Hobart’s Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s huge season ahead

by Peter Campbell on 1 Oct 2012 Hobart’s Sandy Bay Sailing Club is a small off-the-beach club on the River Derwent that has produced many national and world champions, as well as Olympic and America’s Cup sailors.

This coming season, according to Commodore Jill Abel, will be the biggest in the history of the club, a 'fabulous' season with the club hosting two Australian and a World championship.

Appropriately, on the day she officially opened the Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s 2012-2013 season, which will include the national and world championships for the International Cadet Dinghy class and the national titles for the International Optimist class, Commodore Abel also announced that Life Membership had been bestowed on Paul Burnell.

As a teenager Paul contested four world championships in the internationally strong dinghy class designed by Jack Holt, placing 15th in 1982, second in 1985, then winning in both 1986 and 1987.

From Cadets, Paul moved into 470s, narrowly missing out on Olympic selection.

Like many prominent sailors, Paul has put back into Sandy Bay Sailing Club a great deal as a coach of young sailors and in club administration, including two years as Commodore.

'Paul has made a significant contribution to this club, as a sailor with national and international success, a coach and a committee member who gives an enormous amount of his time to ensuring that the kids at this club get the very best out of sailing,' Commodore Abel commented today.

His Life Membership has other aspects to it. He is probably the youngest member ever elected to that esteemed position and he joins his father Rod and mother Helen as Life Members.

Today’s opening day featured two short races on a chilly Hobart day, with Mount Wellington blanketed with snow and some gusty winds on the river.

To make it a great day for the Burnell family, Paul’s elder son Ollie, sailed his International Cadet to a runaway win the first race of the season, his sights set on the world championship, as is younger son Toby.

The International Cadet national championship will be sailed from Sandy Bay from December 22-27, with the world championship from December 29 to January 4.

Teams will be coming from England, the Netherlands, Argentina, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, the Ukraine and Poland with a fleet of 50-55 boats for the worlds.

From January 7-13, the club will host the Optimist Dinghy Australian championship with up to 250 competitors in these little single-handed dinghies.