Contender Worlds 2010, Breakers, Bus drivers, Bears (not) and Boxes

by David Henshall, Bearfacemedia on 22 Dec 2009 Looking at the 2010 Contender Worlds entry list, one can see that instead of the veteran sailor being the exception, for this event the oldies are almost in the majority! One may then be excused for thinking that not just a few of the entrants will be consulting the NoR with something of a tinge of wistful recollection of Championships past, when the running of the event was not so heavily compressed.

There was a time when heading off to a exotic location meant that one could say 'been there, done that and have the tee shirt to prove it' and actually KNOW where they have been….. rather than just another event at another club.

Of course, for the quasi rock gods at the front of the fleet, time is everything, so it should not come as a surprise that these are the people who want to get there, thrash about the course as many times as can be crammed into as short a period of time as possible, then head off back to whatever they do.

We must of course sympathise with the busy working family man, for whom sneaking away to do an event is just another pressure point in an already congested diary. But, with so many older sailors competing, is there not a danger that the trend towards ever shorter and more intense events will end up having a negative – rather than positive impact on numbers.

I have recently been doing some work with Luca Devoti, the Olympic Finn builder (and silver medallist) who is now promoting the D-One single hander. Luca believes firmly that things have gone too far, so as well as developing his new boat, he is also looking to put something of the fun element back into events. I am not saying that the Contenders should follow his lead but……

This issue leaps right into focus when you find that there had been a plan proposed for the upcoming Championships to ‘turn the clock’ back a bit and make the event something that the oldies might recognise. A week long event, one race per day, with a lay day half way through.

There was even a plan for the lay day, that would see the fleet heading away from the confines of the club to sample the delights on Stradebroke Island. ‘Straddie’ as the paradise isle is known locally, also happens to be the lair of Contender legend Jan Mulder, so local knowledge would have been on hand to allow us to maximise the day.

It would be easy to question the use of the word ‘legend’ but along with some of the other very long serving Contender sailors, Jan is just that.

He started his Contendering at the first Brisbane Worlds in 1974, was part of the drive to build incredibly stiff and light boats from balsa and is still sailing one of his own built boats hard today. Jan and wife Dee (Deidrie) may have retired to their home at Point Lookout on the island, but Jan will be back and competing hard come the first week of January.

So, for all of you who will be unable now to make the trip up to Straddie, worry not as I’ve been and tried the journey, below are some of the salient points! From the RQ compound, getting to the station is easy and a ticket to Cleveland, the ‘end of the line’ not expensive. Cleveland is charming and for those with the 2012 Worlds at St. Petes already in the diary, the town has a distinct whiff of Florida about it.

From the Railway station it is but a short bus ride to the Ferry Terminal, but here care is needed as at least one bus driver had clearly done his training in the Parisian taxi driver school of charm.

The correct bus, once located, took no more than 3 minutes and was free, after a 25 minute blast on a high speed Catamaran across the bay I was on Stradebroke Island – really as far east as you can get and still have Australian soil underfoot.

Then there is the Pacific, next stop is (unless you hit Hawaii) is South America. The island has much to offer, real wildlife ( like that seen in the zoo but ‘au naturel’) and incredible surf…..so even though you’re not sailing on the day you could be finding out how to really catch those waves on the downhill stretches.

No wonder Koalas are rare! The bestial grunting that passes for a Koala version of 'come up and see my gum tree' was enough to put any self respecting female off.

The island had so many charms, fresh, clear water springs and a lake full of brown water (hence Brown Lake). In the UK this would mean brackish water, but here the colouration came from the forest of tea-trees that ringed the lake. The result was the most incredible soft water; a swim in the lake cleared up and cuts or grazes and left your hair wonderfully soft. A day trip would not be really long enough to sample all the delights of such a magical location, but as a lay day break in the competition, would have made trip to Australia a little more special for many of the visitors.

Meanwhile, back at the Yacht Club, the pace is on the up as the containers start arriving today!

Matt, Trevor and myself ‘liberating’ a pair of Italian Contenders from the Quarantine zone! These two boats are now safely back at the RQ, where it is hoped they will be joined today by their container, and (fingers crossed) the German Container.

The other news is that more sailors are arriving, with the latest to hit the RQ sight Mike Denham from Scotland. More will follow!

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