WAIS Sailing: Sail Melbourne Report

Sail Melbourne was an interesting regatta with some mixed up weather conditions, going from no wind to too much!

The last day was picture perfect with some great breezes for the Medal races and final race for the Laser Radial men’s fleet.

In the Finn, Tim Castles was over the line at the start, and after a re-start, he showed sheer determination and got into the lead by the top mark. He lost control of the fleet for a moment, and gave the win overall to James Patterson from South Australia, with Tim finishing third overall.

In the 470 Women, Chelsea Hall and Stacey Omay finished second overall. Their vision at the start saved them from getting in a tangle with their only rival for the Gold medal, the New Zealand team. The Kiwi’s landed in a good wind shift and the WAIS girls couldn’t catch them, following them in at the finish for second place.

In the laser radial men’s fleet, Tristan Brown and Mark Whittington finished well, with Brown’s second place not quite enough to get him on the podium, finishing fourth overall. Mark Whittington struggled in the middle of the regatta, but gained back some points on the last two days, finishing ninth overall.

It was the first time Sail Melbourne has been labelled as the official ISAF World Cup Series event for Australasia and it was a great lead-up event for the WAIS sailors to get race practice before their National Championships.

The Lasers start on the 27th of December in Adelaide, the 470s and the Finn start their Nationals on the 6th of January in Sorrento in Melbourne. The 420 Nationals are also in Adelaide and begin on the 28th of December.

I will be coaching in Adelaide together with Fremantle Sailing Club principal coach, and assistant WAIS coach, Arthur Brett. He will look after the WAIS laser sailors and I will be working with the 420’s and the lasers, before travelling back to Melbourne to work with the 470s and Finns. Arthur will continue to work with the WAIS youth athletes for the Youth Nationals from the 6th to the 10th of January. It will be a busy time but some great racing in the next few weeks!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

together with some sunny weather and fast sailing!

Belinda Stowell, WAIS Head sailing coach.