London – 28 September 2010: The world’s leading sailors will be fighting for precious points at The Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda, with next week’s match race representing the last chance saloon for skippers to move up the leaderboard ahead of the the ISAF World Match Racing Tour’s season ending finale – The Monsoon Cup in December. Racing for the Argo Group Gold Cup starts October 5 and concludes October 11 at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
The Argo Group Gold Cup is the eighth event of the WMRT season and invites to the final Tour event, the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, are only guaranteed to the top six teams in the year’s points table. With both the Tour Championship and the ISAF Match Racing Championship that rides with it still hanging in the balance the battle for points in Bermuda this year is sure to be even more fierce than usual. Read more…
By Ian Grant.
Veteran Mooloolaba Yacht Club Ocean racing skipper Bob Robertson has officially ended his personal and expensive challenge to add a Rolex Sydney Hobart victory to his impressive career.
The proud Queensland ‘Blue Water’ sailor known among his peers as Sir Robbo of Queensland for his support of representing the State in what is regarded as the toughest 628 n/ml race on the International sailing circuit has focused his attention on re-establishing Mooloolaba as a major regatta venue.
Bob Robertson can proudly rest on his laurels having proved his tenacious attitude with a career which includes a third in the Rolex Sydney Hobart plus two wins in the Brisbane to Gladstone race and a Performance Handicap trophy success in the 2009 Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Race.
This is a performance that any sailor would be proud of and Bob Robertson is no different. Read more…
It was when Angus Galloway and Alex Gough were sailing in after the last race, on the last day of the 2010 ISAF Youth World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey that the enormity of what had just happened struck. ‘I was near to tears, so sad that the Australian Flag would not fly high and that we would not take a spot on the podium’ reflected Gough.
Skipper Angus Galloway commented on the impact of the broken vang in the second start of the last race. ‘We learnt so much especially about boat setup and what we need to do to be a medal contender next time which is July 2011 cause we are going to compete again’.
They had been so close in their first major international 420 competition but as many would say ‘that’s sailing’. In a way it was harder because over the nine days of the competition they had been in the top group and went into the last race in an unbelievable second position.
By Ian Grant.
Whitsunday Sailing Club continues to play an important role in providing local children with the opportunity to ‘learn the ropes’ with special sail training courses on Pioneer Bay.
The modern Yachting Australia accredited sail training centre is now regarded among the most advanced in Queensland.
Besides offering the fun program of Try Sailing courses for children the modern Marine Training Centre which includes a ship bridge simulator has been recently accepted to conduct courses for the International recognised STCW-95 certificate.
This is a reward for the progressive Whitsunday Sailing Club executive who besides providing the first step into a sailing career now offers an important education program for individuals to expand their careers onto the World stage in the commercial marine industry.
WSC Flag Officer and Life Member Jim Hayes who has personally committed endless hours towards building the training facility into one of the best in Australia believes there is more important work to be done.
“The Sailing Club is in the business to provide the Australian marine industry with important education programs besides maintaining our special fun sailing introductory courses for first time sailors”. He Said. Read more…
Olympian Laura Baldwin has joined the coaching panel for Noosa Yacht & Rowing Club’s Junior and Youth Laser Identification and Development Camp on the weekend of the 22nd – 24th October.
The live in camp had been designed as a training camp for all Junior and Youth 4.7 and radial Laser sailors and Yachting Queensland has approved the camp as part of the YQ Identification and Development program. This camp is great for both the sailors who have recently started or who have come up from another class. Participants stay at the Sea Scouts Bunkhouse just minutes away from the club house.
Laura Baldwin represented Great Britain at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the Europe class before switching to Laser Radial with 20 top 10 results at ISAF Grade One events with 2 x Gold, 5 x Silver and 4 x Bronze medals earning her #2 ISAF World Ranking. Laura after moving to Australia is the current 2010 Australian Women’s Laser Champion and has been re-elected as Laser Radial Class Rep on the ISAF Athletes Commission.
“I’m really looking forward to the camp, I love sharing my passion and skills with others and I’m excited to visit Noosa for the first time too”, Laura told.
Laura is able to attend with the support of Performance Sailcraft Australasia who supply the Laser in Australia.
Noosa Rescue Boat
Last year you were all kind enough to offer letters of support in relation to a funding application that NYRC Youthsail was preparing to hopefully obtain a Government grant for a new rescue boat.
I am happy to announce that Youthsail was successful in obtaining a grant from the Queensland Governments ‘Department of Communities’ and the rescue boat arrived a few weeks ago.
Please accept our sincere thanks for offering all your support as I am sure we would not have been successful without the many letters of support that we received.
The new rescue boat has been a fantastic addition to the fleet and the added safety the kids receive through the club having a soft sided rescue vessel has already been well experienced.
Once again, thankyou from all of us at NYRC Youthsail.
Kind regards
Paul Blundell
Sailing Coordinator
Yachting Australia Instructor
Powerboat & Safety Boat Senior Instructor
Noosa Yacht & Rowing Club
NYRC Youthsail - 2010 Australian Yachting Awards Finalist
Phone: (07) 5440-7407
Mobile: 0414-522-295
By Ian Grant.
Audi Sunshine Coast Girls SB3 Sports boat sailing team have a plan in place to win a medal when the World championship is decided at Hamilton Island in 2012.
Sailing in a World championship in their home State has provided a new incentive for Mooloolaba skipper Lauren Calder who has already represented Australia in the SB3 series.
Her crew the only all female combination currently racing in the class in Australia have already shown that they can share the sailing space with their male rivals.
But skipper Lauren Calder is the first to admit that the next 26 months will be crucial to their plan of being on the pace in the medal race on December 20 2012.
Meanwhile the Audi Sunshine Coast Girls crew who recently contested the Wild Oats trophy series as a separate event in the International standard Audi Hamilton Island Race Week have already entered the regatta dates for the 2011 and 2012 Wild Oats championships in their dairies.
As expected the acceptance of the international standard venue to host the championship from December 13-20 2012 which was announced by class officials in Europe earlier this week has attracted worldwide interest. Read more…
Whitsunday Club House
By Ian Grant.
Whitsunday Sailing Club courses on beautiful Pioneer Bay promise to provide another test of tactical sailing skill when they host the 42nd Australian Corsair dinghy championship.
The eight race National Championship opens with the traditional Invitation Race on Sunday September 26th and concludes with the final and official presentation at the Whitsunday Sailing Club on October 1st.
There is a strong indication that all crews including the local veterans Bruce Carter and Jim Haynes will need to bring their moderate to fresh wind sailing skill out to play with the promise of a sea breeze forecast.
However the Carter/Hayes Corsair class sailing team who finished with the Silver Medal at Sandgate in 2008 followed with a 4th at Budgewoi in 2009 could become the combination to watch when the final of the medal races are decided on their home club course on October 1st. Read more…
September 3, 2010 MSC/O01/10
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High performance coaches from Australia and New Zealand will meet at Maroochy Sailing Club this weekend (September 3-5) to conduct Yachting Queensland’s second ever ‘Identification and Development Program’. The decision to take this camp to Maroochydore follows the small club’s bold initiative to purchase a container load of 19 Optimist dinghies from China. Junior membership has exploded since the shipment arrived last month.
Forty children from as far a field as Southport Yacht Club and the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron will benefit from top-level instruction this weekend. Adrian Finglas, Australian Olympic Programme Coach, currently with the Queensland Academy of Sport, will join Martin Watson (AIS scholarship coach), Scott McInally and Tim Edwards who, between them, offer 80 years of international coaching/racing experience. Read more…
By Ian Grant.
Rod Jones will hang his ‘Sou Wester’ out to dry and will use his frequent flyer points during a tour of inspection for possible venues to host the 2011 SB3 World championship.
Naturally the dual Audi Australian IRC champion Sunshine Coast skipper who introduced the strict one-design SB3 Dart sports boat into Australia has a tough decision to make.
However he is confident that the chosen venue will be the perfect choice to host the first SB3 World championship to be held outside Europe.
He has contested the World Olympic Tornado and World Etchells championships off Mooloolaba and has a good understanding on what the Sunshine Coast destination has to offer. Read more…