Australian schools team racing championship Day 1 - Perfect conditions

by Peter Campbell on 10 Jul 2013 Top 10 of the Australian schools team racing championship will include schools from five states. Being the top scoring team in the regatta that started on Hobart’s River Derwent today is not just about having the first boat across the finish in each race.

It’s all about getting a winning combination for a school team of three two-handed dinghies and that requires a combination of good sailing skills and tactics under the special racing rules that apply to team racing.

Some of the finest teenage sailors from 24 secondary schools around Australia showed their skills in team racing when Sandy Bay Sailing Club and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania joining forces to conduct these prestigious youth sailing regatta.

At the end of the opening day, a perfect sunny winter’s day on the Derwent, teams from schools in Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia filled the ten top places overall.

'Perfect conditions for team racing – fresh but not freezing' was the description by international yacht judge Nick Hutton. 'We have some of the most talented young sailors from around the nation competing and they are turning on some brilliant competition.

'We managed to get 60 races completed with a 15 knot northerly for the first couple of hours, before it softened to 7-8 knots, finally freshening to 10 knots for the final races.'

After those 60 races, only one school, Perth’s Scotch College, remains unbeaten, with five wins, just ahead of the Peninsula School from Victoria and another WA school, Shenton College, which had four wins as did Brisbane Grammar.

In addition to their overall race win, schools receive points based on placings for reach team boat in the race against another school.

Tasmania has three schools in the top ten: St VIrgils/Guildford Young College which is sixth overall with three wins, Friends Red team in eighth place, also with three wins, and Fahan in 10th place, again with three points.

The leading Scotch College team comprises Will Boulden, George Boulden and Emerson Carlberg as skippers of the three boats, while Shenton College’s skippers are James Owen-Conway, Hardyn Hunt and Daniel Judge.

Skippers in the Peninsula school team are Rhett Gowans, Tyrone Gowans and Kristian Tipovsky.

Harcourts Australian schools team racing championships 2013
Race Schedule

61	Pimlico High - QLD	GREEN	v	Haileybury - VIC	YELLOW
62	Peninsula School - VIC	BLACK	v	Shenton College - WA	PINK
63	Immanuel College - SA	PURPLE	v	Scotch College - WA	ORANGE
64	St Virgils - TAS	BLUE	v	St Leonards - VIC	WHITE
65	Friends School Red - TAS	GREEN	v	Hutchins - TAS	YELLOW
66	Scots College - NSW	BLACK	v	Cranbrook - NSW	PINK
67	Kangaroo Is - SA	PURPLE	v	Fahan -TAS	ORANGE
68	St Josephs - SA	BLUE	v	Brisbane Grammar 1 - QLD	WHITE
69	Iona College - QLD	GREEN	v	Friends School Blue - TAS	YELLOW
70	Brighton Grammar - VIC	BLACK	v	Mater Maria - NSW	PINK
71	St Michaels - VIC	PURPLE	v	Canberra Grammar - ACT	ORANGE
72	Canberra Girls Gram - ACT	BLUE	v	Brisbane Grammar 2 - QLD	WHITE