By Ian Grant.
Noosa River sailor Kai Timm regarded by many of his SB3 Dart sports boat rivals as the ‘gentleman skipper’ with a polite and well mannered attitude will have this reputation tested on Geelong’s Corio Bay this weekend.
Timm a Yachting Australia accredited sailing coach who has been responsible for introducing sailing to numerous Sunshine Coast Primary and Secondary school students will need to revisit the tactical one-design racing text book when he helms OceanBuro in the Audi Victoria Race Week class championship series.
His Queensland championship win during the Yachting Queensland International Sail Brisbane regatta showed a defiant attitude to protect his right to race in clear space but that will be challenged when the national championship standard fleet square off for what promised to be the most exciting class clash over the tactically demanding Royal Geelong Yacht Club courses.
Kai Timm is ready to go to war and he understands that he will become embroiled in a tactical ‘dogfight’ when he and crew line up against the nation’s best one-design racing crews to sort the best from the rest.
He faces a supreme test to match the skill and form of local Corio Bay skipper Brendan Garner who was among the pacesetters in 2008 and 2009.
But Timm who represented Australia at the 2009 SB3 Dart World championship in Portugal is tactically tougher and faster while also gaining further benefit from the tight racing in the Queensland championship against former Australian 505 champion Phil Gray.
However while the pre-championship results suggest the Oceanburo crew are now more experienced and faster they are sensibly not making any predictions on the result.
Skipper Kai Tim was delighted to win his first major (Queensland championship) “Yes it was a nice feeling but that is now history”. He said.
Kai Timm has to back his State championship Gold Medal with another medal result in the Audi Victoria Race Week to remain as a threat when the high class fleet assemble at Port Stephens to compete for the Audi SB3 Australian championships in mid-April.
Sure pre-regatta results are important but the strict nature of racing in this clone class sports boat which offers all crews with a chance to win off the start line can change seconds after the start signal.
Human element related errors with race strategy and slightest blemish in creating an efficient sail shape can mean the difference between winning and finishing back in the pack.
It’s a challenge of mind games often referred as aquatic chess where the smart thinkers succeed while the not so smart skippers, tacticians and crews are embarrassingly ‘crowned’ and eliminated.
Naturally local knowledge will favour Brendan Garner but he too like the Sunshine Coast Oceanburo crew will be under intense pressure to maintain an error free racing technique and tactical strategy to master the weather elements on Corio Bay before facing another mind bending test in the more important Audi National title regatta at Port Stephens.