Most interstate teams will arrive on the Monday to Friday before the regatta and generally take the yachts out for training purposes prior to the regatta. Generally, the owner will accompany them to acquaint themselves with the yacht. If you lend your yacht to a local team, they may wish to use the yacht on days when you are not racing, but should be discussed between the owner and the team.
We recommend you speak with your insurance company to confirm whether your policy is adequate enough to lend to crew for the AWKR as no two policies are the same.
Teams come from all over Australia and overseas to compete in the AWKR. These teams come from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels and have often competed in dinghies or keelboat or have recently completed learn to sail courses. Boat owners are supplied with a ‘crew resume’ so they have a good idea of the crew experience.
During the regatta, Boat Buoys will be assigned to assist you boat. It is the role of the BoatBuoys to assist your crew in any way possible during the regatta. Some boat owners like sign up as BoatBuoy with a preference for their helping own boat.
The Boat Buoys are also responsible for working with the owner or as the owner to inspect the boats before and after the regatta for any repairs and maintenance issues.
Unless your yacht is under survey and insured for commercial use, you cannot charge a chartering fee for a team to use the yacht. This would make your recreational insurance invalid, however, we recommend that you speak with your insurance company regarding hiring out your yacht.
We recommend you speak with your insurance company to confirm whether your policy is adequate enough to lend to crew for the AWKR as no two policies are the same.
The Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) is Australia’s premier women’s only sailing regatta and has been hosted by Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron since 1990.
There are currently two divisions at the AWKR. The fleet is split based on Performance Handicap (PHS) which is determined by an unbiased non-RMYS handicapper. Generally speaking the longer boats are in Division 1 and the smaller boats in Division 2.
Contact us or list your name on the AWKR Crew Noticeboard. We will do our best to find you a place on a team.
Most boats are covered for multiple skippers as the insurance cover differs to car insurance policies where drivers must be named. However, this is a generalisation, so we recommend checking the insurance cover with the boat owner.
No. You don’t need to own your own boat, but it’s great if you do. You can either arrange your own boat, or contact us to help you find one. We rely on generous boat owners donating their boats to competing crews, so whilst we take your preferences into consideration when helping you find a boat, there are often compromises that must be made.
There is no overall winner of the AWKR. There is a division 1 winner and a division 2 winner for PHS, AMS and IRC.
Contact us or list your requirements on the AWKR crew noticeboard. There are often women looking to join a crew and we will do our best to help you.
No. Boat owners from around Port Phillip generously donate their boats to the crews competing in the AWKR. Many teams buy their boat owner a regatta polo top and invite them to the Presentation as a thank you.
Yes. Each competitor must have an Australian Sailing number (or National Organisation number affiliated with World Sailing). There are a variety of great yacht clubs on Port Phillip that you can join.
If you don’t want to join a club permanently, you can purchase a Day Pass for the regatta from the RMYS office. Normally $20 per day has been packaged at $50 for the regatta. This cost is additional to the regatta entry fee. Please contact [email protected] for arrangements.
The AWKR is currently a competition for keelboats. All keelboats must reach Category 6 safety standards. A category 6 compliance declaration for the boat must be submitted to the RMYS Sailing Coordinator before race 1 of the regatta. You can download a copy of the category 6 compliance declaration from the RMYS website.
The AWKR Committee in conjunction with RMYS believe that a per person entry fee is the fairest way to encourage participation of all size boats. It doesn’t penalise the small crews and reward the large ones.
$75 entry per person
