Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club Division 1 Handicap Aggregate Champion 2026
I have been sailing as crew on the Couta Boat ‘Zephyr’ (meaning a gentle West wind from the ancient god Zephyrus) for many years – owned by Richard Martin (Club Captain of SSCBC), Kim and Michael Paynter.
This year, the boat was awarded the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club Division 1 Handicap Aggregate Champion for 2026!
The boat Zephyr has won a total of five times in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2025 and 2026.
The winning crew for 2026 was Liz Keep, Michael Paynter (Skipper), Richard Martin, Peter Buckingham, Kim Paynter and David Briggs.
Sailing Couta Boats is like driving a classic car. No power winches, no electric motors, just a pulley system on the sheets (ropes to pull in the sails) and a lot of sweat and hard work.
A boat like Zephyr weighs around 5 tons and has around 2 – 3 tonnes of lead in her keel to keep her upright. In most races we have a crew of 5 – 7 people.
Couta boats were around in the mid 1800’s and used to go fishing for barracouta fish, and then race back to the markets to sell the fish – the quicker you arrived, the higher the price you received for your fish.
The Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club (SSCBC) is the largest club (by membership) on Port Phillip Bay.
Each year the summer racing season concludes in May, and the results of the Division 1 Handicap Aggregate event is decided.
This year Zephyr was the winner and actually went “Back-to-Back” in defending their title from last year (2025).
For more information (and some extra photos) about how I relate sailing to business, read:
Lessons from sailing to help your SME tack toward success
Inside Small Business
https://insidesmallbusiness.com.au/people-hr/leadership/lessons-from-sailing-to-help-your-sme-tack-toward-success
Sailing and Franchising Both require planning, technique and patience to win the Championship
Business Franchise Magazine Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 64 – 65
https://issuu.com/cgbpublishing/docs/business_franchise_magazine_20_2-2026
https://www.businessfranchiseaustralia.com.au/expert-advice/sailing-and-franchising
Sailing and Franchising
Franchise Asia
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/57539755/franchise-asia-oct-2016
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