THE Ballaarat Yacht Club kicked off the new sailing season with a bang – literally.
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With the yank of a string, a cannon was fired off the jetty out the back of Sails on the Lake on Saturday afternoon, a ritual that takes place at the beginning of each season.
About 60 people turned out to the opening, which was held in sunny, but gusty conditions – perfect for sailing.
Vice-commodore Lesley Davies said the club was moving in the right direction following almost a decade of drought.
“It’s just fantastic to be back. Since the drought in 2003, we were without water for almost eight years and we had 350 members at that stage,” she said.
“Then we were down to very few, but now we’re back up to about 150.
“We’ve lost all our juniors, that’s the problem, and we need to start again.
“But we’ve got a lot of developmental programs in place to start getting the juniors back, because they’re the lifeblood of the club.”
Davies said the club was hoping to build its membership back up to about 350.
City of Ballarat director for growth and development Eric Braslis officially opened the sailing season.