About Us
How it all began……
The Gladstone Radio Controlled Yacht Club (or GRCYC) was not so much born on the 11th March 2005, as much as resurrected.
This is the date that the current club had its very first AGM, however, Gladstone did have quite an active club of radio controlled yachts many years ago. Back then skippers mostly sailed the preferred ‘yacht of the moment’ the Marblehead but for one reason or another interest wained and racing unfortunately stopped. It wasn’t until March 2004, when over quite a few scotches & bourbons, local cinema owner Chris Struik and then local radio station breakfast host Grant Cooper sat around discussing how much they missed the competitiveness of yacht racing. Excuses such as “too busy…” and “too expensive…” were bandied around until the topic of remote controlled yachts were bought up.
The research was undertaken on which was the most popular class and which types of hulls were proven to be competitive and within a couple of weeks, two ‘TS2’ designed second-hand yachts arrived in the port city. After fumbling through rough diagrams on how to rig them, both took to the water ‘match racing’ style off the refuelling pontoon at the Gladstone Marina.
Interest in the yachts blossomed at an astounding rate with many just passing by on the boardwalk and others close friends of the initial two. One year later (almost to the day) the club was formed with Chris Struik, Gavin Hartwig, Arthur deLooze, Grant Cooper, Natalie Cooper, Matt Hunter, Kevin Hartwig in attendance, with apologies R Niven, D Branthwaite, T Flynn, John Fleming.
Matt Hunter and Grant Cooper
Gavin Hartwig, Chris Struik & Arthur De Loose
And now….
The GRCYC sail most Sundays (with the kind permission of the Gladstone Ports Corporation) to the right-hand side of VMR on the commercial jetty in the Gladstone Marina.
It is advised to check the racing calendar on this site before heading down though. A course can be set in any wind condition and it’s one of the best places to sail with the prevailing SE winds. The wave chop can be challenging from down the marina in a breeze so rig your yacht with a bit more ‘drive’. The RC yachts can be launched from out front of the rigging area however it is a wet launch so don’t wear your good shoes!