Nautical E-News

Welcome to Nautical News, the e-news service distributed to Yachting Australia members and clubs whose e-mail details have been provided either by the individual or their sailing club. Articles are sourced with the help of the State and Territory MYAs - their logos are located at the end of this page, with links to the respective sites. Click on a hyper-linked headline to read a story that interests you!

I write this at the end of the busiest month of the year. We have seen some great sailing around the country. Foremost amongst the many regattas in January is Skandia Geelong Week, which continues to go from strength to strength. Yachting Australia would like to record our thanks to Skandia for their on-going support of sailing, both in Australia and overseas. Their involvement is not only benefiting competitors but is doing so much to raise the profile of our sport.

Our thoughts are with Nick Maloney, forced to pull out of the Vendee Globe recently when his keel failed. Most importantly Nick is safe and Skandia is now under tow to Rio de Janeiro. Nick has worked long and hard to achieve his goals. He will obviously be bitterly disappointed to have got so far and be unable to complete his ultimate goal of a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the planet. However Nick is not the sort to give up easily.

At the other end of the sailing spectrum, Nathan Outteridge, one of the countries best young small boat sailors and a three time Gold Medallist at the ISAF World Youth Championship, remains in hospital after a serious car accident in early January. He has undergone extensive surgery on his spine and is now back on his feet. I am pleased to report the prognosis is good and, in time, Nathan should make a full recovery.

Apart from the courage which Nathan has shown throughout and the great support he has had from family and friends, what stands out to me is the reaction of the fleet at the Australian Youth Championship, held just after the accident. During my visit, I was inundated with questions about Nathan's condition. The reaction showed the genuine respect in which Nathan is held amongst his peers.

It is one thing to be an outstanding sailor, but to be so popular and held in such obvious high regard by one's peers is something very special. The positive thoughts of many sailors, young and old, are with Nathan for a full and speedy recovery.

Good Sailing,

Phil Jones
CEO, Yachting Australia

Yachting Australia News

Yachting Australia has moved! - Please note that our offices have moved to 16 Atchison Street, St Leonards. Our new telephone number is 02 8424 7400. Please update your records.

Well Wishes to Outteridge - Two weeks after being involved in a car accident Nathan Outteridge is improving at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick.

Sailing Secures Four Finalist Spots in the Australian Sports Awards - The Awards, conducted by the Confederation of Australian Sport, are the premier sports awards in Australia and will be hosted in Sydney on the 2nd March 2005. Click here to see who's secured a finals spot.

New World Champions - Yachting Australia would like to congratulate the following recent World Champions:

Rohan Veal - International Moth World Championship

Brad Sumner and Belinda Walkom - Hobie 18 World Championship
Aaron Worrall- Hobie 17 World Championship

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Competition News

2005 Australian Youth Championship - was held this month at Belmont 16ft Sailing Club on beautiful Lake Macquarie. Tough competition and perfect wind conditions made for intriguing racing right up until the last race. A big thank you to Yachting NSW, Belmont 16s and the Race Committee for organising a fantastic event.

IRC Measurement Seminar - Yachting Australia, the organisation responsible for the administration of the IRC in Australia, is conducting an IRC Measurement Seminar on Saturday 12 February 2005. Find out more here.

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High Performance News

NSWIS Appoints New Sailing Coaches - The NSW Institute of Sport has appointed two new coaching positions for the 2005-08 NSWIS Sailing Program. Erik Stibbe has been appointed as NSWIS Sailing Coach/Coordinator and Craig Ferris as NSWIS Sailing Coach.

Athletes' Committee - Yachting Australia has called for nominations for its inaugural Athletes' Committee. Information on the Committee, nomination and election process (including who is eligible to nominate and to vote) and the nomination forms can all be found on the Yachting Australia website.

Olympic Review Update - The Olympic Review Panel met earlier this month to discuss the feedback received during the review of the Olympic program. The Review Panel will provide recommendations to the Yachting Australia Board at its February meeting.

AIS Program Update - Yachting Australia has received confirmation from the Australian Institute of Sport that its sailing program will continue through to 2009. The program, for athletes who finish in the top 10 at an Olympic class World Championships, will move to a European based camps program, with the 2005 Squad being announced in March.

January was a busy month in High Performance. Click here for more news.

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Training News

National Training Manager Appointed�- Yachting Australia has announced the appointment of Fiona Medwin to the position. Fiona is a keen sailor and comes to Yachting Australia following more than three years as the Regional Training and Development Manager NSW/ACT for Academie Accor.

Fiona will take up her new role at Yachting Australia on 31 January. Welcome on board.

Attention Yacht Clubs and Training Centres - Have you updated your club or centre details in MyClub or MyCentre lately? Completing the list of facilities that you have on site at your club or training centre ensures that people looking for somewhere to sail on the Yachting Australia search page can find the exact place they are looking for. It is a five minute job to make sure your information is up to date. Just log on to MyClub or MyCentre, then MyClub/MyCentre Details and fill in the boxes.

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Around the States

Skandia Geelong Week - With over 400 boats competing, Australia's largest sailing regatta concluded on Australia Day. The Geelong Week website is full of news, results and photos. Be sure to have a browse.

End of race for a devasted Nick Moloney - The Open 60 Skandia, competing in the Vend�e Globe solo non-stop around the world race, suffered a major technical failure to its keel and was forced to retire after racing for 80 days.

Sail Melbourne is over for another year - With 31 different championships conducted from 10 different yacht clubs, involving 2000 competitors from 21 different countries and nearly 500 volunteers - Sail Melbourne was a tremendous success!

Launching the Access Dinghy 2.3 - Down on the sunny shore in the south of Sydney at Cronulla Sailability, a new project is under way. With the assistance of the Cronulla RSL club, Cronulla Sailability are upgrading a single seat servo electric Access Dinghy 2.3 with a remote control override.

2005 Access Dinghy Victorian Championships a great success - There was very close racing in every division at the recent championships held at Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club, Paynesville.

SailExpo 2005 Presents Yachting NSW Clubs & Classes Forum - It is an opportunity for the sailing community to come together and discuss the issues affecting the sport today. So come along, listen to the presentations, join the debates and find answers to your club�s problems. Everyone is welcome and entry is free. For further information please visit the Yachting NSW website

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