Sport
1 March, 2024
Club hit hard by algae blooms
REGULAR outbreaks of blue green algae have had a devastating effect on the 2023/24 season for the Derrinallum Yacht and Power Boat Club.
As their season draws to a close, Derrinallum members are now reflecting on the “season that wasn’t”.
While they are now finally able to get back on the water, and are hoping for no more algae blooms in the next few weeks, the club was again forced to cancel its annual classic regatta which had been re-scheduled for February.
“The regatta was originally set for early last December but algae forced us to move it to February,” club Commodore Phil Noone said.
“And then another algae outbreak occurred and we had to cancel it last month as well which was another devastating blow for our club.”
According to Mr Noone, outbreaks of blue green algae have been a regular occurrence at the lake since last November.
“This has literally decimated the club; by this time of year we would have had 28 pennant races in our results book but we’ve only managed four races,” he said.
“This not only impacts our sailors and families but, financially, it has a big impact on our club – we still have the usual accounts for insurance and affiliation fees but no generated income over the season.”
The club committee will meet shortly to discuss an action plan in an attempt to recover the financial losses sustained this season.
“If our lake stays clean, we will be able to host match racing over the next couple of weeks and fine-tune our skills in the lead up to our Yachting Western Victoria Easter regatta at Lake Bullen Merri,” Mr Noone said.