youth champs - lake cootharaba
The 2009 Youth Titles for the Hobie 16 class on Lake Cootharaba on the Sunshine Coast saw 8 teams competing in moderate to fresh winds and testing conditions over the weekend. Consistent 15 to 20 knot North Easterlies greeted the Hobie 16 sailors for the first day of racing. Competitors aged 21 and under had travelled from Rockhampton’s Keppel Bay, Bunderberg, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane for this two day state championships. Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club, a great sailing venue is renowned for its sandy beach and yellow tinged shallow waters.
Race One, Two and Three on the first day were won by Andrew Gough (16 years) and Jackson Grant (15 years) from RQYS and members of the Yachting Queensland high performance squad. Conditions on the second day of sailing saw more blue skies but lighter gradient winds with a 10 o’clock start. However winds strengthened to 25 knots as the afternoon sea breeze kicked in during the next two races.
After the six race series in winds from 10-25 knots this year’s winners were Andrew Gough and Jackson Grant. The boys said they were very pleased with their first time on the lake, the opportunity to try tactics against good competition and their first state level win in the Hobie 16 class. Second place went to Brendan Effaney and his crew Nick Sommerfeld from Keppel Bay sailing club with third place getters, Bruce Woodward and Gemma Potter.