both SBHS and Woollahra Sailing Club Coaches. The boys are assisted to rig boats and learn to sail to a set course, as well as develop essential skills as crews and skippers.

Boys are dismissed from the venue at approximately 4.00-4.30pm and make their own way home.

Saturday Racing

Saturday Racing for both Seniors and Juniors is essential as it adds a competitive touch to the sport. Sailors are asked to arrive at Woollahra Sailing Club at 8am to organise themselves into skipper crew pairings and rig up their boats. Once they have finished rigging their boat, there is a briefing explaining what is going to happen which sailors must attend. Sailors then launch off the ramp at 9am in time for racing which starts at around 9:30 am.

These sailing regattas have a progressive point score over the course of the season (Term 4 and Term 1).  A number of other schools are also involved in the races, such as Scots College, Cranbrook School and Ascham School.  The events are run by a committee from the Woollahra Sailing Club.  Our students are members of the WSC.

Sydney Boys High School employs qualified coaches Hugo Leeming and Sam Steinberg alongside the WSC team to provide progressive coaching, support and guidance to our sailors. The boys' details and emergency phone contacts are available to the sailing master and coach as part of our safety management protocols.

The sailing master, teacher or representative from Sydney Boys High is at Rose Bay from 8 am to mark the roll, ensure students have equipment and generally assist boys onto the water.  Once the boys have been assisted onto the water the teacher or school representative typically joins the coach in a small speedboat to supervise over the races and students are always supported by qualified staff or coaches.

Most races conclude by 10:30-11 am but this is weather dependent. Experienced boys sail Pacers, which are a type of two-man boat with the newer boys learning in Opti’s which can be sailed alone or in pairs.

At around 11 am, the boys who participate in teams racing, such as the First and Second Grade team, depart once again out onto the water to compete in more vigorous races, such as the Tri Series or teams races. These provide a much more challenging and performance element.

Cancellations for Saturday sailing are usually updated on the sport section of the school website immediately.

Strength, Conditioning and Agility

Monday After School
It is important that boys build strength and endurance. We encourage them to do this by joining the school gym, and also the rest of the sailors at sprints and agility training, which starts at the end of the school day on Monday at Moore Park West. The boys can also join students from other sports at this session.

Fundraising

Sydney Boys High raises money to support its sports teams. One method used to raise money is to park cars attending sporting fixtures on school grounds. Each sporting group gets an opportunity to park cars in the school grounds when events are on at Moore Park and use the money raised to purchase equipment and provide training for the sport involved. Each student involved receives points towards the Student Awards Scheme.

Without the support of parents, we cannot park the cars and raise the money needed for sailing. Please join us at school when sailing has its turn to raise funds from parking.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss anything related to the parking, please contact the Sailing Parent Committee via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The sailing committee also cater at school functions. A donation of a plate of food by sailing parents as well as parent and student support on the relevant nights would help enormously.

To see how you can donate to sports at Sydney Boys High School, see the ASF donations page.

Sailing Parent Committee

Sydney High School sailors are supported by the parent committee which meets to organize events for students to participate in, fund raising and other support to boys. They form an integral part of the "sailing team". You can contact Alan Khaw or John Cox at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you require more information.

There is also a Christmas party sometime towards the end of Term 4 each year, where boys can take their parents out for a sail and eat together. Each boy is asked to bring a plate of food or drink for the party.  Students who are planning to attend Sydney Boys High School and wish to participate in Sailing as a sport can join us at the party in order to get a good idea of what Sailing is like at Sydney High. For details about the time and date of this, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The boys also have a Facebook group for any students participating in sailing where any necessary information or upcoming events can also be found.  Any student who wishes to be a part of that group can just ask one of the seniors who will be happy to invite them.

Staff

MIC Sailing:

Mr M Cotton

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