Brisbane Sailing Squadron (BSS) is about to celebrate its centenary, marking 100 years of sailing the magnificent Brisbane River. The BSS have a very strong family membership with many generations of families sailing skiffs down to the sabots.   With a unique and long history in the one location for its members sailing on the Brisbane River is a very special experience.

The club was formed in 1921, when a group of sailing enthusiasts got together and formed the "Hamilton Skiff Club". Initial fleets were 16ft Skiffs, and this class has sailed continuously at the club ever since. The name was eventually changed to the Brisbane 16ft Skiff Club.

Boats were rigged at various boatyards around Bulimba and meetings were held at a number of venues around town. The clubhouse was opened at it present site on Bulimba Point in 1953, originally lowset, and later raised to create boat storage. The clubhouse was constructed largely with voluntary labour from club members and supporters. Two major redevelopments have since occurred, an extension of the club just prior to the club hosting the Australian Skiff Championships in 1970, and a further extension by addition of a magnificent deck in 2003. The deck has become a popular spot for post- race drinks and hard luck stories, as well as being a popular venue for functions, a great source of revenue for the club.

In the 1960's, the club recognised the need to develop junior sailors, and it joined forces with the Brisbane Junior Sailing Squadron. In 1994, the club merged with its neighbour, the Brisbane Yacht Club, to form the Brisbane Sailing Squadron (BSS).

BSS today has approximately 300 Members (encompassing Life, Senior, Cadet and Social). They have a strong Management Committee with a number of members being long standing in their roles.  This season they set out to increase their Cadet membership by conducting a series of Learn to Sail courses and offering participants membership within the courses. 

River sailing is quite different to "bay" sailing which builds both character and skills. It certainly takes character not to lose it when sailing at 3 knots against a 6-knot tide, or sitting under Hamilton Hill as boats either side of the hill's wind shadow fly along in good wind. However, the river conditions also develop the important skills of being able to read the variations in wind and tide to gain advantage. The upside is that the river courses are more protected than the more open bay courses. We are able to complete races when races on the bay are being cancelled. You are never far from land, which adds to safety, and it's a great place to learn how to sail and commence a lifelong love affair with the lower reaches of Brisbane’s magnificent river.

Sailing classes include: 

• 16ft skiffs
• Lasers - Full Rig and Radial
• Sabots -Training boats
•  RS Quests

Programs on offer include:

• Discover Sailing days 
• Try Sailing
• Learn to Sail 

Events:
BSS has some big events planned in 2021 to mark and celebrate their Centennial year including:

• 100 Year Anniversary Cocktail Party - Saturday 9th June, 2021
• The “Lord Mayor’s Cup” - multi-division Race (notice of Race due out mid-July)  - Saturday 28th August

Annual events include: 

• The “Passed Members Memorial Race” held in February each season (Yardstick Race) 
• The ‘Tugulawa” Cup Race in respect for the Bulimba Area – held in March each season  

The last 12 months have been difficult for all clubs, BSS lost some ability to raise funds during the pandemic and were not able to hire out our clubhouse for functions etc. Under the guidance of their very experienced Treasurer, they navigated through this difficult time and put in place a strategy to carefully manage cash flow.   

With the start of the new sailing season in September, 2020 BSS again had to address issues raised by the requirements under the COVID-19 rules in regards to our sailing day sign on sign off process.   The normal method of nominating for racing had been for years prior to the 2020/21 season based on a manual sign on.   This method would not be possible under the new requirements.    The Committee decided to introduce the “Top Yacht” system for online nominations and race planning and points scoring.  This new system, while somewhat difficult to process has also given a very efficient sign on sign off avenue for competitors. 

The club’s biggest recent success story has been the introduction of the revamped Junior Sailing Program (called Try Sailing) with approx 150 juniors through in past 3 years.   BSS have achieved a new influx of Junior /cadet sailors and their families.    

Click above image to view a video about BSS and its plans for the future 

BSS Vice Commodore, James Laurenson has worked with our Club Coach to establish a formal step by step process from novice sailing through to racing level. This had been very successful and completely accepted by many of those new to sailing.  

In addition to the above, we have navigated our way through a Renewal of a Lease with the Brisbane City Council. The Club has been fortunate in a number of Grant Applications which have assisted us financially to upgrade our clubhouse facilities.  

Current commodore: Jim Sloane