Is $10k enough to get you to the Etchells Australian Championship?

by john Curnow on 30 Nov 2014 OK. Fessing up. You can’t have it all, but you can have a piece of it as a travel subsidy! January 11 to 16, 2015 and based out of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron are the key logistical facts. It will be sailed on the waters of the Gulf of St Vincent. 'It should be pretty warm, if not hot, with fresh winds and quite a few waves', as Etchells President, Jake Gunther commented.

Apart from looking out for those waves and puffs, one will need to keep a sharp eye on the significant talent appearing on the radar. Reigning champion, John Bertrand AM is showing up, keen to get another title to add to the seven he already has. 'Yes. We will be competing in the Nationals. Very much looking forward to this regatta. Plenty of new, young talent coming through the fleet. So I look forward to crossing tacks with these enthusiastic and highly talented young bucks', said John Bertrand.

JB added, 'I see the power and focus of youth both in the sport of sailing and now in my role as President of Swimming Australia. I love that. My crew will be Jake Newman and my long time mate, Billy Browne.'

Doyle Sails’, Peter ‘Polly’ McNeill, is another person very much on the path to Adelaide. Polly will be attending with the regulars, Simon Reffold on the bow and co-owner, David Gledhill, trimming the mainsail. 'Looks like a case of the old and new guard starting to form. Seeing these young guns show up is awesome - bring it on! We’ll have new sails ready for the fuller conditions of Adelaide – you need power to get through the seaway. My new main is smooth and sets splendidly; offering grunt in light airs and then flattens out perfectly for the blow. I do hope for a good turn up, as it a great venue and evens out the West/East thing by kind of allowing us to meet in the middle. Really looking forward to it all.'

Being sort of halfway between East and West, there is a better chance to gain competitors from both sides of the country. You have Ray Smith and the St Johns Dance, as well as Heartstarter and the 7Ps, all from Perth. Super-campaigner, Roger Hickman and the Sun Tzu crew of Dan Morrow, Daniel Williams and Kim Ketelbey are another outfit that will be there.

Two crews have been blazing a might trail thus far are David Clark and his Fifteen+ campaign. Always with a little variation in the four-up crew, we won’t get to see which incredibly competent person or persons will come into that mix. Clark said, 'Sadly I will not be able to attend this championship due to other commitments. I can tell you that it will kill me not being there!!!'

The other is also a four-up crew. Matt Chew, Bill Cuneo, Ash Deeks and Brian Donovan have pace and thus far have been more than happy to let the scoreboard do the talking. Having a couple of Winter titles under their belt now, you get the feeling that a Summer one is well and truly in their bag of must-dos.

Brisbane Fleet Captain, John Warlow, will have the new, Land Rat, out for all to look over. She is the latest from the new Australian moulds. It will be something to see the new Phil Smidmore Pacesetter Etchells hammering along. She embodies all the new gear from cuddy to console and deck arrangements.

Noel Drennan with Richie Allanson and Andrew Gavenlock all really, really know about Etchells and sails, given they are all part of the North’s loft and their Etchells R&D team. They will be aboard, Baby Doll, which was one of the Etchells that was in the Pegasus Racing stables for a while. Noel commented, 'The 2015 Etchells Australian Championship will be a great regatta, as we all expect a range of conditions, with a couple of big Gulf of St Vincent sea breeze and big wave days thrown in for sure. Besides being a nationals, this regatta will also be a good lead up to the 2015 Hong Kong World Championship, albeit that we expect bigger sea state conditions, as are usually found in that area.'

Jill Connell continues her ‘Odyssey’ and after sensational performances at the recent Queensland State Championships, don’t be surprised when you look at the results tables and see where they have placed. Jill is a wonderful person too, so you do stand and cheer when she, Wade Morgan and Ian McKillop do well. Connell said, 'It will be fun and I'm sure I'll learn heaps sailing in the Nationals with them. We're really looking forward to what promises to be wonderful racing off Adelaide.'

'It looks like the quality of the fleet will be fantastic and make it a terrific regatta. We haven’t set our specific goals for the championship yet - other than continuing to gain experience in the class, improve, and have fun. Although that mid-fleet prize of a new jib is a great incentive to train a bit harder.'

David Healey is on a mission. He has had some shoulder issues, which became acute during the LJ Hooker 2014 Queensland State Championship. Some care and a fair bit of therapy and work now have him all set to go. Healey said, 'I built my road trailer specifically to compete in the Nationals in Adelaide, back in January of 2004. Since then I have competed in most States of our great nation, but this will be my first time back in Adelaide. I am looking forward to catching up with the many friends I have made in the intervening years and also some good sailing.'

Moving on to housekeeping, there are a couple of lease craft available, should you not wish to take your own craft. Please contact the Fleet Captain, Andrew Waterman, if you would like to look at this option. One place you won’t have to worry about housekeeping is if you stay at the The Lakes Resort Hotel at West Lakes. It will be a busy time in Adelaide, as cycling’s Tour Down Under is on at the same time. There are still rooms available from the way less than rack rate, so at $175p.n, including breakfast it is good going. Use the Group Reference Number, 100525 when making your booking. Remember there is not much around and Glenelg is about 30-40 minutes away and that is the only other place with accommodation.

You can begin your Etchells journey and gather all the necessary information on the Etchells Australian Championship at www.etchells.org.au So if you want your piece of $10k, then you’ll have to get onto it now!