Photos – Sime Sokota
Words – Andrew Gough
Returning home after a memorable adventure from their quite town of Manly in Brisbane, The young Queensland 29er success story of Josh Franklin (17) and Lewis Brake (16) continued their achievements during a European summer away.
After winning the Australian 29er Open and Youth Championships in 2010-11, Franklin and Brake continued to train hard from their home club in Brisbane the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. The pair had their eyes set on a podium finish in the European regattas they would compete in; Kiel Woche and the ISAF Youth Worlds, and that is exactly what they did.
Flying into Germany for the first time the boys were anxious to get their first glimpse of the venue, the boats and the water. Known for its cold water sailing and fickle conditions Kiel would be a challenge for the young Queensland team, nonetheless they had done the preparation and were ready to hit the water. “We had one day to set the boat up, 3 days training then the regatta” Brake recalls.
Once the boat was ready the boys battled out in the large 29er fleet through four days of qualifying rounds. “Two days of yellow and blue fleet then two days of gold and silver, we had about 80 boats it was really good racing, it was cold but the wind was good” said Franklin. Completing three races each day, the boys had excellent boat speed and tactics that pushed them to the top of the fleet by day two. “On the second day we had about 20 knots it was a good solid breeze and we had two race wins which was awesome, it pushed us above the other teams” the boys agreed. After leading the regatta and proving their strength over the other competing teams, Franklin and Brake finished the final day with a clear points lead to win their first 29er Kiel class championship.
After such a memorable win, both Franklin and Brake knew they had the boat speed and tactical advantage over the youth competitors they were about to face in Croatia. “We felt like we had that psychological advantage over the other teams leading into the youth worlds”. A change in countries, and a complete change in conditions was about to challenge the young 29er team.
After the ecstasy of standing on top of the podium for Australia in Germany, Franklin and Brake had another challenge to overcome. After being selected in the Australian Youth Sailing Team after winning the trials over Christmas, they boys had trained with their fellow members and were prepared for the light conditions of this year’s championships. Raced in open water from Zadar, Croatia these ISAF Youth Worlds were a showcase of the best youth sailors in the world. “There was a lot of hype around the regatta especially for the first few days, it was exciting to see all the different nations there” Franklin said. The Queenslanders were about to experience some of the toughest and most exciting racing they had ever done.
Getting into the flow of the high impact racing the Australians proved their skills with two race wins in the first three days. Consistency was key and the boys knew that a result outside the top 10 could really damage their score card. “If you made one mistake you would be punished, you could go from third to eighth so easily from small errors”. Franklin and Brake raced consistently and sat in second overall coming into the second last day. Pushed by the USA and Netherlands the Australian pair battled to hold inside the top three coming into the final three races. Slipping into fourth before the final race it was difficult for the young team to step back onto the podium as the other three nations battled around them for second and third.
“ It was different so intense, all 23 boats were the same speed, the best sailors from all their home countries, made racing so close, we knew the Spanish team had a clear points lead in that final race but the USA and NED teams were battling for a win on count back” Brake said.
Finishing the final race in third that placing insured Franklin and Brake a fourth place finish overall. An extremely positive result after 12 of the most intense, highly concentrated and difficult races this young team has competed in.Enjoying the closing ceremony and celebrating the success of fellow team mates as they stood on the podium, both boys agreed it was a feeling of disappointment but also of extreme achievement.
After such success in Kiel and a well raced regatta in Croatia, Brake and Franklin boarded a flight from Zadar on route home to Australia. Travelling from Zadar to Munich, the team’s flights were cancelled. But after some struggle both Josh and Lewis made it home. As the boys get back to reality what they just achieved still may have not entirely sunk in.
Andrew Gough
Yachting Queensland