Sailing club at Nui Dat DPR/TV/1435

Sailing has now been added to the already numerous recreational facilities for soldiers serving at the 1st Australian Task Force Headquarters at Nui Dat in South Vietnam. A club was officially formed in July, under president Major Phillip Kudnig of Canberra, ACT, and has 30 members, who sail each Sunday on a lake within the Task Force Area. The Club has four Sailfish yachts, which are small one-man craft ideal for the conditions and the relatively small water area. When the Royal Australian Air Force's Canberra Squadron withdrew from Vietnam they donated the yachts to the club. Major Kudnig, a former member of Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron in Victoria, accompanied by other experienced soldiers, gives new members, who have not sailed before, instruction on the Sailfish. The club aims to provide limited competitive sailing and recreational sailing for all members of 1 ATF. The Clubhouse and flag mast were built by members of 1 Field Squadron in spare time, and a punt with an outboard motor acts as a safety craft. Races are sailed around a triangular course and competitors have to contend with variable winds and unusual sailing conditions. Helicopters passing low overhead provide extremely variable winds and the noise of Centurion tanks being cleaned on the lake's edges add to the distractions.