Summer has begun, with wild weather across the country and the Summer regattas are definitely in full swing. I hope everyone is safe, especially with the flooding in Queensland!
With the Sail Downunder Series over, inclusive of the three regattas; Sail Brisbane, Sail Sydney and Sail Melbourne, I now have a week’s break over Christmas time until the Laser Nationals begin on the 29th of December. It has been great to get back into the racing, and generally spending time in the boat. Since being over in Scotland for the World Championships, my school commitments and workload, as most know well, has taken hold of my time ultimately. So it has been a good feeling to be able to devote my undivided attention just to my sailing and racing.
Being held out of my home club the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Sail Brisbane was a good place to start. During the event, mass amounts of torrential rain and diverse wind conditions made for an interesting racing environment, with the laser course area already placed under Green Island. I placed 8th overall and 2nd Woman to Claire Blom from the Netherlands.
In Sydney, with my coach Mike ‘Fletch’ Fletcher and the other Australian Laser Radial girls, we have begun a good relationship working in with Claire. Sydney is always an interesting place, and with so many variables affecting the race course, this means there is often a lot to get one’s head around. I had some good racing, where a few races I led with the top pack for all or major parts of races. However on a few occasions lost places by being on the wrong side of the wind as it shifted up a work. Again, I finished 8th woman, as the Radial Women and Men raced separately in Sail Sydney. My fleet positioning was the biggest area of work which was highlighted at both Sail Brisbane and Sail Sydney, and therefore was to become a primary focus coming into Sail Melbourne.
Sail Melbourne the first leg of the ISAF World Cup was loaded with internationals, and had the same kind of competitive feel as a “Worlds”. The regatta was mainly light to medium gradient winds, which meant using good observation skills and being an opportunist was extremely important. Melbourne also presented a wild thunderstorm, where the start boats measured up to 45 knots as boats on all courses struggled to stay upright. I finished 3rd Australian and 28th overall. Therefore with such interesting racing and a high quality fleet I’m eager to compete in the second round of the world cup: Miami OCR, in the USA. This event is to be held in late January. Read more…
By Ian Grant.
Rod Jones will face a busy schedule in January when he attempts to helm Alegria IV to win the Sail Paradise IRC championship on the Gold Coast before heading to Melbourne for the International Audi Docklands SB3 Sports boat series.
The Sunshine Coast Ocean racer Alegria IV basically still had the boat yard dust in her bilge when her skipper and crew became the star performers in the 348 n/ml Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel race last August.
It was the maiden race for the exciting new sloop and while her crew admitted to the experience being a new learning curve it proved that the two times Audi IRC class sailing champions promise to again set the pace in major offshore races in 2011.
The Gold Coast regatta next month will be their first short course regatta and their results will be watched with interest with Alegria IV promising to become faster as the crew come to terms with adjusting to the important understanding of her speed sailing potential in all wind velocities.
Racing off the Gold Coast can become tricky however both skipper and crew sailed in similar conditions before to win two Audi Australian championships in radically different designed yachts.
Meanwhile skipper Rod Jones has temporarily handed over the helm of his SB3 sports boat Club Marine Blue to Laser class Olympian and seven times World champion Glenn Bourke. Read more…
By Ian Grant.
Australian ocean racing history will again be challenged when the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet set sail over the physically demanding 628 n/ml rhumbline on Boxing Day.
The fleet of 90 entrants represent the best of the best including the 2010 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week champion the Michael Hiatt skippered Living Doll and Steven Ainsworth’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and overall 2010 Audi Australian IRC Champion Loki.
Both crews who were the star performers on the warm tropical waters are expecting to face another physical test of tactical skill and endurance to log the fastest corrected handicap on the cold and inhospitable Tasman Sea the notorious Storm Bay and the unpredictable River Derwent.
Every nautical mile from the start in a crowded Sydney Harbour to the finish line off Battery Point presents many hidden challenges and a high work rate of sail changing and tactical strategy.
The expected forecast of a freshening sea breeze will allow the fleet to set spinnakers when they weather South Head which will suit the Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Leo Rodriguez and the crew of Merit in their bid to win the Performance Handicap class trophy. Read more…
Upset in the medal race of the 49er class
The first ISAF Sailing World Cup event Sail Melbourne has finally come to a close for 2010. International and statewide competitors dealt with some of the most challenging conditions possible, and the Queensland Sailing Team (QST) was successful in a number of classes.
Sail Melbourne has always been an event that attracts hundreds of competitors from various states and nations. The regatta host, the Sandringham Yacht Club once again did an excellent job in dealing with the large fleets and extremely close racing.
After three days of challenging circumstances with extremely light wind to an abandoned third day, Sail Melbourne has had its fair share of varying conditions. For day 4, sailors were met with another light breeze at around 5 – 10knots that faded in and out throughout the day. This caused difficulties for race committees across the different courses. However the breeze stayed in for the afternoon at a steadier 5 knots.
In the 420 class, Queenslanders Eloise Brake and Jamie Ryan led again after three days of consistent racing. With a 2,2 and a 1 to wrap up day 4, the Queensland pairing have a big lead of 10 points over rival women’s team Carrie Smith and Ella Clark from Western Australia. With a second in Sail Brisbane and a third in Sail Sydney, the girls are hoping for a win in their final regatta of the 2010 SailDownUnder circuit.
By Ian Grant.
Glenn Ashby has proved that learning to sail on the muddy and often dry lake Eppalock in country Victoria become his career benchmark to be now recognized as an international authority in catamaran racing.
After initially ‘learning the ropes’ in the monohull Northbridge Junior and Sabre classes the enthusiastic and modest 18 year old boy from Bendigo first stepped into the highly competitive A Class Catamaran racing arena at the 1996 World championship in Spain.
He was hardly given a chance by his more experienced rivals when the high-tech sails were tensioned for the first race but after a week of intense tactical racing the teenager from country Victorian was crowned as the World champion after the final.
At the time he said “It was the most unbelievable and euphoric feeling”.
However success for the professional sailmaker who heads the successful Ashby Sails loft has continued on with Glenn Ashby winning his 14th World catamaran sailing championship on the Adriatic Sea earlier this year.
The seven time World A Class champion who also recently coached Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle crew to win the Americas Cup will test his personal strategy in the 2010-11 Orange Power Australian championship over the Lake Cootharaba Sailing club course from January 1-7. Read more…
The second day of Sail Melbourne saw a light breeze that made for shifty racing. All athletes were happy to get through a solid patch of racing today. After three races Queensland Sailing Team members were successful across the different classes.In the 420 class Eloise Brake and Jamie Ryan had three wins to put them in the lead overall. Brake commented that “It was better wind today, still very light but it made for good racing”. The women’s pairing has been dominating 420 racing, after a European circuit and training with partners Angus Galloway and Alex Gough. In the high performance 29er class, leaders on day two are NSW team Byron White and Ashlen Rooklyn. However Queensland pairing of Franklin and Brake (2nd in Sail Brisbane and 2nd in Sail Sydney) sit in 4th position with some relatively consistent racing.
The second day of Sail Melbourne saw a light breeze that made for shifty racing. All athletes were happy to get through a solid patch of racing today. After three races Queensland Sailing Team members were successful across the different classes.
In the 420 class Eloise Brake and Jamie Ryan had three wins to put them in the lead overall. Brake commented that “It was better wind today, still very light but it made for good racing”. The women’s pairing has been dominating 420 racing, after a European circuit and training with partners Angus Galloway and Alex Gough. In the high performance 29er class, leaders on day two are NSW team Byron White and Ashlen Rooklyn. However Queensland pairing of Franklin and Brake (2nd in Sail Brisbane and 2nd in Sail Sydney) sit in 4th position with some relatively consistent racing.
Sail4Palsy left Townsville today. Two caper cats (one from Townsville and one from Brisbane) and a larger cat from Cairns.
Checkout the video clip and endorsement from Jesse Martin at http://www.sail4palsy.org/
For the timetable see http://www.sail4palsy.org/sailweek
Day one was Townsville to Rollingstone. Day Two is to Lucinda and Day 3 is to Cardwell. On Thursday they sail into Mission Beach
Activities at Mission: Staying at Big 4 Caravan Park at South Mission. Will be Fundraising at Woolworths Complex in South Mission
Depart Mission for Bramston Beach Friday morning. Please spread the word to sailors at Mission Beach to go and check it out. They have a large road support unit also.
Friday Mission to Brampston Beach and Saturday to Cairns. It would be a great activity if some boats went out to escort them in.
Saturday 18th December Sailing from Bramston Beach to Cairns
Activities: Fundraising at the Ruty’s Markets on Saturday, BBQ fundraising on Sunday Midday on Cairns Esplanade
This is an event that links us all.
Regards,
John Byrne
Townsville
The first day of the notorious Sail Melbourne regatta saw light and glassy conditions that made it extremely difficult for race management to co – ordinate racing, across the multitude of courses.
Sail Melbourne has become renowned amongst the international sailing community. The ISAF Sailing World Cup – Sail Melbourne event is not just about the sailing. Fashion, fun and summer spirit are incorporated across all aspects of Sail Melbourne, making the regatta an exciting addition to Melbourne’s summer events calendar.