Hosted by Teralba Amaetur Sailing Club, the opening day of the 2024 Zhik Youth Sail New South Wales event saw 120 sailors on more than 100 boats welcomed to Lake Macquarie’s western shore.

A definite highlight on the Australian Sailing calendar, the 2024 event, taking place just months after Australia won two sailing medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, has seen sailors come from as far away as Tasmania and New Zealand to take part.

The first day of the initial Coaching Clinic saw sailors experiencing their first taste of what’s to come over the six-day event, taking to the water across 12 classes to work with a team of incredible coaches.

29er sailor Harper Spacey from Hunters Hill Sailing Club says the first day of the event has her excited for the rest of the week.

I had a lot of fun today, I’m excited to go back out,” said Spacey.

“My favourite part of this event is seeing all the different boats come together. It’s great to see so many boats sailing and meeting new people.

“There was quite a lot of wind today - between 15-20 knots - and we were focusing on close manoeuvres with the other boats, so that was really fun.

“This is my first 29er regatta so I’m really looking forward to getting some racing in later in the week” she said.

Having travelled all the way from Victoria to take part, Optimist sailor Tate Cantwell (Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club) said the first day was an exciting opportunity to sharpen his skills and make new friends.

“I had heaps of fun today because I got to meet heaps of new people and coaches,” said Cantwell.

“It’s exciting to sail with people from another country and from all around Australia, I’m looking forward to racing everyone, including the New Zealand kids, later in the week.”

Teralba Amaetur Sailing Club is hosting this year's event from Wednesday 2 to Monday 7 October.

The Coaching Clinic portion of the event will run until Friday, with the Youth Championships to follow immediately after, beginning on Saturday.

For more information on the event, click here.

To follow along with the event on social media, be sure to follow Australian Sailing Youth on Facebook and Instagram.