WAIS Sailors Impress at Sail Melbourne World Cup
The WAIS Sailing group has enjoyed a successful week at the Sail Melbourne World Cup, with WAIS athletes medalling in every class represented.
The Sail Melbourne regatta finished after a week of mixed weather conditions, which contrasted a day blown out with an average of 40knots across Port Phillip, to days of barely five knots affording only two completed races.
In one of the tougher fleets, 17 year-old WAIS laser athlete Matthew Wearn made his mark in the stronger winds, winning three races in one day, to hold first position for 24 hours, before winning the medal race to take second overall. The laser class is strong in Australia with four members of the squad having finished in the top 10 in World Cup events last year. Tom Burton, a current Australian Sailing Team member won the regatta.
WAIS athlete Ki Sulkowski narrowly missed out on the medal race by two points, and fellow scholarship holder Luke Elliot managed to get first to the top mark and two top five race results, with both showing progress.
Mark Spearman won the laser radial men, and gained some valuable time in the boat in preparation for the nationals in Hobart. It was Spearman’s first regatta since winning the Youth World title in Ireland, last July.
In the RSX, only three boards were racing and WAIS athlete Pat Vos finished second to Luke Baillee.
Western Australian athletes dominated the 49er class, with sandgropers represented on each step of the podium. WAIS athlete Nick Brownie claimed bronze, sailing with Will Phillips, whilst WA pair Luke Parkinson and Jasper Warren took silver behind Steve Thomas (WA) by a point in a nail biting medal race in 25 knot winds. Thomas sailed with Rhys Mara from NSW.
In the new Women’s skiff class, WA was again well represented. The New Zealand combination won the event but not without a strong fight from 2008 Olympic gold medallist Tessa Parkinson now steering with Kate Lathouras in crew. The pair finished with silver.
WAIS athletes Ella Guidice and Caitlin Elks finished with bronze having braved the strong winds in the medal race, where the other girls stayed on shore which gave them the jump in the final double points race.
WAIS head coach Belinda Stowell said she was pleased with the progress of the young WAIS contingent on display.
“It was great to see the progress of the sailors and now most of them are on their way up to Sydney for the second regatta, (Sail Sydney) which begins on the 13th of December,” she said.
Stowell will return to Perth to run a 420 and laser radial camp in preparation for the Nationals in Hobart which begin on the 27th of December.