Etchells Australasian Winter titles - World Champions set for battle

by Etchells Australasian Winter Championships Media on 3 Jun 2013 The Australasian Etchells Winter Championship, which will be sailed off Mooloolaba from June 6th to ninth 2013, is shaping up to be one of the toughest in its 17 year history.

There will be around 40 one design Etchells yachts fighting it out, on the offshore Mooloolaba course over the Queen’s birthday weekend, with three past and current Etchells World Champions in the fleet.

Mooloolaba Fleet captain Trevor Martin said today, 'It’s a stellar field and it could be any of a dozen boats that could walk away with the 2013 title.

'Amongst the fleet and certainly amongst the top contenders are the 2012 World Champion Tom King ( 2011 Australasian Winters winner and 470 Olympic Gold medallist in Sydney 2000 ), and Cameron Miles, the 1999 World Champion who won the 2006 Winters titles and the legendary America´s Cup winning skipper John Bertrand. Bertrand the 2011 Etchells World Champion and six times Australian Champion is still trying to win this elusive winter regatta.

'In 16 years of the Etchells Australasian Winter Championships, all staged in Mooloolaba, there have been 16 different winners. This event regularly throws up a wide variety of racing conditions from heavy offshore to smooth water sailing all in the space of three days and history has shown that the quality of the fleet and the testing conditions just keep producing new winners.

'This year as entries are still rolling in, there are already another three past winter’s winners trying to win a second title. Current Australasian Winter Champion Matt Chew, who was part of Jason Muirs World Champion crew in 2009, 2001 Winters winner Michael Coxon, and the original winner back in 1997 David (Rosie) Rose.

Martin continued 'Certainly the strength of this annual event and the overall Australian Etchells scene is remarkable when you consider that while we will have this magnificent fleet sailing in Mooloolaba there are 13 Australian Etchells teams amongst the 44 entries in the 2013 Etchells World Championship from 10-15th June in Livorno, Italy.'

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