Women's Helm, Navigator & Radio Operator Race (WHNR) & Return Sprint (WRS)
| Ocean Race distance: | 26 nautical miles |
| Safety Category: | 5 |
| Start Location: | Royal Brighton Yacht Club |
| Start Time: | TBA |
| Start Date: | 26 July 2025 |
| Race Record: | GUSTO (Ash Taylor) 4:19:56 (2015) |
Competitor’s Guide how to Enter a Keel Boat Sailing Event
The ORCV Women's Helm, Navigator & Radio Operator Race returns in 2025 by popular demand. The inception of the WHNR race in September 2013, in recognition of the skills and passion of women participating in ocean races and other interclub events in Port Phillip, provided them the opportunity to take up lead roles in a dedicated event to showcase their skills. Initially added to the Winter Series event, as the Geelong to Melbourne (G2M) return race, the WHNR was contested annually to 2019, before the Covid years disrupted sailing. In recent years, the Winter Series return races from Blairgowrie and Geelong now constitute the Novice Return Series (NRS).
In 2025, the reinstated WHNR is now a stand alone passage event to be run on 26 July with QCYC as the destination club. A revamp of the event, will see two divisions, Racing and Cruising, with the latter to recognise the increasing number of women becoming involved with the ORCV with the move of the KISS (Keelboat Introduction to Sailing Savvy) program formally to ORCV Training. The Racing Division will attract more experienced sailors whilst the Cruising Division will encourage newly graduated KISS alumni, less experienced women or those who prefer cruising.
An additional opportunity exists for a return race from QCYC to boats’ home clubs on Sunday 27 July to maximise the opportunity for all women to actively participate across a variety of roles.
The reintroduction of the WHNR in 2025, aligns strongly with the International Women’s Day 2025 theme to @accelerateaction. Initiatives to see more women on the water more often will build a community of passionate skilled women sailors, ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion across clubs and the sport of sailing.
We are calling for boat owners and skippers to offer their boat for this race and we will match you and your boat with crew. Please use the Expression of Interest form and enter your boat via TopYacht.
If you are a female sailor looking for a boat to sail on please let us know via the Expression of Interest form.
If you already have a boat with a appropriate crew, please enter the race through TopYacht.
Provisonal Program and Information:
| Date | Information | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 16 July |
Race Planning and Sailing Instructions review. 8-9pm |
Online | |
| Thursday 24 July | Weather briefing. 8-9pm Teams meeting link will be sent to all crew before the meeting |
Online | |
| Friday 25 July |
Pre-race Overnight berthing. |
RBYC | |
| Saturday 26 July |
Women's Helm, Navigator & Radio Operator Race |
ORCV (RBYC start) |
|
| Saturday 26 July |
Berthing: Rafting up on QCYC wharf. Clubhouse is on Sand Island, separate from main town. Fireplace will be ablaze on arrival. Crew & visitors must be accommodated overnight on boats. Cars can remain on the island overnight. Presentation: 1730 hrs at the Clubhouse Bar: opens after the Race Car access: Controlled by Dept of defence Checkpoint 1. Open 7am-7pm. All visitors must carry photo ID. No access to Queenscliff town out of hours. No foot traffic allowed on the Causeway or the Swan Bay bridge. |
QCYC | |
| Sunday 27 July |
Women's Return Sprint. 0900 Queenscliff to ~1430 finish lines in the vicinity of home clubs |
QCYC start | |
