WAIS Sailing Update
Perth is the top sailing spot for January 2009!
The National Championships for over eight classes are all being held in Perth in January. People have come from all over Australia and some have travelled as far as Chile to test out the waters of Fremantle in preparation for the 2011 ISAF World Championships in a few years time!
The first National Champions were in the 420 class, sailed from Royal Perth Yacht Club.
The Singaporean sailors Justin Liu and Sherman Cheng dominated the regatta with a truly solid performance, winning seven races in the 15 races series. In second place and first Australians, were WAIS athletes, David Gilmour and James Omay who sailed very well on the second last day to put themselves in a position to defend their lead. A Black Flag disqualification for being over at the start in the second last race put the pressure on them to perform, and they sailed well, placing fourth, enough to keep their lead, winning their first 420 Open National title.
WAIS sailors Matthew Jerwood and Patrick Vos finished in third place overall, and second Australian team. The WA boys trained together, and pushed each other to a much improved performance as the regatta progressed. Mat and Pat stepped up a gear towards the end of the regatta and jumped ahead of Sean Ott and Adam Lahey from Queensland who also had a black flag penalty in the second last race, to finish fourth overall.
The unique thing at the 420 Nationals was to see more females coaching. There were four girls, all 470 sailors, and three of them Gold Medallists! It is quite an amazing time for junior sailors, to have such access to top sailors and this level of experience! Thanks to national coach Victor Kovalenko, because three of his sailors, Jenny Armstrong, Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell are all passing on his and their knowledge to the young Australian sailors dreaming of winning!
The Laser Nationals are underway with one more day of racing today. They are racing on the 2011 race courses from Fremantle Sailing Club, and the Fremantle Doctor has been reliable! Ash Brunning (NSW) is leading the Australians, with Ryan Hannan in fourth and second Australian. A shark spotted on the race course a few days ago had improved the sailors capsize recovery time by half!
In the Laser Radial, the youth category for men and women, Mark Whittington (WAIS) had a tough few days but some better racing once in Gold fleet has seen him peg back a few places and today could be a late run for him into the top placings.
The 49ers are racing in Matilda Bay, from Mounts Bay Sailing Club which is close to the city, and there is one more day of racing. David O’Connor and Ian Jensen had a high speed crash with David Mann and Jasper Warren which saw David O’Connors’ boat with a huge hole in the bow, and they developed the sinking feeling on returning to shore. They have been granted redress for the 3 races, and they will get average points. This will put them back in the regatta where currently the Phillips brothers, Will and Sam are leading with WAIS sailors Luke Parkinson and Steven Thomas in second. WA sailors Tom Johnson and Rees Howell have been sailing very well, with much improved racing techniques and are in equal fourth place with two races remaining.
The 49ers and Lasers finish today with two races, and then there are two days before the Youth Nationals begin in Mandurah for all classes. The points added up from the Nationals and the Youth Nationals are used for selection for the Youth World championships in July 2009.
Many thanks again to all sponsors and supporters,
Yachting WA, Yachting Australia, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Pro Choice Safety, and WAIS and the great team of people that work with sailing.
I wish you all another great year in 2009,
Belinda Stowell
WAIS Head Coach – Sailing