Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club (NYRC) has long been active in supporting local juniors to discover the sport of sailing and opportunities the boating and maritime industries offer.
Here are two recent success stories of a brother and sister duo.
Darcy Mair
Leaving school in Year 9, Darcy was offered a school-based traineeship in sport and recreation by NYRC. The NYRC program was aimed at youth development while acknowledging the benefits of maritime activities for the development of young people.
NYRC not only supported Darcy during the traineeship but continued to do so after he completed his Certificate IV, with senior members of the club, including Commodore Grenville Snowden, Vice Commodore Brian Knots, club legend Jan and Blazer sailor Chris Annear providing ongoing mentoring. Darcy developed into an active sailor and club volunteer during this period.
With the support of the NYRC, Darcy secured a 12-month cadetship on the STS Leeuwin, a tall ship operating out of Fremantle, WA. At the age of 17 Darcy moved to WA and took up residence on a yacht at the Freemantle Sailing Club for his cadetship with the Leeuwin Foundation, a unique combination of fully-funded study, on-the-job training and work experience with maritime operators in Fremantle which allowed Darcy to obtain his Master Near Coastal and Marine Engine Driver (MED3) qualification.
Wanting to pursue a career at sea, Darcy then obtained a Deck Cadetship with MMA Offshore. He completed his college studies as Deck Watchkeeper and is currently at sea on the MMA Brewster, providing drilling, commissioning and operational support to INPEX’s offshore facilities in the Ichthys Gas Field, Timor Sea.
After completing his sea time, Darcy’s qualifications will allow him to obtain the position as second mate on foreign-going ships.
Seisia Mair
NYRC and Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club (LCSC) sailor Seisia is off to Europe this month to continue her 29-er campaign. Seisia is a current member of the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) Sailing Program and will be representing the QAS as part of the Australian team.
Seisia started sailing at NYRC at age four where she completed the Tackers course and then raced sabots, before moving to lasers and then the 29-er. She is the current 29-er state champion and can often been seen sailing her waszp at Lake Cootharaba.
She will compete at Kiel Week, Germany (the world’s largest regatta) and the European Championships in Denmark with Stella Hurley of Hunters Hill Sailing Club before heading to El Balis, Spain for the World Championships where she will sail with George Elms from South of Perth Sailing Club against the boys in the open fleet.
Seisia campaigned in Europe pre-Covid and finished fourth in the female youth division at the European Championship in Lake Garda, Italy.
She also competed pre-Covid in the SB20 worlds with Olympic laser sailor Mara Stanskey. She will campaign her 49er fx (the Olympic skiff) after returning from Europe this year.
