Yachting Australia

New Audi IRC Championship kicks off at Hamilton Island

Following on from the announcement of a new partnership between German luxury carmaker, Audi, and Yachting Australia for 2012 and beyond, the decision was made to simplify the national championship concept, returning it to its successful roots as a stand-alone sailing event. 

Yachting Australia inviting comment on proposed revised Special Regulation 4.19 - Liferafts

The document regarding the changes is available here. 

Double Gold for Australian sailors on final day of sailing World Championships

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen wrapped up the 49er title while Tom Slingsby won his fourth Laser World Championship in five years in emphatic style.

Outteridge and Jensen entered the final race with a 17 point lead over the Danish crew of Emil and Simon Toft Nielsen, knowing that they would walk away from Perth 2011 with at least a Silver medal.

But the pair didn’t rest on their laurels, pushing their competition the whole way through the final race, eventually finishing third overall to take the Gold medal, their second World Championship together and Outteridge’s third, by 21 points.

“This win is the perfect preparation for London,” said Outteridge. “We’ve performed really well on the Olympic waters in London as well and from here on it’s about maintaining the level we’re at and making sure we’re the team to beat, we’re doing the best we can at that and have got another eight months to get ready for the Games.

“Every event we do and get a podium is always a boost, and winning is always that little bit better,” he said. “We’ve got a few more events between now and the Games, including another World Championships in Croatia in May so there’s still a very long way to go yet.”

Jensen said that the pair was thrilled to regain the title they first won together in 2009.

“It’s an amazing feeling, we haven’t had a World Championship since January 2010 and we were second that time, so it’s good not to be the bridesmaids anymore,” said Jensen. “We like a bit of breeze and today it was great, really wavy, and a nice medium breeze which was perfect for sailing 49ers.”

Australia’s second Gold medal of the day came at the hands of Tom Slingsby who won the title in style, with a first place in the medal race giving him a 19 point victory over Great Britain’s Nick Thompson with New Zealand’s Andrew Murdoch third.

Slingsby’s win was his fourth world title in five years, cementing himself at the top of the Laser class as he continues his preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Slingsby said that to win in front of a packed grandstand in Fremantle made it extra special.

“This is definitely one of the best,” he said. “In sailing you’re often off in the ocean and no one can see but to have it here and a grandstand all cheering your name chanting ‘Tom’, I haven’t had that happen before so it’s a pretty amazing feeling, you feel like a real sports star.”

“I was going down that last run thinking ‘this is pretty cool stuff,’ I’ve won world titles but they’re often off in the ocean and no one can see you,” he said. “I’m really happy with the way I’m going. To me, I feel like I’m improving all the time, I’m a lot better sailor than I was four years ago and I think it’s going to show this time round.”

Fellow Australians Ashley Brunning and Tom Burton finished sixth and 10^th respectively in the final medal race, capping off a successful week.

Brunning’s result left him seventh overall while Burton finished the regatta in ninth, the highest either had finished in a Laser World Championship.

In the 470 women’s class Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell finished ninth overall, in just their third regatta, and first World Championship, together since teaming up only a handful of months ago.

The pair stormed into the medal race off the back of a stunning final two races, where they crossed the line third and fifth, moving them from 13^th to ninth overall heading into Sunday’s final race.

Rechichi and Stowell clearly enjoyed sailing in front of their friends and family in Fremantle, with the pair fighting hard throughout the entire medal race to cross the line in second, their best finish of the week.

Capping off the week for Australia the nation was awarded the IOC President’s Trophy for the most successful team at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships with three Gold medals.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com. 

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Aussie sailors have their eyes on Gold as Perth 2011 heads towards final day

Outteridge and Jensen close in on 49er class leaders

The 49er fleet hit the water at 9am with three races scheduled but shifting winds shuffled the leaderboard with Outteridge and Jensen finishing with a 10^th and a fifth.

The crews were sent back to shore following the second race as the breeze started to swing around, returning to the race course later in the day for a third race.

The Australian duo bounced back after finding themselves deep in the fleet, eventually finishing eighth, and in doing so moved themselves to second overall, just two points behind British crew John Pink and Rick Peacock, with another three races schedule on Saturday before the final medal race.

“We had to do another double session today,” said Outteridge. “We had a 9am start with an easterly breeze on the centre course, it was probably the most random racing we’ve had all season, we were leading both races at the bottom gate but only managed to get a 10^th and a fifth, it was a bit disappointing and frustrating but at the same time they were all keepers.

“We then sat around a bit and went out in the afternoon in the sea breeze for one more race,” he said. “We weren’t looking great and were about 22^nd at the first mark after we hit it and had to do turns but we just plugged away and kept trying to play with the shifty breeze which hadn’t settled down yet.

“We got back to eighth and are really happy with this as we’re now just two points off the lead,” he said.

Heading into Saturday’s three Gold fleet races Outteridge and Jensen are seven points clear of the third placed Danish crew, with New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke just two points further back in fourth.

Jensen said that there is still plenty to play out before Sunday’s final 10 boat medal race on the Bathers Bay spectator course.

“We’ve had everything this week and we don’t really know what to expect tomorrow but we’re just got to go out and post a couple of top 10s and have a look and see how we’re sitting after that,” said Jensen.

Fellow Australians Will and Sam Phillips had a mixed day on the water with a 14^th, 18^th and 21^st leaving them 20^th overall.

Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell continue to be the leading Australian crew in the 470 women’s fleet, in 13^th overall following a 15^th and a 10^th on Friday, with racing taking place close to shore in Bathers Bay.

The pair will be pushing hard in the final two fleet races on Saturday as they try and close the 15 point gap to 10^th and secure themselves a place in the medal race.

The Laser fleet had a lay day on Friday with Australia’s tripe World Champion, Tom Slingsby, leading the class heading into the weekend.

Slingsby currently has an 11 point lead over Great Britain’s Paul Goodison with two races scheduled for Saturday before Sunday’s medal race.

Fellow Australian Ashley Brunning is currently fourth overall, just two points behind third placed Nick Thompson of Great Britain.

The RS:X men’s fleet will return to the water on Saturday with Tim Gourlay and Luke Baillie the top two Australians in 44^th and 46^th respectively.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com.

For more on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Slingsby extends his lead as Laser fleet begins finals racing

Slingsby stays at the front as wind plays tricks on crews at Perth 2011

Competition is set to heat up from Thursday with the leading sailors set to face off against each other in the Gold fleet with Slingsby taking a seven point lead over Great Britain’s Paul Goodison into the next stage of competition.

The triple World Champion had a mixed day with another impressive race win to kick off the day before being forced to fight back from deep in the fleet to finish ninth in race two.

“I had a good one and a not so good one today, it was a crazy day,” said Slingsby. “In the first race I was doing well in about third and picked the left hand side when the wind went funky, I was able to get up to first and then hold on to win.”

“In race two we had a massive wind shift which was practically a self tacker to the left for me, with the guys who started at the other end of the line rounding the top mark minutes ahead,” he said. “I had to play catch up again and caught as many as I could heading towards the finish.”

Slingsby said that he’ll take some confidence into the Gold fleet following four race wins from the first six races, but that the conditions continue to challenge the entire fleet.

“I know that I’m sailing well when the breeze is normal, when it goes crazy it’s a bit of luck of the day but I’m in good shape going into tomorrow,” he said. “It’s weird what’s going on with the wind, it’s a hard time to lead an event because you’re trying to watch your opposition and who’s close to you on points but in stuff like that you can’t cover them.

“If it comes back to the Fremantle Doctor I’ll rest a bit easier because I know it’ll come down to the little shifts and nothing crazy on the race course where the others could get 20 or 30 points on me,” said Slingsby.

Fellow Australian Ashley Brunning has jumped up to fourth overall after another very strong day of racing off the coast of Fremantle.

Brunning has been towards the front of the fleet in all of the conditions thrown at the sailors and Wednesday was no different, with Brunning picking up a fourth and a second to be just four points behind the second placed Goodison.

Tom Burton is also in touch with the leaders in 16^th position following a third and a fourth, leaving him nine points outside the top 10.

In the 49er fleet Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen have continued their move up the leaderboard, ending their third day of racing in third overall.

The 2009 World Champions are just five points off the leaders, John Pink and Rick Peacock, following an eighth and a fifth in shifty conditions.

“We only got two races in today but I think we were out there for five hours or so,” said Outteridge. “The conditions were pretty tricky today, the forecast was for a seabreeze to come in and when it did it was for five minutes than it disappeared so it was really shifty and erratic.

“We toughed it out in both races and ended up with an eight and a fifth, probably not the best day results wise but it could have been a lot worse,” he said.

Jensen said that the pair had to take some risks on a day that kept all of the crews on their toes.

“Today was one of those days where you couldn’t be too conservative,” said Jensen. “If you went up the middle you’d get passed by both sides so you had to kind of sail high risk and it turned out that we had a couple of consistent results by sailing high risk so it all worked out in the end.”

Will and Sam Phillips ended the day in 17^th overall following a 20^th and a race win, leaving them just 11 points off 10^th.

The 49er fleet will have a lay day on Thursday before finals racing kicks off on Friday.

Australia’s Women’s Match Racing crews suffered double disappointment with both teams bowing out at the quarter-final stage of the competition.

After the highs of finishing second and third in the repechage round robin and qualifying Australia for the London 2012 Olympic Games the crews were unable to replicate those results, with both teams losing three wins to nil.

All eight crews in the quarter-finals spent hours floating around on Fremantle Harbour waiting for the breeze to fill in before the race committee made the decision to move the course out of the river to ensure the quarter-finals could be completed late in the day.

Unfortunately the move didn’t pay dividends for the Australians with both missing out on a spot in Thursday’s semi-finals.

Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty lost to Russia’s Ekatrina Skudina while Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill were beaten by America’s Anna Tunnicliffe.

Though both Price and Souter’s crews will back in action on Thursday, competing in the fifth to eighth place playoff.

Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell have continued their move up the leaderboard in the 470 women’s class, with each race together proving invaluable for the new pairing.

Competing in just their third regatta together the pair finished with an eighth and a ninth on Wednesday to be 12^th overall and just three points off 10^th position.

Luke Baillie is the highest placed Australian in the RS:X men’s fleet in 35^th, with Tim Gourlay and James Levy the next two best placed in 46^th and 60^th respectively.

In the Star class Paul McKenzie and Phillip Toth are the leading Australian crew in 22^nd overall, following their best day of the regatta so far with a 17^th and an eighth place finish.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Australian Match Racers power through to quarter-finals at Perth 2011

The top eight nations at Perth 2011 will qualify for next year’s Games with Australia’s two crews, skippered by Olivia Price and Nicky Souter, going through to the quarter-finals in sixth and seventh position respectively.

After 15 round robin races the two crews were tied on 11 wins and four losses and only split on a count-back with Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty finishing ahead of Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill after winning their one and only head-to-head race on Sunday.

“The feeling of qualifying the country is so good, I’m absolutely stoked with how things went today,” said Price. “We’ve qualified the nation and that’s predominantly what we came here to do, tick, that one’s achieved.

“It’s really good to know that we’ve come up together and performed on the day, we’re still here standing and have got more to give,” she said.

Souter was also thrilled with making the quarter-finals and qualifying the country for London 2012.

“We had an awesome, awesome day today, not only have we qualified the country but we’ve made the quarter-finals which was a big goal and re-qualified for the Australian Sailing Team for next year, three big ticks,” said Souter. “Though we’ve still got one more bigger, bigger, most important tick to get in the next couple of days.

“We’re really happy with how we’re sailing, that course out there is the most difficult course we’ve probably ever sailed on and I think we’re managing that quite well, we were quite consistent and are ready for the quarter-finals,” she said.

In Wednesday’s quarter-finals Price and crew will line up against Ekaterina Skudina of Russia while Souter and crew will take on the American entry skippered by Anna Tunnicliffe, with the winner being the first team to register three wins on the Fremantle Harbour course.

In the Laser class defending World Champion Tom Slingsby has taken the overall lead after claiming two wins from two starts, moving him nine points clear of second place, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Gold medalist Paul Goodison of Great Britain.

“I actually sailed quite well today,” said Slingsby. “It was another good day in pretty tricky conditions, it wasn’t the normal Fremantle doctor with rain clouds and huge wind shifts but I’m happy with how it ended up.

“All of this qualifying racing is just like getting a position the starting grid,” he said. “The real racing starts in the finals, the second day of the finals on the centre course with the shore, the rock wall in place for the spectators, that will be the tough day because there’s going to be some big scores and I’ve got to make sure that I’m in a good spot going into it, that’ll be a very tricky day.”

While Slingsby has opened up a handy lead there is a real bottleneck behind Goodison, including Australia’s Ashley Brunning who is just seven points behind the British sailor in 10^th, following a 10^th and a seventh on Tuesday.

Tom Burton and Ryan Palk are the next best placed Australians in the Laser fleet in 31^st and 32^nd respectively with Burton recording a race win and Palk a sixth in the opening race of the day.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen have moved up to fifth in the 49er class following two race wins and a 13^th from their three races.

The current world number ones find themselves just five points off the leading Danish crew with all of the leading teams having mixed results in the six races so far at Perth 2011.

“Today was a very difficult day conditions wise with big shifts, some up to 30 to 40 degrees,” said Outteridge. “We got it right in the first two races with two bullets where we led from start to finish but the last one didn’t go our way at all, we couldn’t execute the start we wanted so we bailed out and went to start on port and that didn’t work too well, I think there were only four or five boats behind us at the first mark.

“But we just waited our turn and tried to catch back up, we ended up with a keeper but it turned a really good day into an average one,” he said.

Fellow Australians Will and Sam Phillips have worked their way up to 14^th overall following a ninth, a seventh and a second and are just five points outside the top 10.

Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell had two solid results in the 470 women, with a 12^th and a 14^th moving them up to 23^rd overall, ahead of Sasha Ryan and Chelsea Hall in 32^nd.

In the RS:X men’s fleet Luke Baillie is the highest placed Australian in 31^st, with local sailor Tim Gourlay the next best in 41^st.

Paul McKenzie and Phillip Toth are the leading Australian crew in the Star class, currently sitting in 27^th.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Public Comment sought on proposed revision to Special Regulation 4.07 Medical Kit and Manual

Yachting Australia is inviting comment from the public on the proposed revised Special Regulation 4.07 Medical Kit and Manual, available here. 

The medical kit regulations are applicable to yachts participating in Category 1 to Category 7 races in Australia and also serve as a reference for Australian cruising boats.

Public comment closes 3 January 2012.

Submissions, or requests more information, may be directed to Rozetta Payne – Sport Services Coordinator – Safety and Risk: rozetta.payne@yachting.org.au.

Slingsby kicks off Laser World Championship defence in Perth

The triple World Champion began his regatta in style, winning the first race by a comfortable margin before finishing sixth in race two, leaving him second overall, just a point behind day one leader Jasper Stalheim of Sweden.

“The first race was perfect, I had a good start, went to the right side of the course, it was just myself and the Polish guy over there and we ended up first and second at the top mark,” said Slingsby. “We were able to extend from there and I had a comfortable lead.

“The second race wasn’t so good, I guess it was my fault, I should have looked where the top mark was,” he said. “I tacked off the line, went for a few minutes and the tacked back and was over-laid by a long way, hundreds of metres. I rounded in the high teens or low twenties and was able to pull to six.

“All in all I didn’t have a drop today and that was the goal, I’m in the hunt,” he said.

Slingsby said that he’s looking forward to the challenge the week ahead will present.

“I’m used to pressure at every event, to me this is just another event, I really want to win because it’s a big one but I’ll sail exactly the same as I always do.

The current world number one has spent the last few weeks training in Fremantle, spending much of the first week of the regatta keeping an eye on the progress of his fellow Australians.

“It feels like we’re coming to the end of a championship when we haven’t started yet,” he said. “I guess I was going through the emotional highs and lows of their week as well, it’s great to be on the water now and get racing and hopefully we get some good weather.”

Fellow Australian Ashley Brunning had a strong opening day and sits fifth overall after a pair of fourths, with Jared West beginning his week well with a 10^th and a third leaving him in 16^th.

Ryan Palk is 31^st overall, ahead of Tom Burton in 36^th, James Burman in 57^th and West Australian Matthew Wearn is 60th.  

The 49er fleet also hit for water for the first time with Australian’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen having a mixed day, finishing 10^th in the opening two races before bouncing back well with a race win to round out the day, leaving them 10^th overall.

“It was a typical start to an event for us,” said Outteridge. “We had two tough races and got caught up in a bit of traffic and had to do a turn in race one and then we had to capsize to avoid an incident in the second.

“We managed to get two 10ths out of the 35 boat fleet so it could have been a lot worse,” he said. “We had a break then while the other fleet did their third race before going back for one more when it was a bit windier and we came away with a first which makes the day a bit better than it started.”

Will and Sam Phillips are 19^th after the first three races with Steven Thomas and Jasper Warren the next best placed Australians in 32^nd.

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill finished the day with three wins and a loss, to move into a tie for second position with fellow Aussies Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty.

Souter and crew had wins against their Swedish, Brazilian and American opponents with a loss against the Spanish crew.

“Today was the most difficult day of sailing we’ve ever had together,” said Souter. “Because of the direction the wind was coming from the course was set up across the harbour which is pretty narrow so we were doing four lap races, all we seemed to be doing was putting the spinnaker up and then taking it down, it was full on, you couldn’t stop for a second.

“It was a fun and challenging day and we’ve now got four races left to finish the round robin,” she said. “We know that in this competition anything can happen and I’m sure the results will shift around tomorrow, we know that we have to go out there and put in some good races tomorrow and get the job done.”

Price, Curtis and Whitty had just one race scheduled on day 10 of racing for the Women’s Match Racing competition, recording a win against America’s Genny Tulloch.

The win leaves the Australian crew with eight wins and three losses, with four races remaining in the repechage round robin for them.

Sasha Ryan and Chelsea Hall are leading the way for the Australians in the 470 women’s class, ending day one in 24^th. Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell are 33^rd, Carrie Smith and Ella Clark are 43^rd and Aurora Patterson and Tara McCall are 47^th.

In the RS:X men’s class Queensland’s Luke Baillie is the best placed Australian in 29^th overall after a 13^th and a 17^th from the first two races, ahead of local sailor Tim Gourlay in 35^th, Patrick Vos in 57^th, James Levy in 65^th, Justin Lord in 79^th, Sam Treharne in 81^st and Eamon Robertshaw in 87^th.

The Star class completed another two races on their second day of competition with Paul McKenzie and Phillip Toth the highest placed local crew in 32^nd, one place ahead of Mark Bradford and David Giles with Iain Murray and Andrew Palfrey in 35^th.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com. 

For more on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam

Australian sailors Belcher and Page win 470 World Championship

The win at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships was the pair’s second title together, defending the crown they won in the Netherlands last year and taking Page’s personal 470 World Championship tally to five.

“Today’s feeling is just the best,” said Page. “It’s something we’ve been aiming for all year, it’s our peak regatta and to come here and to sail how we have is a really good confidence builder for us towards London 2012, I’m very happy with how it panned out, you won’t be able to wipe the smile off my face.”

Belcher and Page went into the final 10 boat medal race with an 18 point lead over Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, knowing that they just had to make sure they didn’t finish last if the British team won the race, to secure the title.

“We had to keep an eye on the British who were second coming into today,” said Belcher. “I think the main goal was to not jump the start and OCS which we have done in the past and lost our lead, we didn’t want to do that again, and not on home waters.

“We went out and sailed a consistent race and found ourselves towards the back on the first beat and then slowly fought our way through and came away with fourth which was enough,” he said.

Patience and Bithell went on to win the race, closing the gap slightly on Belcher and Page, with the Australians winning the regatta by 12 points.

The win came at the end of an incredibly consistent week where they didn’t finish outside of the top 10 once, winning six races on the way to the 2011 World Championship title.

While the focus on Sunday was on the four medal races held on Bathers Bay the Women’s Match Racing Competition continued with the repechage round robin taking place on Fremantle Harbour.

Sunday marked the first time that the two Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crews have come up against each other at the event, with Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty winning in incredibly close race by just three seconds against Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill.

Souter and crew went on to record wins against their German and Slovenian opponents to sit on five wins and two losses.

Their fellow Australians had wins against Brazil and Germany and a losses against Sweden and Spain.

Racing got underway in the Star class with Paul McKenzie and Phillip Toth the leading Australians in 25^th overall, ahead of Iain Murray and Andrew Palfrey in 30^th and Mark Bradford and David Giles in 34^th.

The 49er, Laser, RS:X men and 470 women classes get underway on Monday, continuing until Sunday 18 December.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com.

For more on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Belcher and Page close in on world title

Belcher and Page went into the final two Gold fleet races with a 12 point lead over Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, with Croatia’s Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic a further 13 back in third.

The Australians kept a close watch on their closest competitors throughout Saturday’s two races, with a sixth and a fifth allowing them to open up a 17 point gap over the British and Croatian crews who are tied on points heading into the final medal race.

“The results in the end were alright today, we didn’t feel like we were probably sailing our best today but to come away with a sixth and a fifth was good in the sense that we gained points on second place and third came back into the equation a bit,” said Page. “It’s good to have a good lead going into the medal race tomorrow.”

With just 10 spots available in Sunday’s medal race racing was tight throughout the fleet in both races.

“For a lot of countries qualification is at stake and a lot of individual teams are trying to qualify for next year so everyone upped the risk quite a bit today,” said Belcher. “In the position we were in we didn’t want to take too many risks and found ourselves a little back on the first beat but pulled through, we felt that we could have sailed a little better but we can’t complain to come away with those results.”

The current world number ones will still have to be at the top of their game on Sunday with anything possible in the double point medal race.

“We’re in a very strong position and obviously with the British and Croatians on equal points they’re going to be looking at each other a little bit more than us, but it’s not done until the fat lady sings so we’ll be out there and pushing it tomorrow.”

Belcher had similar thoughts as they work towards their second straight title together, this one just eight months out from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“We’re in a comfortable position, are sailing well and are in good form,” said Belcher. “We’ve been in this position before and can bring confidence from that and go out tomorrow racing hard and hopefully it goes our way.”

Fellow Australian 470 sailors Sam Kivell and Will Ryan finished the week 32^nd overall after a pair of 31^st place finishes in the final two fleet races.

Australia’s two Women’s Match Racing crews kicked off the repechage round robin, with both teams fighting for a top four finish and progression to the quarter-finals.

Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill ended the day with three wins and one loss. Souter and crew began the day with a win against New Zealand, Portugal and Denmark before a loss against Brazil.

Fellow Australians Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty sit on two wins and two losses, recording victories against Brazil and New Zealand and losses against Denmark and Portugal.

Racing continues for both crew on Sunday, including an all-Australian race on Fremantle Harbour sometime during the day.

In the RS:X women’s Jessica Crisp ended her regatta in 17^th overall, rounding out the World Championships with two 17^th place finishes.

Krystal Weir ended the Laser Radial competition on a high with her best result of the week, a second in the final race. Weir had a 29^th earlier in the day on the Bathers Bay course and finished 19^th overall.

“Finally I found some form in that final race,” said Weir. “It’s just a bit of a shame that it wasn’t like this earlier in the week. I got off the start line well, got ahead and it was easy after that, when you’re back in the fleet it’s like sailing in a washing machine.”

Alex South finished up 33^rd, ahead of Gabrielle King in 42^nd, Ashley Stoddart in 49^th and Caitlin Elks in 76^th.

In the Finn fleet Brendan Casey was 19^th overall, after being excluded for jumping the start in race one and finishing 25^th in race two.

Video highlights of Belcher and Page are available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pADOZ_C49tc.

Full results are available at www.perth2011.com.

For more on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Belcher and Page leap ahead as 470 men’s action heats up

Belcher and Page won both of Friday’s Gold fleet races to open up a 12 point lead over Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell with Croatia’s Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic a further 13 back in third.

“So far so good,” said Page. “We’re having a good week, racing really well and couldn’t be happier with where we sit at the moment.”

The defending World Champions have now won six of the eight races they have contested at this regatta, putting themselves in a great position with two Gold fleet races and the final medal race remaining.

“We said in the beginning of the week that this was going to be the difficult day,” said Belcher. “We were quite close to shore on the medal race course and had 40 boats out there instead of 10 in very shifty conditions. The strategy was to keep our drop till today, expecting the conditions to be quite variable but to come away with two wins in those conditions was fantastic.”

Page said that the pair was going to continue to treat each race the same way, focusing on their own performances rather than those around them.

“One of the good things is that our worse race is a ninth while others have a bad one in the bank,” said Page. “We’re going to piece each race together as it comes, sure we’re set up in a nice spot so we’ve just got to take it one race at a time tomorrow, see what the conditions are first because that will change our strategy and play the game from there.”

Fellow Australians Sam Kivell and Will Ryan sit in 29^th position in the Gold fleet following a pair of 24^th place finishes on the Bathers Bay course.

Earlier in the day the Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty finished the opening round robin in style with a pair of wins against their Peruvian and Brazilian opponents.

The wins left Price and crew with a record of nine wins and four losses from their 13 races, fourth overall in their group.

The Australian trio have qualified for the repechage round robin and will spend the next few days going head to head with 15 other crews, including fellow Australians Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill, for a place in the quarterfinals.

In the Finn class Australian Brendan Casey had a tough day on the water with a 19^th and a 21^st leaving him 16^th overall, with two Gold fleet races remaining on Saturday.

Oliver Tweddell is the next best placed Australian in the Finn fleet in 24th.

The RS:X women and Laser Radial classes return to the water on Saturday for their final two Gold fleet races with Jessica Crisp currently the top Australian in 17^th in the RS:X and Krystal Weir 20^th in the Laser Radial.

For more information visit www.perth2011.com.

For more on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Belcher and Page hit the front as 470 men enter finals series

The defending World Champions and current world number ones went into Thursday’s one and only race tied on points with Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell at the head of the fleet, with both crews winning three races in qualifying.

Belcher and Page had the better result today, with their third place giving them a two point lead over Patience and Bithell, who dropped their 28^th.

The Croatian pairing of Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic won the race, with the result leaving them just three points behind the British crew, with four races remaining before the final 10 boat medal race.

“We had a good race and ended up with a third and we’re very happy with that,” said Page. “Obviously with all the good guys in the one race it can be very expensive but to come away with a third, another keeper, and we’re carrying a nine in the bag as a reserve for later on.”

The 470 fleet was due to have a lay day today, but after thunderstorms kept the sailors on shore on Tuesday the race committee took the opportunity to get back onto schedule and change what was going to be the last qualifying race into the opening finals race with the top half of the fleet racing against each other for the first time.

“To have the extra finals race for us was great,” said Belcher. “It showed real forward planning by the committee to be able to get that today and we look forward to the next few days, anything can happen in finals racing and we’re going to keep focusing on ourselves and keep trying to plug away and get results.”

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill have qualified for the repechage round robin, missing out on an automatic spot in the quarter-finals by the smallest of margins, with the Australians finishing third on a count-back.

Souter and crew finished the round robin with 11 wins and just three losses, tied with their American, Russian and Finnish opponents, with America’s Anna Tunnicliffe and Russia’s Ekatrina Skudina going straight through to the quarters.

“We had a four way tie for first place and unfortunately the count-backs didn’t go our way,” said Souter. “We’re really happy with how we sailed, to come out equal first in this round robin is quite good but at the same time it’s a little bit disappointing to just miss out on a count-back to make it through in the top two.

“But the good thing is we’ve made it through to the repechage and have got another chance, there’s plenty more races and I think we’re going to have a big confidence boost knowing we came out pretty much at the top of our group,” she said.

The Australian trio has Friday off the water while group B is finalised with fellow Australians Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty in action on Fremantle Harbour.

Brendan Casey finished 16^th in the day’s only Finn race and currently sits 15^th overall, just six points off 10^th position, with fellow Australian Oliver Tweddell in 24^th, just ahead of Anthony Nossiter in 26^th.

In the RS:X women’s class Jessica Crisp is 17^th overall, with the triple Olympian finishing the day with a 27^th, a ninth and a 20^th on Bathers Bay.

Krystal Weir is 20^th in the Laser Radial class following a mixed day. Weir was disqualified from the opening race for illegal propulsion before a 33^rd in race two but bounced back well in the final race to finish 13^th.

Fellow Laser Radial sailor Alex South is 36^th, ahead of Gabrielle King in 44^th, Ashley Stoddart in 47^th and Caitlin Elks in 79^th.

In the 470 men’s fleet the Australian Sailing Squad crew of Sam Kivell and Will Ryan came back from a tough day five in style with a seventh place finish in the first Gold fleet race moving them to 28^th overall.

Racing continues on Friday with the Women’s Match Racing opening round robin wrapping up and the 470 men and Finn classes set to complete two races.

Australian Sailing Team day six video highlights can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U7lphBXjMY.

Full results can be found at www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Belcher and Page have perfect day with three ‘bullets’ in Perth

The three wins leave the defending World Champions tied on points at the front of the fleet with Great Britain’s Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell who won all of their races in the second 470 group.

“We can’t complain when we have days like that, especially in the qualifying, it certainly helps to get a few up on your competitors,” said Belcher.

Belcher said that the pair is looking forward to racing against the top crews once the regatta enters the finals stages.

“It’s always hard when you’re qualifying in two different groups, watching one of your biggest competitors racing, you’re doing well, they’re doing well but that’s the nature of the sport and we’re looking forward to going into the finals. It’s won and lost in that finals group and at this stage all we can do is focus on us and get the best results we can,” he said.

Following a shark sighting on Tuesday evening in Fremantle’s Fishing Boat Harbour, Belcher and Page had a run in with some aquatic life themselves while racing.

“We had a little scare today with what we worked out was a dolphin that popped up underneath me on the trapeze at one stage,” said Page. “First thought when you see a fin is maybe it’s a shark but it was all good today, we didn’t back off, just kept on going and had a good day.”

Dolphin sightings aside the only blip on the pair’s record for the day was a capsize late in the final race.

“My mistake, I’m taking that one,” said Page. “ We went for more or less the last tack of the day on the last work with a good little lead but hesitated a bit, the old bones wouldn’t get going and I didn’t make it across the boat and we capsized.

“We allowed one of the British crews through but were lucky to catch them by the top mark and they fouled us a little on the approach to the mark so had to do turns, by no means was it over then but it gave us a little bit of breathing space and we got the win,” he said.

Day five of the World Championships was a busy one with both sailors and the race committee having a long day on the water as they attempted to make up the races lost due to severe storms on Tuesday.

Brendan Casey had a strong day’s racing in the Finn fleet with three solid races, finishing with a ninth, a fourth and an eighth to leave him 14^th overall.

“It was a long day in ‘Finn-land’ today on the Leighton Course, we had three races, pushed back from the dock at 10.30am this morning and didn’t get back until 7pm,” said Casey. “I had a pretty consistent day with a nine in race one which I backed up with a four and things were looking really positive for the final race and I was in fourth but capsized and fell back to probably 12^th but got myself back to eighth.”

“It was a positive day on the water, I had good starts all day long, raced well and I’m happy with that,” he said.

Fellow Australians Anthony Nossiter and Oliver Tweddell are 24^th and 25^th respectively in the highly competitive fleet.

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty had three wins and two losses on Wednesday, leaving them with seven wins and three losses from their opening 10 races.

The Australian trio opened the day with a wins against the Croatians, Swedish and Dutch crews on Fremantle Harbour. In fading light and winds Price and crew lost their final two races, against the second Swedish crew and the Danes.

Match Racers Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill return to racing on Thursday.

In the RS:X women’s fleet Jessica Crisp currently sits in 16^th overall after the first five races.

The triple-Olympian had a 16^th, a ninth and an 11^th on the Bathers Bay course, with racing taking place close to spectators along the breakwater in Fremantle.

Krystal Weir is 18^th overall in the Laser Radial fleet following three races on day five.

Weir opened the day with a 17^th, before her best result of the regatta so far, a fifth, and then a 12^th to round out the day.

Fellow Australian Alex South has moved up to 29^th, while Ashley Stoddart is 37^th, Gabrielle King is 41^st and Caitlin Elks 70^th.

In the 470 men’s fleet the Australian Sailing Squad crew of Sam Kivell and Will Ryan are 36^th, with two other Australians in the top 50, Matthew and Robert Crawford in 45^th and Alexander and Patrick Conway in 47^th.

On Thursday the 470 men, Laser Radial, RS:X women and Finn fleets will split into Gold and Silver fleets to begin the final series.

Day five video highlights can be viewed at

Full results can be found at www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Storms cancel racing on day four of Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships

Following three days of bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid to high 30s, a change overnight saw temperatures drop and storms hit the Fremantle area.

The only class to complete any racing on day four was Women’s Match Racing with just one flight completed before racing was brought to a halt.

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty featured in the flight, with the Australians recording a win against Genny Tulloch of America.

After controlling the start and leading early, Price and crew found themselves behind the Americans heading down the last run but managed to roll them on the line to pick up their fourth win of the regatta.

“It was a really challenging race against the Americans today,” said Price. “We started to windward of her with good speed and led up to the top mark.

“It was a three lap race so boat handling was really important in incredibly shifty, variable conditions with the pressure going up and down,” she said. “We managed to get a penalty on her for tacking too close on the first work and then found ourselves behind at the bottom mark.

“Once Genny completed her penalty we managed to get back in touch and rolled her on the line to win by one second, it ended up being the closest race we’ve had so far this regatta.”

The Australian trio now has four wins and two losses from their opening six races.

The weather conditions kept the 470 men, Laser Radial, Finn and RS:X women fleets on shore with all classes completing two races on Monday.

Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page are the best placed Australians, ending the day fourth overall in the 470 men.

The 2010 World Champions and current world number ones finished ninth in the opening race before a race win to round out the day. Fellow Australians Matthew and Robert Crawford are 22^nd and Sam Kivell and Will Ryan are 29^th.

Jessica Crisp ended the opening day of the RS:X women 20^th overall following a 21^st and a race win on the Bathers Bay course.

In the Laser Radial class Krystal Weir is 14^th overall, ahead of Australian Sailing Squad members Alex South in 21^st, Gabrielle King in 41^st and Ashley Stoddart in 80^th.

The Finn fleet featured Australian Sailing Team member Brendan Casey who is currently 16^th, following an opening race 16^th and a third. Fellow Australian Oliver Tweddell is just behind in 19^th.

Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill completed another four races in the Women’s Match Racing competition with three wins and one loss to go along with their four wins from the opening day.

Racing is set to continue in Fremantle on Wednesday with a revised schedule to be released overnight.

For full results and regatta news visit www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. 

Solid day on the water for Australian sailors at World Championships

Following two days solely of Women’s Match Racing Monday kicked off racing for the 470 men, RS:X women, Finn and Laser Radial classes.

Souter and crew continued with their winning ways on Fremantle Harbour, with three victories and a loss leaving them with a seven and one record following two days of racing.

The Australians began their day with back-to-back wins against their Brazilian and Slovenian opponents before returning to shore while other crews hit the water.

After the break Souter, Eastwell and Spithill suffered their first loss of the regatta, against Silke Hahlbock of Germany before bouncing back with a strong win against Denmark’s Lotte Meldgaard to round out the day.

“It was very shifty again today and we were lucky with the results we got,” said Souter. “We had three wins and a loss, in some of those wins the other team sailed very, very well and we were just lucky to get the win right at the last moment.

“We’re happy with the results but the conditions out there today certainly challenged us,” she said.

The Aussie trio has tomorrow off with teammates Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty set to return to the water.

In the 470 men’s class 2010 World Champions and current world number ones Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page got their title defence off to a solid start with a ninth and a first from their opening two races, leaving them fourth overall.

“Heading into the worlds there’s a lot of anticipation, a lot of training and then finally day one comes around,” said Belcher. “It’s always good to get the first day out of the way and today we came away with a nine and a first so they’re both keepers, it was a difficult day but we’re happy with where we ended up.

“It’s going to be a long week,” he said. “The expectation was that we were going to get a lot of breeze at this regatta, but that’s not going to happen for us, may next week, so it’s going to be very difficult and we’ll have to fight for every point because you’re certainly going to be put in a position where it’s difficult but you can only deal with the cards you get and try and make the most of it.”

Australian Sailing Squad members Sam Kivell and Will Ryan had a mixed day, with a seventh and a 25^th to begin their World Championship.

Jessica Crisp had mixed results in the RS:X women’s class with the triple-Olympian finishing 20^th in race one before hitting back with a win to finish the day.

“In race one I made a slight tactical error at the top mark and got caught in the ‘cone of silence’ which is one of those things you’re meant to miss in sailing and I dropped back a lot,” she said. “Then in race two I banged the right corner and it paid off, it was a tough day and I was pumping the whole way, my heart rate was right up at the maximum the whole time.”

In the Laser Radial fleet Australian Sailing Team member Krystal Weir started her regatta with a 17^th before jumping up the leaderboard in race two with a sixth.

Fellow Australian Alex South had a 23^rd and a fifth while Gabrielle King finished the day with a 32^nd and an 11^th and Queenslander Ashley Stoddart was 42^nd and 35^th.

In the Finn class Brendan Casey found himself mid-fleet in race one before a strong third place finish in race two.

“In the first race I was about 10^th at the top mark and moved forward down the run but struggled on the second beat and lost a lot of boats to end up mid-fleet,” said Casey. “In race two I had a good start and finished third, I felt good in that second race, it confirmed a lot of what we’ve been working on.”

Racing continues at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships on Tuesday with the continuation of the Women’s Match Racing competition on Fremantle Harbour while the 470 men, RS:X women, Finn and Laser Radials will contest races three and four.

Full results, news, videos and live tracking and blogging can be found at www.perth2011.com.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.  

Video highlights of the Australians from day three can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2ksgJTHvE. 

Solid start for Price and crew at Perth 2011

After spending Saturday onshore watching their fellow match racers in action the Australian trio got their chance to open their account today, with tricky conditions and stifling heat again challenging all of the crews.

Aussie Match Racers off to the perfect start at Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill has had an ideal start to the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships with four wins from four races.

The Women’s Match Racers kicked off competition at Perth 2011 with Souter and crew getting off to a perfect start, winning their first race against Rita Goncalves of Portugal.

The trio’s win against the Portugese was their closest of the day, by just 10 seconds, before taking the points against Canada’s Sharon Ferris, Argentina’s Martina Silva and finally against Ru Wang of China.

“Four wins from four races, a perfect scorecard is a pretty good way to kick things off,” said Souter. “I might have made things in the first race a bit interesting and exciting for the spectators and the girls as we only got the lead right at the finish, it was pretty close.

“Overall we’re very happy with the day, we had very shifty winds, pretty much everything, breeze, breeze shutting down, breeze shifting around each race, it was pretty exciting,” she said.

The four wins for Souter, Eastwell and Spithill gave them a share of the lead after day one of racing, with the Women’s Match Racing competition taking place close to shore in Fremantle Harbour.

“It was quite a difficult course to sail,” said Eastwell. “You had to have eyes out of the boat the whole time and keep onto every single wind shift which we did really well today.”

The Australians will hit the water again on Monday and still have a number of the top ranked crews to face, but day one was promising for such a new combination.

“We’re so happy to have the first day done,” said Spithill. “With all of the nerves and anxiety it was great to have a strong first day here as a team.”

Temperatures in the high 30s tested all of the crews with fellow Australian’s Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty taking the chance to spend some time on the dock and get a feel for what they’ll face on Sunday.

“Our preparation has been really good, we feel like we’re spent enough time studying the course area and have done enough practice to execute what we need to do for the area,” said Price. “We can’t wait for racing tomorrow, we’re so excited to finally get back into racing, it’s always such a different feeling to race rather than train.”

Price, Curtis and Whitty will get their chance to go racing on Sunday morning, with the Match Racing competition set to begin at 10am.

For full results, live tracking, event blog and radio coverage visit www.perth2011.com.

More information on the Australian Sailing Team is available at www.australiansailingteam.com.au and live updates are available through Twitter www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

Women’s Match Racers set to kick off sailing World Championships

More than 1200 sailors from 80 nations have made the trip to Western Australia with athletes competing not only for their World Championships but a chance to qualify their countries for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The first two days of racing will feature the Women’s Match Racing competition battling it out on Fremantle Harbour in the opening round robin, before the 470 men, Laser Radial, RS:X women and Finn classes get into the action on Monday.

The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team crew of Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Katie Spithill will be the first Australians to hit the water on Saturday with compatriots Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty set to race on Sunday.

Souter, Eastwell and Spithill will be competing at just their second regatta together in Perth with Souter saying that they’re ready to get into racing.

“We’re feeling pretty confident going into racing tomorrow,” said Souter. “We’re not exactly sure who we’re racing first up but we’re the only Aussies in action tomorrow so we’re ready to get out there.”

The six members of the Australian Women’s Match Racing Team have spent the past few weeks training in Perth with Eastwell commenting that the time has been invaluable for the new crew.

“It’s been a great few weeks here training in Perth,” said Eastwell. “We’ve been getting use to the conditions, the sea breeze, the easterly, the shiftiness, getting back into it has been great.”

The Women’s Match Racing competition will take place in Fremantle Harbour with the venue foreign to all 31 teams as the working port has been off limits for training.

Racing will take place close to shore with the Match Racing course ideal for spectators.

“It’s a challenging venue but also a really good venue,” said Spithill. “It would be great for people to come down and have a look, we’ll be close by and hopefully put on a good show and get some good results.”

For full results, tracking, live event blog and radio coverage visit www.perth2011.com.

More information on the Australian Sailing Team is available at www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam.

A Guide to carrying out inspections at a YATC

Guidance Notes for carrying out inspections at YATCs

Documentation

·         (YAGN) Yachting Australia Guidance Notes / Standards for Training Centres

·         (YAIR) Yachting Australia Inspection Report Form

·         Triplicate Action Plan books (optional)

·         Statistics on students enrolments and course packs purchased (to be supplied by YA)

Administration  

1.       YA will liaise with YATCs on their availability

2.       YA will allocate a list of Training Centres for each Inspector

3.       Adhoc appointment based on availability of inspectors

4.       Nominated inspector liaises with Training Centre regarding scheduling

5.       Inspector advises YA of inspection date for records

6.       Inspector completes inspection and issues Action Plan to YATC for completion

7.       Inspector submits YAIR, Action Plan, invoice and expenses details to YA

8.       YA and Inspector discuss any actions requiring follow up with the YATC that should be addressed at a later date

9.       Inspector will advise YA once all actions have been satisfied

10.   *YA accredits YATC (for initial inspections)

Pre-inspection communication with the YATC

1.       Send the YAIR to Principal and request that the shaded areas be completed in advance

2.       Ensure that the Principal and Senior/Chief Instructor will be available

3.       Ensure that all communications are clear regarding arrival time/pickups (email is better)

On the day of inspection

4.       Arrive on time and be cordial

5.       Wear a neutral (non branded) T-Shirt or YA Shirt

6.       All Centre documentation should be available for inspection including:

a.        previous course programmes

b.      copies of student feedback questionnaires

c.       samples of any near misses or incident reports

d.      details of instructor qualifications

7.       Training vessels should be set up, accessible and equipment laid out

8.       Observation of a training course is preferable although not essential – if going on the water ensure you wear a lifejacket

9.       Ensure that an Action Plan is left at the YATC on the day and includes a timeframe for completion

10.   Thank the Club / Training Centre.

Useful items to bring to YATC Inspections (all available from YA Website)

·         Current YAGN

·         myCentre quick reference guide

·         Relevant course packs for illustration purposes

·         Sample policy and procedure documents

·         Training Centre Flag

·         Yachting Australia Business Cards for distribution

·         A pen!

 Inspection Fees and Payment

·         Inspectors are paid a set rate per inspection based on a minimum of 3 hours per YATC inspection – max 2 inspections per day 

·         All receipts should be photocopied, numbered and attached to the YA13 Expenses Claim form

·         All expenses (travel, meals, accommodation etc) must be itemised on the Expense Claims form (FM13) using the following categories:

Inspections                                        2025

Travel                                                2850

Accommodation                              2850.1

Air Travel                                          2850.2

Car Expenses/Tolls/Fuel               2850.3

Ground Travel/Car Rentals            2850.5

Subsistence/Meals                        2850.8

·         Invoices should be generated for the total amount payable and made out to Yachting Australia 

·         Please ensure to include bank details for payment

·         Invoice and receipts should be mailed with completed YAIR within 2 weeks of inspection to

Yachting Australia Training, Locked Bag 806, Milsons Point, NSW 2061

training@yachting.org.au

Other Links
	YA13 Expenses Claim form

How to write Operating Procedures for a Yachting Australia Training Centre

Training Centre Documentation

A YATC is required to operate in accordance with the Guidelines for Yachting Australia Training Centres (YAGN) and the latest version should always be referenced.  The centre documentation should record what happens in practice, emphasising what is done to ensure instructors and students are kept safe.  Risk management procedures should be made available to all personnel.  These documents will include:   

1. Health and Safety Policy

2. Operating Procedures  

3. Risk Assessments   

4. Emergency Action Plan  

5. Child Protection Policy   

6. Staff Qualifications  

Appendices are a good way to add reference documentation such as student briefing notes, maps/charts of operating areas, and copies of your booking and course feedback forms. Further information and documents for writing Health & Safety policy, Risk Assessments & Child protection policies are available on the preceeding webpage.

Writing your Operating Procedures

Operating procedures form a very important part of your Training Centre’s supporting documents which should map out the key elements of operation at your venue. This ‘user guide’ for instructors and personnel should cover information for someone to run a course/session at your Training Centre while avoiding too much detail to be irrelevant. Keep the Operating Procedures as simple as possible, the bulk of information remaining generic with references to specific disciplines or courses where appropriate. Risk Assessments should form a large section of your Operating Procedures and should be easily accessible for cross referencing and updating.

Part 1 - An Overview

Start by giving an overview of your Training Centre. Include the aims and objectives of the Centre, who is receiving the tuition and where/when this may occur.

 Part 2 - Structure and Content

Roles and Responsibilities:

Ø  Responsibilities of the principal and qualified instructors are laid down in the guidance notes, this area can be used to outline additional responsibilities specific to the centre (assistant instructors, support staff, boatswain, administrators etc.)

Ø  Scope of authority and responsibilities within the centres staffing structure

Ø  Management – Local Authority/Club etc. and reporting/management structure

Staffing:

Ø  The day to day staffing of sessions/courses 

Ø  Teaching ratios, staff briefings, instructor arrival times and briefing content, levels of instructors working on specific courses can also be included here 

Ø  Child protection; explain your policy for staff who work with children, references taken, any training provided etc. (The Child protection policy should be located in your YATC File and records of any references/self-disclosure/police check forms kept on site in a suitable secure location) 

Ø  Records of staff qualifications and certificates must be held in the YATC file

Students: 

Ø  Important information relating to students, information to be briefed or gathered before during and after their training (resources can be added to the appendices, such as booking forms, next of kin, health declarations, feedback form etc.)

Ø  Specifics such as booking forms to be complete prior to the course, under 18’s to be completed by a parent/guardian, emergency contact and medical information, briefings to be provided, with any requirements such as appropriate clothing to be worn in a ‘joining letter’ or information sent to candidates prior to their course

 Safety:

Ø  Safety at a YATC is paramount, therefore centres and staff must do all they can to avoid unnecessary risk

Ø  Risk assessments must be carried out and continually updated, helping to shape the operating procedure. For example: Powerboat Risk Assessment, a risk of ‘Man Overboard’ might be identified. One of the control measures might be ‘brief the students to hold on at all times’. 'Recovering People from the water – Always switch the engine off when in close proximity to someone in the water' etc.

Ø  Risk Assessments should be located in your YATC file and referred to in the Operating Procedures. In a written Risk Assessment there are two main areas that must be clearly identified:

o   The risk and...

o   The control measure put in place to reduce the risk.  You may wish to add who may be affected, severity of risk etc.

Ø  Emergency Action plan: a copy should also be kept in the YATC file and referred to within this section, with an additional copy on display in the centre and on board each of the safety boats

Ø  Communication policy: ensure there is a means of communication between instructors and the shore, whether via hand signals, VHF or any other appropriate means

Operating Area:

Ø  Daily operating: this area may change on a daily basis, but you will have a normal operating area, i.e. the area you usually use for the majority of courses

Ø  This section should also include any additional operating areas, those outside your normal operating areas, such as: Day sailing venues, powerboat passages etc.

Ø  Determine outer limits of your operating area, reference the guidance notes for information on operating area limits

Ø  Diagrams and charts are a good way to define the sailing area with limits and potential hazards clearly marked, descriptions alone can be confusing

Ø  Operating restrictions: Instructors need to be aware of courses that are to be delivered in particular areas and how operating areas are managed:

o   Who makes the decision - Chief/Senior instructor in charge on the day?

o   How - Aims and objectives of the courses being offered, ability of the students, environmental conditions and relationships with other water users

Courses/ Training:

Ø  Yachting Australia recognition determines which courses are offered, depending on equipment and craft available, qualifications of instructors, facilities and operating area

Ø  Use this section to include areas such as:

o   Courses offered, general relating information, common practise, e.g. ‘All courses are run by qualified instructors’,

o   You may wish to add any centre specific information rather than required practise

Ø  Activities being run outside YATC courses should also be included in this section

Ø  Course programmes for each course recognised. Demonstrating how courses will be delivered, taking into consideration the syllabus, operation area, timings and any environment restrictions. (Templates are available in the resources area of

www.yachting.org.au

 Boats and Equipment:

Ø  All boats / equipment must comply with the guidelines set out in the Guidance Notes and any relevant local legislation

Ø  This section can be used to make reference to required areas such as maintenance logs, boat check procedures, use of boats

Ø  Here are some examples of policies relating to boats that may form part of the Operating Procedures appendices:

o   All craft are checked by instructors prior to going afloat

o   All craft must carry the necessary equipment as per guidance notes (A list of the equipment your boats carry should be held in the appendix

o   All powerboats have their Kill cords checked prior to and during sessions

o   All dinghies use mast head flotation on beginner courses

o   Maintenance: maintenance log must be completed at the end of each session and reported to the boatswain

Part 3 - Summary and Layout

Remember, your Operating procedures need to be easily read and understood by your instructors. Lay them out in a logical order, with a contents page at the beginning and subsequent pages labelled clearly. 

Ø  Ensure all necessary supporting paperwork such as booking forms and feedback forms are clearly marked in the appendices

Ø  Train your staff in the operation of the centre and add a ‘sign sheet’ at the beginning of the file to confirm they have read and understood the Operating Procedures, forming part of a more comprehensive induction process

Ø  Date the document and amend the date each time the document is reviewed to ensure it stays current. A revision date in the footer can help with maintaining currency

Ø  Your operating procedures are a very important aspect of your Training Centres set-up and if written well they will act as a guide to best practise and will ensure all staff are up to speed with the key elements of operation

Ø  Remember to include all the necessary information to demonstrate that your Training Centre is well managed and conforms to the guidelines, and include any relevant information regarding training other than Yachting Australia training to ensure that you have procedures in place

Ø  Review your document regularly, ensuring your Operating Procedures reflect what happens in practise at the centre, reviewing as required, especially learning from near miss or incident

Further help can be obtained from the Yachting Australia training team training@yachting.org.au , or from your MYA or a Yachting Australia Inspector. Sample resources are available to you on the preceeding pages of the website (Information for Principals).