Australian Midwinter Youth Championship 2014- Racer Profiles – 29ers

by Miles Ruge on 12 Jul 2014 Throughout the week of racing at the Australian Midwinter Youth Championship 2014 at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (Manly), we’ve profiled the leading competitors of a select series each day.

The 29er class is targeted at youth sailors, as a step-up to the much larger 49er class. The 29ers’ sleek hull makes the boat fast and nimble either upwind or downwind. Making the boat perform effectively requires athleticism due to its high speeds and lack of stability.

With the final day of racing concluding today at Waterloo Bay, Kurt Hansen again proved unstoppable in the 29er series, remaining unbeaten at the top of the series on nine points.

Even after a successful week at the front of the fleet the sailor remained reflective of his performance, listing speed off the line as one area for improvement moving forward.

'That’s been our weakest point I think, so I think if we can get them nailed, we should be looking a lot better,' he said
Like other sailors profiled this week, Hansen is about to travel to Germany for the World Championships and the Australian Midwinter Youth Championship has acted as a great warmup event for his preparation which is currently on track.

'This is a great lead up regatta to that. It’s boosted our confidence a lot. It’s a good regatta,' he said.

When Hansen competed at the World Championships in 2013 he placed fourth, and given his current form will be one to watch on the World stage.

While the immediate focus for the sailor is on the world championships, he remains uncertain of what the rest of the year will hold: either a move to 49er sailing or further sailing in the 29er class.

In terms of his competitive sailing, Hansen shares dreams of Olympic representation.

'Everybody’s goal is the Olympics, so maybe that,' the sailor conceded.