Marine services in Sunshine

Sailing club

Sunshine is a small settlement at the southern, quieter end of Lake Macquarie, and its sailing club matches the postcode: a family-friendly outfit run by members for members, staffed entirely by volunteers, and priced deliberately low so that, as the club puts it, as many locals as possible can come and enjoy the lake. South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club has been operating since 1948, and it has never pretended to be anything grander than a community club with a balcony, a canteen and a good stretch of water out the front. Yet this little club routinely hosts events that would stretch organisations ten times its size. The NSW/ACT Laser State Masters have come to Sunshine repeatedly — one edition attracted 131 Lasers split between 59 Radials and 72 Standards, with three current and five former Laser World Masters champions in the fleet — and another running put 107 sailors across three ILCA divisions. In January 2026 the club ran the 56th International Contender Australian National Championship, getting all ten scheduled races away and watching reigning world champion Mark Bulka take the title. Visiting sailors have singled out both the race management and the catering volunt