Wild conditions on Day 3 of Midwinter Youth Championships

by Miles Ruge on 10 Jul 2014 Competitors faced wild conditions on day three of sailing at the Australian Midwinter Youth Championships on Waterloo Bay, Manly, today.

A wind change overnight left sailors facing fifteen knots of South-westerly breeze and seas to around one-and-a-half metres. As the morning wore on the wind increased to around twenty knots with gusts nearing thirty. Racing was postponed across all three courses due to the challenging conditions.

All racing on Alpha course—29ers, 420s, and Fly11s—was later cancelled, with races expected to be made up on the final day of competition tomorrow.

Speaking of the decision to cancel races, Club Sailing and Regatta Manager of Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Josh Belsham said that the decision was considered carefully and the best for competitor safety given the conditions.

'We couldn’t get a course set, and in terms of keeping everyone safe it was the best decision just to bring them all in,' Belsham said.

Across the bay, conditions were deemed manageable and the Laser classes got a start. In the Radial series it was Richard Maher who again dominated the fleet, handling the breeze to sail well ahead of his competitors. Stuart Plenderleith and Finn Alexander sailed a tight battle for placings. A lengthy first work into the gusty breeze at .8 of a nautical mile challenged sailors to tack out wide, coming back on the starboard layline before rounding the top mark. International sailor Mickael Farina (France) struggled with the unfamiliar conditions, sailing well done the fleet.

'Here’s it more difficult than my home because there’s so much wind and swell,' Farina said.

Plenderleith maintained his command over the series by one point with some solid placings on the third day of racing.

'Tomorrow will be better conditions for me, so I’m confident,' commented Plenderleith after a tough day of racing.
In the 4.7 class it was Noah Taylor that showed form in the early stages of afternoon racing closely followed by Hamish Fleetwood, and Tryone Gowans around the top mark. However, all three were unable to hold off Jordan Makin who stormed through to a convincing win followed by Sam King and Lachlan Dare. The challenge of the conditions were shown with one sailor capsizing three times before managing to sail downwind and re-join the fleet. However only sixteen sailors managed to finish the final race of the afternoon with half of the fleet retiring as conditions worsened.

'It was pretty windy, with a lot of chop which made it tough,' said New Zealand sailor Lachlan Grimwade of the days sailing in the rigging yard.

In the Bic Techno the sailboards made light work of the conditions early in the day, easily skimming across the chop. However, fatigue got to series leader Jacob Whitford late in the day. His decision to retire allowed Emma Baillie to make up some ground racing solo in the last two races of the day. Whitford still leads the series on ten points ahead of Baillie heading into the last day of racing tomorrow.

In the juniors racing got underway in both the Optimist Open Fleet and Sabot series, with the juniors again proving great resilience in the challenging conditions. The gusty wind made the first work a slow going affair, with the small boats struggling to make ground. Matt Meaney lead the Optimist Open Fleet early in race one, skilfully balancing sailing and bailing water from his craft. Jayden Dalton followed closely with Jack Littlechild in toe. Meaney was able to hold on in the tricky windward finish in both races to advance up the series standings. Local sailor Joshua Vanroon struggled in the heavier conditions finishing down the fleet but with a drop score managed to remain in the top three at the end of the days racing, behind Archie Cropley in second. Tom Green leads the fleet into the final day of racing.

In the Sabot class William Wallis continued his strong form on day three winning both races, to extend his lead by five points. However it was Christina Bowden and Christopher Barsi that emerged from the fleet to challenge Wallis on a tough day of racing for the young sailors.

Easing conditions are forecast for tomorrow and should provide a reprieve for competitors for the final day of racing. An early start is expected tomorrow morning to make up races in the 29ers, 420s, and Flying11s.

Series results after day three:

29er - Unchanged
1 Kurt Hansen
2 Ezra Pritchard
3 Harry Lawson

420 - Unchanged
1 Dana Tavener
2 Sophie Mcintosh
3 Alec Brodie

Flying11 – Unchanged
1 Tom Crockett
2 Emma Jones
3 Simon Murnaghan

Laser 4.7
1 Jordan Makin
2 Noah Taylor
3 Sam King

Laser Radial
1 Stuart Plenderleith
2 Richard Maher
3 Finn Alexander

Bic Techno
1 Jacob Whitford
2 Emma Baillie

Optimist Open Fleet
1 Tom Green
2 Archie Cropley
3 Joshua Vanroon

Optimist Inter Fleet
1 Charlie Piacun
2 Patrick Roos
3 Zac Heyes

Sabot
1 William Wallis
2 Henry Larkings
3 Will Bridge

Sabot 2-Up – Unchanged
1 Luke Richmond
2 Seisia Mair
3 Eve Peel