Yachting Australia

Palk has extensive tactical knowledge of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron courses having won the 2005-6 Australian Laser Radial Youth championship and more recently leading his team to victory in the Queensland match racing championship.

However the complex tactical nature of this championship which has attracted highly skilled dinghy sailors representing Tasmania, West Australia, New South Wales and Queensland will seriously challenge the young Sunshine Coast champion’s reputation as one of the nations best monotype dinghy skippers.

As the team leader Palk will be responsible to set up an aggressive tactical strategy to ensure the Queensland Yachting Association team of three crews finish with the higher places during the mini Americas Cup type fleet match racing event.

In some cases he will be forced to sacrifice his chance of winning heats in the Round Robin to purposely apply a wind shadow on a threatening rival to allow his team mates to secure the important points.

Ryan Palk has already proved his skill as a talented tactician and he will need to play a big role with aggressive sailing to hold any chance to improve on his personal medal count in this highly competitive series.

While Palk sweats it out in the intense fleet match racing championship many of his Team Noosa Youth Sail team mates will experience a less demanding sailing experience on the waters of The Great Sandy Straits during the two day Bay to Bay classic.

The race from Tin Can Bay to Urangan in Hervey Bay which includes an overnight stop at Garry’s Anchorage on Fraser Island has attracted another high standard fleet including several of Australia’s best mono and multihull racing crews.

Racing in the fleet this year will be the teenage crew from Noosa who take pride with their opportunity to compete with the Blazer 23 Yalumba Challenger.

Skipper Paul Blundell and his young team showed they are ready to broaden their knowledge after finishing the equally demanding Surf to City (Southport to Sandgate) race in January.

They expressed their determination to beat the odds when Yalumba Challenger faced light winds taking a little over 10 hours to register a finish.

Hopefully the Yalumba Challenger crew will experience a favourable spinnaker sailing wind system when they test their youthful enthusiasm against some of Australia’s best small boat sailors in the duel for class honours.

Meanwhile several Sunshine Coast skiff sailing veterans will spend the long weekend in Brisbane supporting the Queensland team in the battle to win the Australian Historical 10ft Skiff championship over New South Wales on the Brisbane River.

Memories from their skiff racing days dating back to over fifty years ago will flash back when the 17 crews sailing these cranky little skiffs compete for honours in the annual State Of Origin war on the water.

New South Wales skipper Peter Walsh will defend the title in Merle while Daryl Dignam winner of the 1971 Australian Sabot championship heads a strong Queensland challenge with Little Imp Venture.

Other Links
	Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron
	Yachting QLD