KISS Sailors Spring into Action
By Lee Renfree, KISS Founder
Our 2026 KISS Program has now come to a fabulous conclusion. The Rally to QCYC was a great day and the return on Sunday really saw everyone testing their skills in a lively breeze. It’s exciting to know that our 40 graduates are now ready to go their own way and take on other challenges. We are so proud of them and, given some of them were novices coming into the Program, the fact they are getting out there doing their thing is inspiring.
There will be some who continue to sail with their KISS Boat Team. Others are spreading their wings using their new skills in other places. We have KISS Alumni everywhere around Australia and beyond right now, fulfilling their sailing dreams and ticking off Bucket List items.
So, let’s do a little round up. Several KISS sailors are taking part in the Northern Territory Women’s Keelboat Regatta competing in a 3-day sailing extravaganza in spectacular Darwin Harbour where they are making new friends, sharing experiences and enjoying the sunshine.
Again, with Hamilton Island Race Week in full swing, we have KISS Alumni on Cyan Moon with Skipper Wayne Seaward. Wayne is a staunch supporter of the KISS Program. Here he is with his crew. They competed this year in the PHS Monohull Division of the 2026 Gold Coast to Mackay Race. On board was KISS 2024 Alumni Michelle Ruskin.
Cyan Moon, Skipper Wayne Seaward and Crew at the 2026 Gold Coast to Mackay Race.
Other KISS Alumni are bare boat chartering in Greece, cruising around in Italy, racing on Port Phillip Bay or have been taking part in the ORCV Winter Series.
Just goes to show you, if you really want something and put yourself out there amazing things will come to you.
As Carley Wright, KISS 2026 Alumni, writes: “Just a few weeks after completing a fabulous KISS rally to Queenscliff with Marnie and Lou Irving and Cath Hurley on the beautiful Cavarlo, I was lucky enough to find myself heading to Hamilton Island for Race Week - something I had always imagined was reserved for elite (and rich!) sailors. Never did I think I’d be invited to be part of an experienced crew racing a large keelboat. And what made it even better was that seven of our 10-strong crew were women!
The opportunity came about through the KISS program, through long-time KISS supporter Wayne Seaward. Wayne invited me onto Cyan Moon, his racing boat, to sail with his experienced crew to help develop my keelboat skills. That led to an invitation to crew on Cyan Moon in the AWKR, and from that moment I was hooked on the buzz, energy and experience of racing in a regatta.
Hamilton Island Race Week was next level! With 194 boats entered, a couple of thousands of sailors competing and the island completely taken over by more than 8,000 visitors, there was an incredible energy both on and off the water. I won’t forget my nervous energy at the start line each day as we jostled for position in strong winds among a crowded fleet, with screams of “water!”, sails being trimmed, a media helicopter flying so close we could see the pilot, and the occasional whale and calf swimming through the start line. All of this against the spectacular Whitsunday backdrop. What a spectacle! And what an incredible learning experience. Six days of unforgettable sailing - cementing all that I had learnt through the KISS program. Sign me up for another!
Cyan Moon crew strategy meeting, Hamiliton Island Race Week 2026. Photo Credit: Liz Seaward
The moral of this story? Our KISS Sailors are out there making a splash using KISS as a springboard for launching themselves into the sailing world.
