Etchells Queensland States - XY team takes title after a tight battle

This photo describes the entire regatta it is the finish last race Heat 7 Queensland Etchells championships at RQYS.Four crews easily in contention for winning the regatta all of them are in this photo. Bow 12 is Mark Johnson regatta leader, bow 09 is Matt Chew. © Rod Smith

Matt Chew and his Gen XY team took out the Etchells Class Queensland State Championship title after a tight battle.

There were four boats easily in contention throughout the two-day event conducted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron under the guidance of PRO, Louise Davis.

The fleet of 19 world-standard boats hailed from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with national and world class champions and an Olympian thrown in to spice up the competition.

The seven-race title came down to the last race with everything to gain for Chew and everything to lose for Sydney’s Mark Johnson (Roulette).

The standings after race six saw Johnson leading Chew. To win the overall trophy Chew’s team needed to beat Johnson with a boat in between.

At the first mark Johnson lead as Chew rounded in fifth place. Then Chew’s team showed a lot of under-pressure magic, working hard throughout the race to place themselves within striking distance. They then took the lead at the finish line while putting two boats between Johnson and themselves at the same time.

Second across the line was Mark Bradford (Boot ross) with David Clark (Fifteen) finishing in third. Johnson had to settle for a fourth place across the line and second overall, just one point behind Chew.

To get in the top four in this regatta you needed one of the following attributes on board - one or two gold medalists, a world champion or two, an Australian champion - was the minimum level acceptable.

It was a great quality regatta with good sailing had by all. That’s why Etchells keep on yachting.

For full regatta results, go Here