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.
The master tactician will contest the Audi Docklands SB3 series with the versatile Sunshine Coast sailors Sean O’Rourke and Greg MacAllansmith who are well adjusted to proving their skill in the intense one-design SB3 class format.
Rod Jones will become the ‘shore manager’ and voluntary coach however the crew with the class of Glenn Bourke on the ‘steering stick’ promise to present a strong challenge.
This will be an important regatta for the trio who are headed to become equally intense rivals when the World SB3 championship is decided at Hamilton Island in December 2012.
Glenn Bourke who leads a busy business career as the CEO of Hamilton Island has already ordered his championship challenger.
But meanwhile he remains tactically focused on matching the skills of his fleet rivals when they go head to head for the 2010 Audi DocklandsSB3 class trophy on January 20-21.
The high quality group of rivals include English helmsman Jono Shelley who already has an impressive list of success winning the past three Australian championships.
Shelley will again be a front runner sharing the pre-regatta ‘pecking order’ with Tasmania’s Dragon Class World champion Nick Rogers Australian 49er class Olympian Nathan Outtridge and Glenn Bourke.
Rod Jones will continue his busy international racing schedule by returning to the helm of Club Marine Blue in early February for crew training in preparation for the 2011 World championship on England’s Royal Torbay Yacht Club course in May.