Hope you have had a good break. Well done to our sailors who have achieved their goals.
- Ryan Sherburn & Ella Coxall, National Champions in the 125’s
- Aaron Teo in Opti Nationals Open & Murray Duthie in the Opti Intermediate
- Toby Coote Winner Laser 4.7,
- Michael Compton in Laser Radials (World Youth Spot Locked In and Off to Brazil)
- Georgia Payne and Nathan Bryant (WA/NSW) in Nacras (World Youth Spot Locked In and Off to Brazil)
Also just in
- SoPYC Pelican Sailor, James Heggart, jumped into the Open Skiff to finish 3rd in the Silver fleet at Mordiallic (VIC), winning the last race and former Pelican Sailor Lachlan Putt, finished 5th in the 29 boat Gold Fleet.
For sailors that didn’t achieve their goals, there are many more regattas and opportunity available in this wonderful sport that really has no window that closes, which is fairly unique compared to many other sports.
I’ve just returned from Coaching at the Australian Youth and 29er Nationals in Melbourne. It was a couple of frustrating weeks of missed sailing due to storms, no wind and the devastating fires on the East Coast, which affected the air quality and visibility. Our sailors performed well and the top 6 boats were all within a few points of each other. Out top, two teams were very well placed for the midpoint in a regatta but without further racing were left wondering “what if”.
In the end only half the scheduled races were completed. Still lots of good lessons that you only learn the hard way at big events. Here’s a quick summary from me.
- Speed and Skills of our top teams were excellent across the wind range so we are on track there.
- Starting, Strategy and Tactics could have been better, so we need to bring everyone up to having similar speed and skills, so we can have more quality training and closer racing at home and any opportunity.
- Winning mindset and coping when being in front in high-pressure situations. Judging lay lines in 25knots on difficult tide against current days.
- Watching out for Race Management errors that affect results. How to identify early and use as an opportunity.
- Managing U Flag’s on scorecards and match racing, within the fleet racing.
This is what 70 boats held on the beach looks like.
I’m off to the largest One Design regatta in Australia tomorrow. The Windsurfer LT Nationals. I’m very underdone with my preparation but will see how it goes.
For those chasing International Competition, please note that Ron Tough applications must be submitted by 10 Feb 2020.
All the best
Denis
