The Yachtsman 2017-2018 The Yachtsman 2017-2018 | Page 38

R PAY C A C T I V I T I E S
R PAY C A C T I V I T I E S
4 9 E R C A M PA I G N W O R L D S
R
enowned for being cold, wet and
windy, Kiel didn’t disappoint.
The problem was that our boats
were still stuck in customs in
Barcelona. After a few days
waiting for the call to say they would be on
their way, we bit the bullet and decided to
charter for the event. We got a solid three
days of training in after setting up the boat,
before rolling straight into the event. This
being our first event together, the goal was to
perfect rolls and comms within the boat and
begin to develop a regatta routine.
Championships drew competitors
from all across the country and for
many it was the big event to kick off
their domestic national and state
championship campaigns.
At the presentation competitors
were treated by a visit from local sailor
and Australian Sailing Squad member,
Halyee Outteridge who kindly took
time out her busy schedule to present
medals to class winners.
Special mention to all the volunteers
on water and off water who worked
quickly to ensure that all the sailors
made it safely to shore when a 30knot
southerly squall hit the lake on the first
day of racing. On top of that over 
130 volunteers assisted with the logistics,
planning and the race management of
the event. They were nothing short
of a well-oiled machine getting the
job done.
Thanks to Lake Macquarie City
Council for being a major support of
the event.
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YA C H T S M A N R PAY C
With
the
NSW
Youth
Championships finishing for 2018
we now look towards the Australian
Youth Championships being held at the
Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania from 10
January to the 14 January 2019.
Results are as follows:
Optimist Open
1. Daniel Links - RPAYC
2. Austin Cross
3. Cooper Bellingham - RPAYC
The first two days of qualifying were
sailed in strong, shifty breeze. We got off the
line well and sailed fast, and were more than
happy to qualify for gold fleet in 31’st and
second Australian boat. The next two days
of finals were even more windy, and our lack
of time in the boat together was apparent
as a few too many capsizes slipped us down
the leader board. However, we remained
confident that if we cold rectify these errors
we would be in good shape for the next event
– the Europeans in Poland.
The interlude between regattas was a
drive up from Barcelona, now that our boats
and all our gear had finally been released
from customs. It took several days to perfect
our equipment for a much lighter forecast. We
started well with plenty of top 10 results in
qualifying, however the last day of qualifying
proved very difficult where unfortunately we
let some good positions slip. Combined with a
black flag in the last race meant we fell short
of gold fleet. We started the finals well with
good starts and speed – our main objective for
the series. A few gear failures pushed us back
but we had improved enormously from Kiel
so we were confident going into our last event
– the IASF Worlds in Aarhus, Denmark.
We had several weeks before the Worlds
were scheduled to start so after a week off we
began a warm up coaches regatta followed
by several days of training. The breeze was
consistently light so we spend much of our
time focussed on setting the boats up correctly
to match the speed of the Europeans, who
traditionally spend more time in these sorts
of conditions.

49er Campaign Worlds
report, Jim Colley
We had several weeks
before the Worlds were
scheduled to start so after
a week off we began a
warm up coaches regatta
followed by several days of
training.
However, the first day of the regatta
dawned with breeze that we had never seen
before – offshore and fairly fresh. We started
well with a 4th and then two mid fleet results.
The next day was very windy, and we sailed
well but bleed too many points, turning 5th
into a 10 and a mid fleet into a deep one. We
knew we needed something special for the last
day of qualifying, and we sailed well to earn
another 4th, but unfortunately racing was
then abandoned due to lack of wind, leaving
us 4 points shy. We learnt a huge amount in
the final races in silver fleet with up and down
results, and highlighted plenty of areas that
we want to work on now that we are home.
Photography by Beau Outterage -
Australian Sailing
R PAY C YA C H T S M A N
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