By Ian Grant.
The open water sailing course on Brisbane’s Waterloo Bay could become a ‘Torture Track’ when Sunshine Coast Laser sailors defend their International Sail Brisbane championships starting on Monday.
During the past week the predominately shallow water course has been whipped into a frenzy of white water by muscle testing south east trade winds.
According to the weather bureau the fleet headed by Noosa’s Queensland Olympic Laser champion are heading into a fresh wind series to decide the Yachting Queensland Sail Brisbane champion for 2010.
As expected Ryan Palk who completed an impressive debut on his first major tour of Europe earlier this year remains as the favourite to defend his title.
Palk who spends endless hours with long training sessions on the Noosa River has been reported to have refined his wave steering technique with ‘surfing’ the waves on the Noosa River Bar.
However Ryan Palk an Australian Olympic squad skipper will need to re adjust his helming skill to maintain his championship winning form if the strong winds continue to create the notorious ‘Waterloo Slop’ the name selected for the confused white crested seaway which always manages to sort the best from the rest.
His Queensland championship win at the same venue earlier this year will provide him with the valuable experience to cover his International rivals Guillaume Girod (Switzerland) and Atsushi Igarashi (Japan) who like Ryan Palk have focused their career on representing at a future Olympic regatta.
Promising Sunshine Coast teenager Mitchell Kennedy will face a similar test of personal endurance and tactical strategy when he defends his Laser Radial class championship against a very strong fleet including 2010 Volvo World Youth championship team member Ben Franklin of Brisbane.
Ben Franklin like Mitchell Kennedy has continued to mature and having the advantage of racing in the World Youth championship combined with the racing experience of contesting the title on his preferred home club course promises to ‘mix it up’ with Kennedy as his tactical target.
Mitchell who normally has a quick check on how his younger sister Madison is placed in her races in the equally competitive Laser 4.7 class could become far too involved with his match race against Ben Franklin to take a quick peek on Madison’s duel with the older Jacqueline van Soest.
While Ryan Palk remains as the favourite to win the open Olympic class Laser title both the Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 championships will almost certainly be decided in the final metres of the last race.
However Mitchell Kennedy who won his first major medal in the 2009 Sail Brisbane regatta would like to relive that feeling but he faces an equally gifted challenger in Ben Franklin who is determined to protect his ranking as the Australian Youth champion.
Both class clashes between Mitchell Kennedy and Ben Franklin, Madison Kennedy and Jacqueline van Soest promise to be the highlights of 2010 The Sail Brisbane when the final medal races are decided next Thursday.