The 2011 Queensland Laser 4.7, Radial and Standard State Championships wrapped up on Sunday at the classical Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club.
With the course set off Boreen Point the shallow waters of Lake Cootharaba and shifty Southerly conditions made racing extremely interesting. The conditions made getting racing underway difficult, however it was the youth sailors that prevailed on the podium after the long two days.
Winning the laser standards was 2009 Australian Radial Champion Ben Franklin, who battled it out with 2nd placed Brad Taylor and third placed Jake Lilley. Lilley commented on his performance over the short four race regatta, “I sailed hot and cold, I’d be going well but the tricky conditions could easily catch you out”.
The regatta was cut down to four races over two days due to the prevailing conditions. This left athletes with no room for errors as every position and point was critical. In the women’s Radial Christen Bridge took 1st overall followed my Madison Kennedy in 2nd and 2011 Australian Youth Team member Ashley Stoddard in 3rd. “ We haven’t raced in light conditions for a while so it was good practice for Europe”, Stoddard said. “In short regattas like this things can quickly change, but it was really good practice”.
In the men’s Radial, Josh Franklin the 2011 29er Australian Youth and Open Champion took out 1st place with consistent speed and tactics over the short four races. Switching between classes gave Franklin the chance to build some of his tactical knowledge which is what the Queensland Laser fleet is renowned for.
Although the short regatta made for some difficult racing, the fleet was highly contended and this meant an extremely different but interesting State Championships.