Musto Etchells Australasian Championship – Hot fleet in Mooloolaba

by Musto Etchells Australasian Winter Championship on 8 Jun 2010 Last weekend there was Jessica Watson and an eighty boat Sail Mooloolaba fleet, sailing the waters off Mooloolaba, on Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast.

This weekend, the June Long weekend, the on-water action hots up again as a fleet of more than 50 Etchells One Design boats will line up on Friday in the ocean off Mooloolaba Beach for the three day Musto 2010 Etchells Australasian Winter Championship.

It is the 14th year in a row this landmark event has been sailed at Mooloolaba.

Amongst the competitors there are Olympians, World Champions and America’s Cup sailors, from Australia New Zealand and Asia competing.

The first Etchells Winter Championship was conducted in Mooloolaba in 1997 and in the thirteen regattas since, there have been thirteen different winners. In this 14th year a number of the previous winners are aiming to be the first to score the double.

The winners were Dave Rose (1997), Russell Coutts (1998), Ian Johnston (1999), Julian Plante (2000), Michael Coxon (2001), Mark Bradford (2002), Cameron Appleton (2003), Grant Wharington (2004), Rob Brown (2005), Cameron Miles (2006), Skip Lissiman (2007), Graeme Taylor (2008) and Damien King (2009).

Of that illustrious group, Dave Rose, Ian ‘Biggles' Johnson, Julian Plante and Graeme Taylor will all be trying to make history this year.

Amongst this year's highly competitive fleet will be Melbourne’s John Savage, a dual Etchells World Champion, who won in 1979 (Toronto) and 1988 (Newport, Australia) and Peter McNeill, who won the Etchells Worlds on these very waters back in 2004.

The highly regarded Kiwi skipper Alastair Gair, five times Australian Etchells Champion John Bertrand, who has done a few other things in sailing and Hong Kong Champion Mark Thornburrow, will all be looking for their first ever Mooloolaba win.

North American 2008 Champion Mark Johnston, who finished in second place in the 2009 Winters, is raising the game with Nik Burfoot and Australian Sailing Team High Performance Director Peter Conde onboard.

Melbourne’s Chris Hampton has local Mooloolaba knowledge with 2009 World Champion tactician Bucky Smith joining his crew.

In good form is Sydney's top gun David Clarke, the current NSW State Champion.

And the group widens as more big boat skippers take up the 'Winters Challenge'. Grand Prix Champion and Living Doll owner Michael Hiatt has just driven into the Boat Park in Mooloolaba with Baby Doll and very high profile triple Sydney to Hobart winner Mark Richards, who is more often seen at helm of Wild Oats XI, is on his way up the coastal highway.

The list goes on and so the result is as wide open as any major sailing event might be.

Australian Etchells Class Association President Noel Paterson commented ‘It's absolutely amazing. You can’t pick a reason why a lot of the good guys keep on turning up and have come here consistently. There is a long list of at least 20 hot shots every year, and nobody has won the event twice.'

Why do they keep coming back?

The answer is great sailing, great venue and great fun!

As New Zealand sailor Alastair Gair says ‘All year we look forward to the Winters. We are really keen to win it. Everyone is so nice here and it is just a great regatta every year; we just love it. Mooloolaba Wharf is a good little location and it really is a cool event.'

For more information on the Musto Etchells Australasian Winter Championship go to http://www.mooetchells.yachting.org.au

The Musto Etchells Australasian Winter Championship 2010 is sponsored by Musto Australasia, Queensland Events, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Newport Apartments, The Wharf Tavern, The Wharf Mooloolaba, Sun Air Bus Services, PropertyToday.net.au, Stockland, Ullman Sails, Sail-World.com, House, Sunsport Marine and QuestPhoto.net.