Marine services in Avalon

Sailing club

Australian Sailing's judges made an unusual call at the 2025 awards: their national Club of the Year had no clubhouse, no marina and no fixed race course. Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project is a mobile, veteran-led club that exists to put current and former defence force members — and their families — onto the water for the sake of their wellbeing. Founded by Manly couple Scott and Jen Reynolds, it began in 2017 with Scott, fresh from an 18-year Navy career, and three veteran mates who had never sailed, racing under the name "Four Men in a Boat". The insight was simple and has held up: the teamwork, purpose and controlled adventure of sailing map closely onto the camaraderie of military life, and time afloat eases the transition into civilian communities. Participants — known as Salties — now number in the thousands. The project facilitated more than 1,200 sailing registrations in the year to mid-2025 and puts 80 to 100 veterans on the water each month across communities in Sydney, Newcastle, Nowra, Adelaide, Perth and Mooloolaba, with Melbourne next on the chart. Eligibility extends to current and former ADF members, allied-nation veterans and their families, with particular atte