Preview of the 1824™ Premium Beef 2009 Flying Eleven Nationals

by David Price on 8 Jan 2009
All preparations by the large fleet of the 70 national Flying Elevens have been concluded and they are now on their way south to Twofold Bay, Eden NSW to contest the prestigious 1824™ Premium Beef 2009 Flying Eleven National Championships from the 11th to 17th January.

This will be the first time the Flying Eleven class has held a regatta in the open waters of Twofold Bay at Eden, where the sailing conditions are expected to be robust and exciting. The Flying Eleven class has always produced some of the best Australian and world class sailors from it’s’ ranks, and this year's regatta will test the skills of these future champions in conditions unlike any other venue of the past. It is common knowledge that 25 knots in Eden is a very powerful breeze, and the 20-40 knot conditions over the past month have shown this will be a fierce testing ground for the 140 junior F11 sailors.

The crew age of the mixed fleet ranges from 10-18 years with 65 girls and 25 all girl crews competing on this occasion. Last year’s national champion Alex McFadyen is returning to attempt a back-to-back win after his victory at Manly in 2008 with then crew Matthew Stocks, as well as many of last year's fleet returning in different crew formations.

All crews have been training extensively over the recent months at both the Flying Eleven states and national training camps, coupled with their regular club training, which has fine tuned the fleet to one of the best skill levels of junior sailors to be found in any class.

25 new boats since the beginning of last year will be on show in Eden and it is shaping up to be an extremely close contest amongst a number of crews and clubs when they meet for the invitation race at 3pm on Sunday (11th January) this weekend.