THE Portland Yacht Club hosted a contingent of about 80 sailors from across Victoria and South Australia on the weekend as part of the Western Region Regatta 2023.

A number of local and out of town competitors hit the water with the events kicking off on Friday night with the Port Fairy to Portland keelboat race which was taken out by Chris Hannan who earned line honours with a race time of 3 hours and 42 minutes.

While wind presented a challenge for Saturday racing, there was still some impressive contests beginning and ending in the harbour.

Warrnambool racer Jon Goodall won the division two section aboard TGIS.

Portland competitors had some success in division three with Rod Barker finishing second and Jess Hein finishing third behind first place finisher Brian Case from St Leonards Sailing Club.

In division four it was Matt Harper aboard Liquid Limo who earned first place.

For three Portland sailors, the regatta held special significance with Leigh and Cooper Hein, a father-son duo, using the regatta to prepare for the World Championships this summer. Sailing their Foiling Waszp's at the World Championship in Sorrento this December, they have been honing their skills for the global competition.

Barker is also in preparation for the upcoming Fireball World Championships set to take place in Geelong in February.

The Portland Yacht Club has plenty of action ahead this summer after securing the VX One State Championships for next February, promising thrilling competition with this exciting class of boat.

Then the Admella Cup match racing event, where sailors will use the club's new SB20 for a match racing tournament where once again sailors from across the state will come to compete for the historic Admella Porthole Trophy.