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Yachting Australia Corporate Partner
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Yachting Australia
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News Archive
September, 2010
Selection policy released for ISAF Nations Cup 2011 Australian representatives Yachting Australia has released the policy document for the nomination and selection of Australian representatives for the ISAF Nations Cup 2011. Yachting Australia intends to enter teams in the open and women’s divisions of the ISAF Nations Cup 2011 Oceania Regional Final to be held in Sydney from 12-14 May 2011. The winning open and women’s teams will then head to Sheboygan in Wisconsin, USA, for the ISAF Nations Cup 2011 Grand Final which will be contested from 13-18 September 2011.
The Australian qualification regattas to decide which crews will compete at the ISAF Nations Cup 2011 Oceania Regional Final will be the Australian Match Racing Championship and the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship.
The Australian Match Racing Championship will be conducted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania from 14-17 November 2010 and the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship will take place at the same club from 18-21 November 2010.
The highest placed crew at the Australian Match Racing Championship and the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship will then contest the ISAF Nations Cup 2011 Oceania Regional Final in the open and women’s division respectively.
The selection policy can be found by clicking here.
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An Introduction to the National Keelboat Scheme The National Keelboat Scheme is a new development for sailing in Australia. It provides an exciting, fun and accessible entry into sailing and gives participants the opportunity to improve and develop advanced skills and techniques. Courses
Try Sailing
The Try Sailing course is a great way for people to try sailing for the first time and get a taste of the sport. There is no syllabus for the session, but instructors focus on making the session exciting and enjoyable and let the participants take part in helming and crew work as much as possible.
The session may only be offered at recognised Yachting Australia Training Centres on boats that meet the Keelboat Scheme requirements by a qualified Yachting Australia Keelboat Instructor.
Keelboat Crew
The Keelboat Crew course is for beginners. The Instructor should focus on skills, safety and enjoyment.
Keelboat Helm
This is a course for improvers; ideally participants should have completed the Keelboat Crew course.
Keelboat Spinnaker
This course aims to give participants a thorough grounding in using asymmetrical and symmetrical spinnakers
Racing Crew
The Racing Crew course aims to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to be a useful crew member on inshore and offshore racing yachts, ideally participants should have completed the Keelboat Spinnaker course.
Keelboat Seamanship
This course aims to equip participants with advanced sailing and boat handling techniques which should equip them to be able to take out a small yacht in familiar waters by day and/or to progress into the Yacht Training Scheme
Course Duration
Each course is 12 hours in duration and can be subdivided into short sessions: typically four three hour periods. The student does not have to complete all four sessions over two days- e.g. the first two sessions could be run on a Saturday and the last two the following weekend, or sessions can be run over several evenings in the summer months.
Resources
Each course participant must receive a copy of the Keelboat Scheme logbook and the Yachting Australia ‘Introductory Keelboat’ textbook. An additional text for racing and spinnaker courses is 'Crew to Win.'
Conditions of Recognition
Courses in the National Keelboat Scheme may only be offered at a Yachting Australia Recognised Training Centre that has been authorised to deliver this scheme.
Instructor Qualifications
For details on how to become an Instructor please visit the Yachting Australia website or contact sonia.robinson@yachting.org.au
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Australian sailors nominated for ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Two Australian Sailing Team crews have been announced as finalists in the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, recognising their outstanding achievements in the last year. Australian 470 crew Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, and Laser sailor Tom Slingsby are finalists in the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award with the winner to be announced on November 9, 2010, in Athens, Greece. Belcher, from the Gold Coast, and Page, from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, were nominated following their stellar year which saw them win the 470 World Championship, the ISAF Sailing World Cup and become the world number one ranked 470 crew.
“We’re both very honoured to be nominated for the award, it’s the highest honour in sailing and to be recognised with the best of the world is amazing,” said Belcher. “We certainly didn’t expect the nomination, we’ve been focusing on our performances for the year and this just caps off a fantastic year for Malcolm and I.”
“This year we decided to take it to the next level, put in time in the boat and further develop as a team as we head towards the 2012 London Olympic Games and it’s nice to know that the commitment pays off,” he said.
Page’s nomination comes after 13 years at the top of the 470 class which has now included an Olympic Gold medal, four 470 World Championships and an ISAF World Championship, making him the most successful 470 sailor in history.
“When I heard the news I felt very honoured,” said Page. “Awards like this are not something you strive for, you strive for your results and honours such as this are a byproduct of the hard work and commitment you put in.”
“The nomination comes at the end of a huge year for Mat and I, to win the 470 World Championship, the ISAF Sailing World Cup, for me to become the most successful 470 sailor ever and now this, it’s a great reward,” he said.
In a busy and successful year Belcher and Page won the 470 World Championship in Holland, won rounds of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Melbourne and Germany, finished with Silver medals in Miami, Holland and England, were crowned ISAF Sailing World Cup Champions in the 470 class and picked up an Australian 470 Championship. The pair is consistently at the front of the 470 fleet and did not finish outside of the top six in any of the regattas they contested.
For Tom Slingsby, from Gosford, his nomination capped off a great year which saw him win two World Championships in two weeks in the Laser and Etchells class and become the world number one Laser sailor.
“This is a great way to cap off what has been a great year,” said Slingsby. “This award brings together all the different areas of sailing and all the nominees have done great things in the sport so it’s an honour to be named alongside them.”
“I’ve worked really hard this year to get back to my best and being nominated for World Sailor of the Year is the perfect way to end the year,” he said.
“We’re still two years out from the 2012 London Olympic Games but I am right where I want to be at this stage,” said Slingsby. “There’s still a long way to go but I know if keep progressing well there’s nothing to stop me from winning.”
Slingsby’s return to the top of the Laser class has been phenomenal, after a 22nd placed finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and then a 17th at the 2009 Laser World Championship he was questioning whether to continue in the sport but the now 26 year old has had a remarkable turnaround in the last year.
Slingsby put his disappointment from the Olympic Games and the 2009 Laser World Championship behind him and since August 2009 has won all four rounds of the ISAF Sailing World Cup that he has contested, including back-to-back wins at the 2012 London Olympic Games venue and finished third at the 2010 Laser European Championship.
To finish off his year Slingsby then headed to Ireland where he won the 2010 Etchells World Championship with John Bertrand and Andrew Palfrey before winning the 2010 Laser World Championship which began in England the very next day.
Slingsby’s Laser World Championship win was his third in four years and he was also a member of Transfusion which finished second at the 2010 Farr40 World Championship.
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Play for life....join a sporting club Get involved with the Australian Sport Commission's Play for Life Campaign. We all know that physical activity is important for healthy growth and development of our children. Joining a club sport adds a new dimension—it helps develop valuable life skills such as co-operation, discipline, respect and tolerance. Play for life...join a sporting club
is all about the benefits of children and families participating in club sports.
You can use the club finder to help connect you with sporting clubs in your area. Simply select your state and the sport you are interested in and then click Search. Links to relevant websites will appear on your screen.
The campaign is run by the Australian Sports Commission and supported by the state and territory departments of sport and recreation and Communities NSW. If you have questions or would like more information please email: playforlife@ausport.gov.au
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Advanced Coach Course in November Yachting Australia is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the first installment of the Advanced Coach Course at Middle Harbour Yacht Club on 3 & 4 November 2010. This advanced coaching seminar is aimed at coaches already operating at an established high level. The two day seminar will be delivered by Australian Sailing Team coaches Mike Fletcher, Emmett Lazich and Michael Blackburn.
Topics covered will range from professional issues and psychology, to speed development and racing strategies and tactics.
This seminar offers a genuine development opportunity for any professional sailing coach by providing access to the successful techniques used for coaching Australia’s top level sailors.
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2010-11 ISAF Seminars Down Under Yachting Australia will be hosting two ISAF International Race Officials seminars in Australia in late 2010 and early 2011. The 2010 ISAF International Judge seminar will be held at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron between the 4 and 6 December; just prior to the commencement of the 2010 Sail Sydney Regatta. Places are filling quickly for this course with delegates from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji already registered; leaving only 8 places remaining. ISAF international presenters will be Josje Hofland-Dominicus from the Netherlands with the assistance of Australian IJ Graeme Owens. The cost of the course is $285.00 per person with registration now available through the Yachting Australia website. To register for this event, please click here.
In 2011, the ISAF International Umpire Seminar will be hosted at the Royal Perth Yacht Club on 25 & 26 January. The international presenters will be Jan Stage from Denmark and John Doerr from the UK. Registration is now open via the Yachting Australia website. To register for this event, please click here.
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Bronze for Australian sailors at Women’s Match Racing World Championship Australian sailors Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin have won the Bronze medal at the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Rhode Island, USA. The Bronze medal playoff was the battle of the former World Champions with the Australian’s defeating the French crew led by Claire Leroy two wins to one to claim the final place on the podium.
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Aussies in battle for finals berth at Women’s Match Racing World Championship Australians Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin have a fight on their hands to progress to the final of the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew is currently trailing two wins to nil against American Sally Barkow in the first to three wins semifinal with racing to resume on Saturday morning. “The semifinal isn’t going as well as we would have hoped at the moment but tomorrow is a new day and we now have to go out and win the next three races to make the finals,” said Souter. “We’ve done it before so we know we can do it again.”
Souter and crew won their way through to the semifinals after claiming victory in the all-Australian quarterfinal on Friday morning.
Held at the New York Yacht Club in Rhode Island, USA, defending World Champion Souter and crew defeated fellow Australians Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson three-nil in the quarterfinal, the first time the two Australian crews had met each other in the knockout round this year.
“We had some really good racing against Katie in the quarterfinals this morning,” said Souter. “The three races were pretty close, and all exciting races as they always are against her team.”
“It was a challenging day out there in Newport today, totally different to any other day we’ve had, actually all days have been totally different,” she said “Today was very shifty with so much low cloud around quite often you couldn't see the top mark, but the forecast for tomorrow is for the low cloud to pass by and have a bit more breeze.”
Following their quarterfinal loss Spithill and crew are now locked in a tight battle in the fifth to eighth round robin.
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Women’s Match Racers set up all-Australian quarterfinal at World ChampionshipThe Australian Women’s Match Racing Team has set up an all-Australian quarterfinal following seeding in the Gold fleet at the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Newport, USA. Day three of racing had the top six teams compete in a round robin to determine the seedings for Friday’s quarterfinals with the Australian crew of Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin finishing the day third while Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson were sixth. The results mean that the two Australian crews will line up against each other in the quarterfinals, ensuring that an Australian will be in the top four yet again at the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship.
“Racing against Nicky and crew in the quarters isn’t our first choice but it was decided by the results, is out of our control and we’ll deal with it,” said Spithill. “On the bright side it means we’ll have one Australian crew in the semi finals.”
Souter was also positive about taking on her compatriots in the knockout stage of the competition.
“With all of the regattas we’ve competed in and all the World Cup rounds this year we haven’t come up against each other in the quarterfinals yet,” said defending World Champion Souter. “It’s been on the cards a few times but hasn’t panned out so we’re actually all looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”
Souter, Curtis, Price and Baldwin finished the day with three wins from their five races, in a four way tie for first position, with the Australian seeded third on a count back.
“While today wasn’t as stressful a day on the water as it wasn’t sudden death there was still plenty of close races,” said Souter. “At the end of the round robin there was only two points between first and six so there was no standout team, almost every race went right down to the wire.”
While Spithill, Eastwell, Farrell and Jackson were sixth in the group the skipper said that they still took plenty out of the day.
“We had a mixed day today,” said Spithill. “We made some mistakes but at the same time learnt some lessons to take through to tomorrow.”
“We had some really close races, against Nicky and crew it was a photo finish, even after crossing the line we weren’t entirely sure who had won, both crews had the spinnaker out as far as it would go,” she said.
When asked if there would be any gamesmanship going on before the all-Australian quarterfinal Spithill was quick to point out that it would all come down to the action on the water tomorrow.
“Let’s put it this way, we all went out to dinner together tonight and now I’m hanging out with Nicky in her room,” she said. “We’re just looking forward to going racing again tomorrow.”
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Australians move through to Gold fleet at Women’s Match Racing World Championship The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team has continued its strong start to the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Rhode Island, USA, with both crews qualifying for the Gold fleet at the end of day two of racing. The Australian crew of Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson finished the opening round robin second in the red group behind Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain. Spithill and crew finished the opening round with six wins and three losses after starting the day with a perfect four wins record.
“Today didn’t go quite as well as day one but after some really tough races today we did enough to make the Gold fleet and the top eight,” said Spithill.
“After two days racing as a team in the Sonar it feels like we are coming together well,” she said. “Tomorrow is forecast to be light winds so it will fell like a whole new event. On top of that we don’t carry any of our scores through to the Gold fleet so it’s all new from tomorrow.”
After finishing day one in a four way tie for second position in the blue group Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin moved through to the Gold fleet in third position with a seven wins and two losses record.
The Australians claimed hard fought victories against regular ISAF Sailing World Cup competitors Anna Tunnicliffe of America, Renee Groeneveld of the Netherlands and Ekaterina Skudina of Russia.
“Today was a really good day for us,” said Souter. “We had two very close races with American Anna Tunnicliffe and Claire Leroy of France where the winner was decided right on the line, fortunately one win against Anna went our way but we lost out to Claire.”
“After the opening round robin we’re pretty happy with our upwind speed,” she said. “We know we are fast in the breeze upwind, especially against the tough field in our round robin group, but tomorrow the forecast is quite light so the results could be interesting.”
Racing continues in Rhode Island, Newport, on Thursday with the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship concluding on Saturday.
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Australian crew on top after day one of Women’s Match Racing World Championship Australian crews have made a strong start to the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Rhode Island, USA, with both Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crews well placed after day one of racing. After a slow start to the regatta due to a lack of wind a 16 knot sea breeze filled in throughout the afternoon allowing for some exciting racing between the top 20 Women’s Match Racing crews in the world. Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson had a perfect day on the water with four wins from four starts to be tied for the lead in the red group with Lucy Macgregor of Great Britain.
With competition taking place on the unfamiliar Sonar and the crew only training in the boat in the week before racing the Australians put all of this behind them to claim victories against American Genny Tulloch, Finnish sailor Silja Lehtinen, Spain’s Silvia Roca and Sofia Bekatorou of Greece.
“Katie, Jess, Stacey and I are feeling confident in our boat handling and crew work after spending last week training in the Sonars in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, before heading across to Rhode Island,” said Farrell. “We had one race this morning in really light breeze and then a two hour delay before completing our final three races in a really strong sea breeze this afternoon.”
In the blue group defending World Champion Nicky Souter and crew Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin are locked in a tight battle after day one and are currently in a four way tie for second position.
The Australians, winners of the last two Women’s Match Racing events, finished the day with three wins and a loss after defeating their Brazilian, Croatian and Portuguese opposition and having a loss against American Sally Barkow.
“We’re all really pleased with the results from today,” said Price. “The race we lost against Sally Barkow was a tough race; we were behind off the line but then caught up to be in front at the last top mark but hit it so we tried to engage her by luffing her, but the overlap broke so we actually received another penalty.”
“We completed a penalty turn and then surfed another wave down onto her air again, getting close but didn’t have enough to complete another penalty turn before the finish,” she said. “The four of us were happy with our speed against Sally who has sailed the Sonar quite a bit in the past.”
“At the end of day one there are four crews all on three wins and two on four wins,” said Price. “So we have some work to do tomorrow, the forecast is looking to be similar today and we learnt some lessons from today’s conditions that we can take into Wednesday’s racing.”
Souter and crew will hit the water in the early session on Wednesday with their compatriots not racing until the afternoon.
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Selection policy for 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team now available Yachting Australia has released the policy for the selection and nomination of the 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team to compete at the 2011 ISAF World Youth Sailing Championship. The 2011 ISAF World Youth Sailing Championship will take place in Zadar, Croatia, from July 7 to 16 with racing taking place in Laser Radials for boys and girls, 420s for boys and girls, an open 29er class, RS:X for boys and girls and an open multihull class which will compete on the Sirena SL16. To be eligible for selection in the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team interested sailors must be an Australian national, a member of a sailing club affiliated with a State of Territory Yachting Association, a current Yachting Australia Silver or Youth Member and be under the age of 19 on December 31 2011.
Yachting Australia has identified a number of nomination regattas which will be used to select the members of the 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team.
For the Laser Radial boys and girls, the 29er open and the multihull open classes the nomination regattas will be their relevant Australian Class Championship and the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship.
For the RS:X boys and girls classes selection will be made from results achieved at the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship Bic Techno 293 event.
The selection events for the 420 boys and girls crews will be the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championships and the Australian 420 Class Championship unless Yachting Australia is notified in writing that a crew eligible for selection in the 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team will be participating in the 420 World Championships in Argentina from 27 December 2010 until 5 January 2011.
Notification must be received by Yachting Australia no later than 29 October 2010. Should Yachting Australia receive notification from a crew eligible to participate in the 2011 Youth World Championships the selection event for the Australian Youth Sailing Team 420 crew will be the Australian 420 Class Championship only.
If such notification is only received from a boys crew then the selection events for the girls crew remain the 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championships, 420 event and the 2011 Australian 420 Class Championship and vice versa. Yachting Australia will communicate the final selection events for the 420 class via the Yachting Australia website by 1 November 2010.
Yachting Australia will conduct a nomination point score for the events above, the results of which will form the basis for nomination and selection of the team members in the 2011 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Team for the 2011 ISAF World Youth Sailing Championship.
The Nomination Point Score may also be used to select a Youth Development Squad. The members of this Squad may be invited to attend a training camp with the Australian Youth Sailing Team.
The 2011 OAMPS Insurance Broker Australian Youth Sailing Team Leader and Support Staff will be selected in February and March 2011. It is intended to advertise for these positions in late 2010 with details of the positions and application requirements to be posted on the Yachting Australia website.
A copy of the policy guideline is available through the Yachting Australia website here and for further enquiries please contact Donna Jones on 02 8424 7406 or via email donna.jones@yachting.org.au.
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Australian sailors set to begin defence of Women’s Match Racing World Championship title Australian sailor Nicky Souter is aiming to defend her world title when racing at the 2010 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship begins in Rhode Island, USA, on Tuesday. Australia will be represented by two crews at the New York Yacht Club based event, with Souter teaming up with Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin while Katie Spithill will be sailing alongside Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson. The 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship presents a different challenge for the Australian crews, while all of their usual competitors from the World Cup circuit will be there, racing will take place in Sonars, requiring an extra crew member than the Elliott 6 metre which will debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Both Souter and Spithill are confident that even though they have had only limited experience in the Sonar they’ll be ready to go for the first race on Monday.
“Myself, Olivia and Laura have never raced Sonars before, while Nina has done one event on them years ago,” said Souter. “Hopefully, we can adapt to these boats quickly in our limited training time as we have had to make the most of the last few days leading up to the worlds. “
Spithill said, “Both Jess and I have sailed the Sonars previously about six years ago, so our memory of sailing these boats is a bit vague, but we’ve had the last week together as a team to nut out all the action plans and had a few days to work on our boat speed and maneuverability.”
Souter, Curtis and Price head into the event following back to back Grade 1 regatta victories, after Gold medals at the final round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth, England, in August and at the Buddy Melges event in Wisconsin last week.
“As a team we’re feeling great,” said Souter. “Our win in Weymouth meant a lot as we received the 24th and final entry into the event and then to back up our win in the Buddy Melges against a lot of the crews from Weymouth was a great confidence boost. “Nina, Olivia and I have welcomed Laura Baldwin into our team and it’s been great having that extra person on board to bring more experience to our team.”
“Our match racing training has been full steam ahead these last few months in Europe and the UK, unfortunately it meant we had little to no time for Sonar training before this week,” she said. “After the Buddy Melges regatta we charted some Sonars for a few days training. With the weather conditions zero to two knots on day one and then up to 20 knots on day two, we have tried to make the most out of the limited conditions as possible.”
While Souter acknowledges there will be pressure on her as defending World Champion she’s looking forward to the challenge ahead of herself Curtis, Price and Baldwin.
“There is always going to be extra pressure being the defending World Champion and winning the last two Women’s Match Racing events, but as we know, the match racing competition is very tough and in the last six World Cups events, we’ve had six winners, and hopefully we can perform as well as we have been these last few months,” said Souter.
Spithill and crew are also keen to get onto the water and face off against the best Women’s Match Racing crews in the world.
“To have Stacey Jackson join Jess, Angela and I as our fourth crewmember has been a great addition to the team and we are all looking forward to the upcoming World Championships,” said Spithill. “We’ve recently had some very close results where we’ve just missed out on the semis or finals, so we’re excited about a new event with new opportunities as a team.”
“I had a disappointing finish to last year’s worlds with the format being cut short and my team falling out on a tie break, so this year we have to ensure that we are at 100 per cent from race one and step it up every day of the competition,” she said. “The competition will be fierce with the Americans and some of the Europeans racing the Sonars for their home match racing events.”
“Even though we are sailing the Sonar here rather than the Elliot 6 metre all the top teams in the world are still competing and so the competition will be tough,” said Spithill. “Any opportunity for a win is important leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.”
Racing begins in Rhode Island on September 21 with the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Champion to be crowned on Saturday September 25.
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Statement from Yachting Australia on death of sailor in Tasmania Yachting Australia is saddened by the news of the death of a sailor competing in the Pipe Opener, a race in sheltered waters that started in Hobart, Tasmania, yesterday evening, Friday 17 September 2010. It is understood that the deceased, an experienced sailor, was lost overboard from the yacht on which he was competing.
The thoughts of Yachting Australia and the entire sailing community are with the sailor's family, friends and the Derwent Sailing Squadron during this difficult time.
While only limited details are available at this time Yachting Australia will provide more information as it comes to hand.
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Finalists announced for 2010 Australian Yachting Awards Yachting Australia is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2010 Australian Yachting Awards with the winners announced at the gala event to be held on Friday 15 October at the Deckhouse in Woolwich. The 2010 Australian Yachting Awards recognises outstanding achievement in the sport of sailing over the period of 1 August 2009 to 15 August 2010. The 2010 Voting Academy was faced with a tough decision to narrow down the high quality fields with numerous outstanding achievements taking place around Australian and the world during the nomination period.
The finalists for the Male Sailor of the Year award are 470 World Champions and ISAF Sailing World Cup Champions Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page, A-Class and Tornado World Champion Glenn Ashby, winning America’s Cup skipper James Spithill, three-time Laser World Champion Tom Slingsby, and 49er crew Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen.
In the Female Sailor of the Year category the finalists are solo, round-the-world, sailor Jessica Watson, 2009 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Champion skipper Nicky Souter and crew Rayshele Martin, Nina Curtis, Lucinda Whitty, Kat Stroinovsky and Amanda Scrivenor, solo sailor Jennifer Fitzgibbon and Laser Radial sailor Alexandra South.
The OAMPS Insurance Brokers Youth Sailor of the Year award will be presented to either Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship open multihull Gold medalists Chase Lurati and Paul Darmanin, fellow OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team members, 420 boys crew Angus Galloway and Alexander Gough, solo, round the world, sailor Jessica Watson or Laser 4.7 sailor Mark Spearman.
Finalists for the Sailor of the Year with a Disability award are Access 2.3 World Champion Angus MacGregor, IFDS World Championship Bronze medalists Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox, Access 2.3 Servo World Champion Martin Waller and Access Liberty sailor Christopher Cook.
The Sport Promotion Award will be presented to either The Boatshed at Albert Park, Canberra Yacht Club or Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club’s Youthsail Program.
In the Sport Professional Award category the finalists are David Tillett, who was the Chairman of the Jury at the 33rd America’s Cup, Ronstan’s Alistair Murray who is Australia’s Ambassador for the ISAF ‘Connect to Sailing’ program, Yachting Victoria CEO Ross Kilborn and Canberra Yacht Club Manager Matthew Owen.
The Volunteer of the Year Award will go to either Ron Yeates, William Pringle, Hugh Tait or David Brookes.
The 2010 Australian Yachting Awards will also see two individuals receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing over a period of at least 20 years. For 2010 the recipients are Tony Mooney and Kevin Wood.
The evening will also include Yachting Australia President Andrew Plympton presenting the President’s Award for 2010.
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Australian women win Match Racing regatta in the USThe Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis and Olivia Price has won the 2010 Buddy Melges Challenge in Wisconsin, USA, their final event before the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship begins in Newport, Rhode Island, next week. The win for Souter, Curtis and Price makes it back to back ISAF Grade 1 event victories for the crew following their Gold medal at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth last month. Fellow Australians Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell and Angela Farrell finished the regatta in sixth position after topping their group early in the regatta with the crew gaining more valuable time in the Elliott 6 metre boat that will be used at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
“As a team we’re really happy with how we’re progressing,” said skipper Souter. “To win consecutive Grade 1 regattas is a good lead up to our World Championship.”
“The competition here in Wisconsin was really tough, there were a lot of good teams competing including all the crews that took part in the ISAF Sailing World Cup,” she said. “We had a mixed start to the week and just scraped into the quarter finals in eighth position, then did the same to head into the semi finals in fourth so we had our backs to the wall a lot of the time.”
Souter and crew took on American sailor Sally Barkow in the semi final with the Australians coming out on top three wins to nil to book a place in the final.
The final was a trans-Tasman battle with Souter, Curtis and Price taking on the New Zealand crew of Samantha Osborne, Raynor Smeal and Susannah Pyatt with the Australians taking the regatta victory with a three to one win.
The conditions on Lake Michigan tested the crews throughout the week explains Olivia Price.
“It was a real light wind regatta but with incredibly choppy seas,” said Price. “At times it was worse than the chop we sail in off the Sydney heads and tested everybody’s skills, it was like sailing in a washing machine.”
“On one day a fog set in and it was surreal to be racing with fog lights to show where the course was,” she said. “At one stage we headed around the top mark and pointed the boat in the direction we thought was right and hoped for the best.”
“Luckily for the last day it was a complete reversal and we got the finals raced in 10 knots of wind and flat water which made for some great racing,” said Price.
The two Australian crews will now remain in Wisconsin for a week of training aboard the Sonar boat which will be used for the upcoming World Championship before heading to Rhode Island next weekend.
“We’re looking forward to spending some time aboard the Sonar in the coming days as most of us have never sailed one before,” said Souter. “I saw one for the first time recently in Weymouth which the Australian Sailing Team’s Paralympic crew was competing in and we’re all keen to get out on the water and sail them.”
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Tasmanian crew win Australian Youth Match Racing Championship Elliott Noye (right) and crew The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania (RYCT) crew led by Elliott Noye has won the 2010 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship at Southport Yacht Club on the Queensland Gold Coast, recording the first-ever victory by a team from outside New South Wales. Noye, who outsailed some of Australia’s most experienced adult match racing yachtsmen in winning this year’s Tasmanian Open Match Racing Championship earlier this year, won 14 of his matches in the two round-robins and then went through to win the final yesterday in straight matches. The 2011 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship will be held at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Western Australia.
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Birthday boy Slingsby wins third Laser World Championship Australian sailor Tom Slingsby has received the ultimate birthday present, a third Laser World Championship and second World title in as many weeks, on a thrilling final day of the 2010 Laser World Championship. Slingsby, who was celebrating his 26th birthday on the final day of racing at Hayling Island in Great Britain, has added the 2010 Laser World Championship to his 2007 and 2008 titles and also the 2010 Etchell World Championship he won with John Bertrand and Andrew Palfrey just over a week ago. “Today’s win is the best birthday present I could ever have hoped for,” said Slingsby. “To win two World Championships in two weeks and end four and a half months in Europe with my third Laser World Championship is fantastic.”
“It was quite a stressful week with a black flag hanging over my head through the finals but to come through with no further mistakes was great, I’m stoked with the result and really happy with how I sailed,” he said.
Slingsby headed into the last day of racing with a 32 point lead over Nick Thompson of Great Britain but while the lead may have looked comfortable on paper there was still plenty of action to happen on the water in the final two races.
“The first race I was steady sitting around 10th to 15th and then I jumped up at the end to get close to Nick which I was really happy with,” said Slingsby. “In the second race I thought I would stay on the same side of the course as Nick and he went off the pin end and tacked and crossed the fleet I thought I needed to just reel him in a bit, but then I saw him capsize in to leeward.”
“He then went back out to the left side and then he overlaid the top mark, so I had a nice little buffer around the top mark,” he said. “On the first run I capsized and did a full turtle and then as soon as I got the boat back up I put the vang on, put the daggerboard down and then just took it easy to make sure I did not make any more mistakes.”
The Australian finished the day with a sixth and a 14th and eventually extended his winning margin to 36 points ahead of Thompson with New Zealander Andrew Murdoch 10 points further back in third.
2010 has been a massive year for Slingsby with victories at the Australian Laser Championship and three rounds of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Holland, Germany and England. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative also won bronze at the 2010 Laser European Championship and has tasted success away from the Laser throughout the year.
“At the start of the year I looked at the schedule and saw that I’d be competing in three World Championships and thought how good it would be to go well in all three,” said Slingsby. “We were second at the Farr40 Worlds earlier in the year and after that I set a goal of winning the Etchells and the Laser title but didn’t really believe it would happen, so to have gotten there is an amazing feeling.”
The Australian Sailing Team member’s victory is all the more impressive when you consider that just two years ago he languished 22nd at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and he then finished 17th at the 2009 Laser World Championship.
“After the Olympics, going in as one of the favourites and coming away with 22nd, I was really destroyed,” said Slingsby. “I wondered if I wanted to do it again and after a few months I decided to go again but I would take it a bit easy, but then last year I was taking it a bit easy, not training so much and I was just getting flogged at every regatta so I decided to pick up the training and go back to my schedule to win, and I have been working hard since and the results are starting to pay.”
“Victor Kovalenko, the Australian Sailing Team’s head coach, always says you learn more from losing than winning and so I learned a lot about China,” he said. “I learned how to lose and picked up the things I did wrong and how to improve them, and I have to go through the motions, I’ve learned to tick every box and go there as prepared as I can be.”
Slingsby’s coach, former Laser World Champion and Olympic medallist Michael Blackburn, was impressed with how he sailed throughout the week.
“Tom sailed exceptionally well at this event, it was one of the best regattas he’s sailed in for a long time,” said Blackburn. “He was composed under pressure today, chipped back through the fleet when he needed to, covered Thompson when it was necessary and sailed well to take the title.”
Ashley Brunning finished the week at Hayling Island in 18th position following a hard fought fourth position to open the final day and a 42nd to finish off his 2010 Laser World Championship campaign.
In the Silver fleet James Burman held onto his overnight fifth position thanks to an 11th and fourth in Sunday’s two races.
Ryan Palk was the next best placed Australian in 13th following a second and an 11th on the final day of racing, ahead of Tom Burton in 18th.
In the Bronze fleet Klade Hauschildt ended the week eighth, with Sean Bly 14th and Thor Schoenhoff 16th.
Jared West saved his best till last finishing second and sixth in Sunday’s two races to finish 22nd, ahead of Ki-raphael Sulkowski in 24th, Ryan Stoddart in 36th and Ashley Lloyd in 52nd.
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Slingsby hoping to top off birthday with third Laser World Championship Australian sailor Tom Slingsby will be hoping for the perfect birthday present, a third World Championship in four years, when the 2010 Laser World Championship reaches its conclusion on Sunday at Hayling Island, Great Britain. Slingsby, who turns 26 on Sunday, heads into the final day of competition with a 32 point lead over second placed Nick Thompson of Great Britain with French sailor jean-Baptiste Bernaz 14 points further back. With two races left to go the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative knows that there is still plenty of work left to do to bring home the 2010 title.
“To win tomorrow would be the perfect present, I don’t want anything else,” said Slingsby. “I’ve worked really hard this year and this event was the one I really wanted, so it would be great to win on my birthday but I’m not thinking about that yet, there’s still plenty to go in my eyes.”
Slingsby dominated proceedings on Saturday, winning both of the day’s races to turn his overnight 13 point lead over Thompson to 32 points by the end of the day.
“Today's conditions were great,” said Slingsby. “We had about 15 knots of breeze, nice waves, sun, just perfect for sailing. I just seemed to have an edge on the fleet upwind today and rounded the top mark first in both races.
From there the sailing is a lot easier being able to go where you want to go so I was really happy that I was able to take advantage of the day.”
Even though Slingsby’s lead looks quite comfortable on paper the Gosford Sailing Club member knows that he still has a lot of work on his hands to come out on top of the highly competitive fleet.
“I feel great with the way I’m sailing but I definitely can’t take my foot of the pedal yet,” said Slingsby. “Unfortunately with a black flag lurking in the background from Friday I still have to put in two good races tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fighting for every place again tomorrow,” he said. “I know how hard it is when you get caught in the pack here so I’ve just got to try and stay clean and get good first beats in tomorrow.”
Fellow Australian Ashley Brunning ended the day in 23rd position after crossing the line in 23rd and 36th in Saturday’s two races.
The New South Welshman will be keen for a good final day of racing to push himself back up the leader board.
In the Silver fleet James Burman climbed up to fifth overall with third and a sixth place finish to be 15 points outside of the top three.
Queenslander Ryan Palk picked up two 16th place finishes to end the day 18th, ahead of Tom Burton in 27th. Burton had a great day on the water, winning the opening Silver fleet race before crossing the line fourth in race two.
In the Bronze fleet Klade Hauschildt is the best placed Australian in 14th with Sean Bly 17th and Thor Schoenhoff 20th.
Ki-raphael Sulkowski is currently in 28th, with Jared West 31st, Ryan Stoddart 38th and Ashley Lloyd 49th.
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Brendan Casey heads into final day of Finn World Championship seventh Australian sailor Brendan Casey is on track for his best ever finish at a Finn World Championship as he heads into the final medal race at the 2010 event in seventh position. Held in fantastic sailing conditions on San Francisco bay Casey has had a consistent week and finds himself well entrenched in the top 10 for Saturday’s final race. Throughout the week Casey has finished in the top 15 in eight of the 10 races and is 12 points off sixth position with just the double points medal race left to go.
After two years away from the Finn class Casey returned at Sail Sydney in December 2009, winning the event before finishing 13th at his first ISAF Sailing World Cup event in Miami in January.
Since then Casey finished 11th at round five of the World Cup in Holland before picking up an eighth recently at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta at the venue for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Fellow Australian Anthony Nossiter is in 19th position in his first major international Finn regatta since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Young Victorian sailor Oliver Tweddell is in 33rd position with the 19-year-old having a solid regatta following his third position at the recent Finn Silver Cup in San Francisco last week.
Tweddell’s performance is even more impressive given that the 2010 Finn World Championship is just his third regatta in the class.
James Patterson is in 42nd position, the South Australian sailor won his last regatta the opening round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Melbourne last December.
Rob McMillan is following closely behind in 44th, ahead of West Australian Tim Castles in 50th.
Warwick Hill finished the qualifying races in 53rd with David Giles 58th and Chris Caldecoat 64th and Philip Toth 69th.
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Crisp narrowly misses spot in medal race at RS:X World Championship The Australian Sailing Team’s Jessica Crisp has narrowly missed out on a place in the medal race at the 2010 RS:X World Championship in Kerteminde, Denmark, finishing the regatta in 11th position. Crisp started the day in 15th position and fought hard in the opening race of the day in light shifty conditions to cross the line eighth, moving her up to 11th overall. Unfortunately the light winds didn’t allow any further racing on Friday leaving Crisp just two points outside the top 10 that will contest Saturday’s medal race.
The three-time Olympian was unlucky to miss out on the medal race after finishing in the top 10 in six of the eight race during the week, including a second and a third placing on day two.
In the women’s Silver fleet Joanna Sterling finished the regatta in 25th position in just her second RS:X World Championships.
In the men’s competition Tim Gourlay was the best placed Australian in 20th in the Silver fleet, ahead of Luke Baillie in 37th and James Levy in 39th.
Joel Tyack ended the week in 44th, one place ahead of Eamon Robertshaw with Patrick Vos 48th.
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Slingsby holds his lead as black flags fly freely at Laser World Championships Tom Slingsby continues to lead the fleet at the 2010 Laser World Championship after a tricky opening day of finals racing where nine sailors, including Australia’s two-time World Champion were disqualified from the opening race. After a number of general recalls to start the day the race committee raised the black flag meaning that any boats over the line before the next start would be disqualified and plenty of key players were caught out including Slingsby, reigning Olympic champion Paul Goodison from Great Britain and leaders from earlier in the week Kiwi Michael Bullot and Croatian Luka Radelic. “There was a knot of current pushing us over the line in that race,” said Slingsby. “In all the general recalls I was very conservative, just trying to get away cleanly. On the recall that I got done, the boats around me kept pressing forward, I was well back in my group but unfortunately they pinned our group, somehow the boat to leward of me who was a boat length ahead of me didn’t get done, it was very frustrating as the last thing I wanted was a black flag to start the finals series.”
Slingsby put the disappointment of having to sit out the opening race behind him and bounced back to finish eighth in race two, giving him a 13 point lead over New Zealand’s Andrew Maloney and Great Britain’s Nick Thompson.
“Race two was nice in about 12-14 knots,” said Slingsby. “I was very conservative on the start and didn’t get away too well. From there on I played the centre of the course but unfortunately couldn’t get many clear lanes.”
“I think I rounded about 15th, eighth to the bottom, lost a few up the beat and gained them back on the run to finish eighth,” he said. “A good race to steady the nerves after getting a black flag”
“We’ve got two days of racing left so from here on it’s about conservative starts and just keeping it clean around the course cause I can’t have any more mistakes from here on,” said Slingsby.
After the first two races of Gold fleet Slingsby fared the best of the overnight leaders with Paul Goodison, who was second overnight, ending the day fifth while New Zealander Michael Bullot slipped from third to 10th.
The Australian Sailing Development Squad’s Ashley Brunning had a tough opening two Gold fleet races with a 26th in a tight race one before being disqualified for a second yellow flag at the top of the first beat in race two.
The Sydney based sailor ended the day in 14th position, 10 points outside the top 10.
In the silver fleet James Burman is the best placed Australian in 16th position after a fourth and a 21st, while Ryan Palk is following close behind in 21st and Tom Burton is 48th.
Queenslander Klade Hauschildt is the top Australian in the Bronze fleet in 14th, with Thor Schoenhoff 24th and Sean Bly 28th.
Ki-raphael Sulkowski finished the day 32nd, ahead of Jared West 42nd, Ryan Stoddart 45th and Ashley Lloyd 49th.
Racing continues on Saturday with the 2010 Laser World Champion to be crowned on Sunday.
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Slingsby continues to power ahead at Laser World Championship Tom Slingsby continued his strong run on day four of the 2010 Laser World Championship with his consistency on the waters off Hayling Island in Great Britain opening up a 14 point lead over local rival Paul Goodison. Slingsby began his day with a solid fifth position before winning race two, his fourth victory of the regatta, to head into the finals series just ahead of Goodison, the reigning Olympic champion. “The first race was really tricky,” said Slingsby. “We were first off and we might have had the patchiest breeze. I was always there and lost one boat on the last run, so to get through with a fifth was pretty good. Nick Thompson and I were doing OK in the middle and then a big group came in from the right and we went round in tenth or so and it was very tricky once you’re there. The top three were just gone, you’re never going to catch them.”
“The second race was a bit more steady, more of boatspeed race. I got round third, second at the bottom and then first at the top. The Kiwis were in first and fourth and I just gained and gained, I had a tiny edge in boat speed and so he did not want to stay with me”
"But basically it all changes now into the Finals. It all starts again but if you make one mistake rather than losing five boats you lose 20. The only thing I take forward is knowing that I am sailing quick and that if I sail well I can win the Worlds.”
Though not everything went the way of the Australian Sailing Team’s two-time Laser World Champion with Slingsby discovering a crack in the top of his supplied daggerboard just before heading out for the day. After a quick swap the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games representative was on the water and ready for racing.
Slingsby won back-to-back World Championships in 2007 and 2008 and is keen for a strong finish at thie year’s event after a tough World Championship in Canada in 2009.
“Doing poorly at last year’s Worlds and finishing 17th, was a feeling I really did not like,” said Slingsby. “I didn’t like telling people that I came 17th, I like saying I’m in the top two in the world. I just restarted over again at Sail for Gold last year and it’s been going well since then.”
Fellow New South Welshman Ashley Brunning continued his strong run on day four winning the opening race of the day before a 19th in race two, moving the Australian Sailing Development Squad sailor up to ninth overall, a strong position heading into the finals series.
Brunning has sailed consistently well all week and he’s been rewarded with his first race win of the week and now finds himself just 14 points off the podium.
Ryan Palk ended the day in 74th, ahead of James Burman in 79th while Tom Burton finished the qualifying series in 87th.
Klade Hauschildt is currently in 127th, with Sean Bly 141st and Ki-raphael Sulkowski one place further back in 142nd.
Jared West is in 145th, ahead of Ryan Stoddart in 151st and Ashley Lloyd in 154th.
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Windsurfers head into finals series at 2010 World Championship Racing has entered the finals stage at the 2010 RS:X World Championship in Kerteminde, Denmark, with the Australian Sailing Team’s Jessica Crisp having a mixed day in the Gold fleet. After Wednesday’s lay day Crisp entered the Gold fleet in seventh position and had a solid opening race, crossing the line in ninth position in the first race of the week where all the top sailors were racing together. Crisp had a tougher race two, slipping back slightly to finish in 25th in the highly competitive fleet, leaving her in 15th position heading into the final two days of the regatta.
The three-time Olympian is just four points outside the top 10 with positions six through to 15 covered by just 12 points meaning there will be plenty of movement on the leader board when the sailors hit the water again on Friday.
In the women’s Silver fleet Queensland sailor and member of the 2009 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team Joanna Sterling is in 25th position following her 26th and 25th place finishes on Thursday.
In the men’s fleet Australia’s six representatives are all racing in the Silver fleet with West Australian Tim Gourlay the best placed in 20th position.
Gourlay had a great start to the finals series with a third place in the opening race before unfortunately crossing the line early in race two.
Queenslander Luke Baillie ended the day in 36th, after also having a strong opening race of the day with an 11th placed finish, his best result of the regatta so far.
James Levy is closely following Baillie in 38th position, ahead of Joel Tyack in 44th, one place ahead of fellow Australian Eamon Robertshaw.
Patrick Vos ended the day in 48th position in the men’s Silver fleet.
Racing continues in Denmark on Friday with the 2010 RS:X World Championship concluding on Saturday.
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Two race wins for Slingsby on perfect day at Laser World Championship The Australian Sailing Team’s Tom Slingsby has had the perfect day’s racing at the 2010 Laser World Championship in Great Britain, winning both day three races to move into the regatta lead. The dual World Champions two race wins took him from his overnight eighth position to a four point lead over New Zealand’s Joshua Junior and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Gold medalist Paul Goodison from Great Britain. “It was a really good day,” said Slingsby. “There was a lot of current and everyone was really intimidated to get up on the start line but I had good transits and so I was able to start a boat length or two ahead of the boats around me.”
“So I had really good starts, good speed upwind, but I was really fast downwind which is maybe a little out of the ordinary for me,” he said. “I am usually an upwind specialist but today I was really quick downwind, I’m not too sure why.”
Slingsby said that one of the reasons for his success on the water on Wednesday was the fact that he was concentrating on sailing as smoothly as possible.
“Yesterday I got a yellow flag and that maybe did me some good,” he said. “I was trying to stay very still and today was a day about being very smooth and rocking really would not have helped you very much.”
After a slow day two of the 2010 Laser World Championship day three turned on fantastic sailing conditions with a 10 to 12 knot easterly and a nice chop with more of the same forecast for Thursday.
Australian Sailing Development Squad sailor Ashley Brunning was the other big Australian mover of the day with his two third place finishes leaving him 14th overall, a great reward for his consistency so far this week with his worst race finish to date a 12th.
New South Welshman James Burman ended the day in 74th, ahead of Ryan Palk in 79th who had a fighting sixth place finish in the opening race of the day.
Tom Burton is one place further behind in 80th with Thor Schoenhoff 134th and Klade Hauschildt 135th. Sean Bly ended the day in 139th while Jared West is in 146th and Ryan Stoddart and Ashley Lloyd 151st and 152nd respectively.
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Crisp races up the leader board on day three of RS:X Worlds The Australian Sailing Team’s Jessica Crisp has been the big mover on day three of the 2010 RS:X World Championship racing up the leader board to seventh overall after four races. The three-time Olympian had two great races in the light and shifty conditions in Kerteminde, Denmark, with a second and a third catapulting her from her overnight position of 33rd to seventh and just four points off the lead. “Today was a really good day’s racing for me,” said Crisp. “Looking back at the regatta so far yesterday was still quite a good day, aside from the race one debacle where I was disqualified, and I’m really happy with where I sit after the first five races.”
“The conditions today were quite light and shifty but we were still planning downwind in the second race and I managed to go from eighth to third on the final downwind with a big gap to the rest of the fleet,” she said.
“Day one was much windier and I was happy with how I went in the last two races, to have two top eight finishes was great, I haven’t gone too well in wind for a while,” said Crisp. “After a really tough regatta in Weymouth a couple of weeks back the confidence is coming back.”
After the opening five races Crisp is tied on points with fifth and sixth position and just one point behind the two Chinese sailors who are tied for third and fourth. France’s Charline Picon is one point further ahead in second while Maja Dziarnowska has a one point lead at the front of the fleet.
“It’s turning out to be a very close World Championship which is really good,” said Crisp. “Yesterday the girls who go well in the wind had a good day and some really struggled today so it’s turning out to be all about consistency.”
“Tomorrow is a lay day which is welcome as my body needs some rest and then back into racing on Thursday and I’ll be aiming to keep up the consistency for the remainder of the regatta,” she said.
Fellow Australian Joanna Sterling ended the day 59th in the women’s fleet with the young Queenslander finishing with two 31sts and is gaining valuable experience with every race against the best windsurfers in the world.
In the men’s fleet Tim Gourlay continues to be the best placed Australian in 77th, ahead of James Levy in 94th.
Luke Baillie is currently 98th, ahead of 2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team member Eamon Robertshaw in 101st and Joel Tyack one place further back in 102nd. Patrick Vos is 106th.
Racing continues in Denmark on Thursday September 2 following a lay day on Wednesday.
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Light winds make life difficult on day two of Laser World Championship It was a case of self preservation on day two of the 2010 Laser World Championship in Hayling Island, Great Britain, with the light sea breeze playing havoc with racing and resulting in high scores for many at the pointy end of the fleet. The Australian Sailing Team’s Tom Slingsby remains inside the top 10 after an opening race 29th and then a third in the day’s two races. The two-time Laser World Champion ended the day eighth overall, just four points off the final position on the podium and seven off regatta leader Luka Radelic of Croatia.
“The light winds today made it not easy at all to pick the best path upwind with some large holes here and there,” said Australian Sailing Team Laser coach Michael Blackburn. “Many of the top guys are now carrying one larger score, including Tom who finished with a 29th in race one after a tough start.”
“Tom was able to commit more to a side in the second race and rounded the top mark in ninth before pulling his way through the fleet to finish the race third overall,” he said.
Ashley Brunning continues to be the next best placed Australian ending day two of the 2010 World Championship in 31st after a 10th and a 12th place finish.
“The other Australians didn’t fare too well on day two with some bad starts and then it was nigh impossible to make up much ground after the top mark,” said Blackburn. “We are expecting a little more breeze tomorrow, but for now through to the end of the regatta it looks light to moderate.”
Tom Burton ended the day in 72nd after a 13th and a 28th, four positions ahead of fellow Australian James Burman who had a 35th and a 20th in the day’s two races.
Ryan Palk is currently in 106th, ahead of West Australian Thor Schoenhoff in 134th, Queenslander Klade Hauschildt in 137th and Sean Bly in 143rd.
Jared West is 147th, one place ahead of Ki-raphael Sulkowski in 148th, while Ryan Stoddard and Ashley Lloyd are 153rd and 154th respectively.
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