Top-flight sailing events at Sandy Bay SC

by Peter Campbell on 15 Dec 2012 Hobart’s Sandy Bay Sailing Club will be hosting several top-flight sailing events over the next weeks, staging the International Cadet national and World Championship and then the Optimist Australian championship.

Entries for Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s Jackson Volkswagen Summer of Sailing, incorporating the 51st International Cadet Australian Championship, the International Cadet Class 2012 World Championship and the International Optimist 2013 Australian Championship, have exceeded all expectations.

The program on Hobart’s River Derwent starts next Friday, 21 December, with the International Cadet Class Australian Championship.

This Australian championship is the selection event for the following World Championship, with 75 two-crew dinghies entered, representing South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Entries for the World Championship have reached 49 boats for the main event while an additional 36 are entered for the promotional event, exceeding entries for any recent Southern Hemisphere World championships.

Entries have been received from Great Britain (9 boats), 7 Germany (7), Belgium (6), The Netherlands (5), The Argentine (5), Poland (1), The Ukraine (1) and Australia (14).

The nationals is classed as an 'open' event and has entries from Great Britain and Ukraine, although international entries are not eligible to win the Australian title.

Tasmanian entries competing for the illustrious Tillett Trophy comprises: Phoenix (Sam Tiedemann and Hugo Allison), Implulse (Samantha Bailey and Laura Cooper), Sirocco (Charlie Connor and Ethan Galbraith), Stolen Pig (Josh Brown and Finn McLagan), Meltemi (Oliver Burnell and Issie de Clerk), Executioner (Silas Hamilton and Rupert Hamilton). Reserve: Little Devil (Angus Price and Jack Kennedy).

Reigning Australian champion, Samantha Bailey, will be competing against her old crew, Hannah Chadwick, who is representing Victoria.

The top 14 Australian boats will make up the team to represent their country in the Cadet Class World Championship, commencing on 28 December 2012 and running through to the 4 January 2013.

The world championship has only been held in Hobart twice since the class was established in 1948 but SBSC past Commodore Paul Burnell twice the title sailing overseas.

This summer’s world championship will be opened by the Governor of Tasmania, His Excellency The Honourable Peter Underwood.

The International Optimist Australian and Open Championship will follow at Sandy Bay Sailing Club from the 6-13 January, 2013. The Optimist class is one of the biggest dinghy classes in the world and with over 150,000 kids in over 100 countries, is the fastest growing junior class for under 16 year olds.

The Hobart event entries are currently sitting at 156 with more expected. The event is also an open event and there are four Great British entries so far.

The three championships combined are expected to welcome over 1,000 visitors to the shores of Sandy Bay and the wonderful surrounds of Hobart.