NZ 420 sailors compete in Fremantle

by Angus Haslett on 30 Dec 2014 A team of four 420's has made the trip across to Fremantle for the Australian 420 Nationals, a six day regatta, 29th Dec - 3rd Jan and then the Australian Youth Championship a five day regatta running from Jan 6th to Jan 10th.

The team is Jonathon Weston and Taylor Balogh, Henry Haslett and Jeremy Mitchell, Xanthe Copeland and Emma Stenhouse and Ava Mannering and Lola Stoodley. Most of the sailors arrived before Christmas and spent a few days setting their boats up and getting some time on the water getting into the swing of things in Fremantle.

The Fremantle Sailing Club with 900 members, has fantastic facilities with a massive marina and stunning clubhouse. The marina breakwater setting up for a great dinghy launching area with a huge grass area for boat set up, several launching ramps and all the necessary bits and pieces like plenty of hoses and chandlery stores nearby. Adding to this is the Fremantle Doctor which has to date come in after lunch every day and built to around 20knots. With temperatures in the 30's it truly is sailing paradise!

The first chance for the kiwis to test their boat speed against the Aussie and Hong Kong entries was in the practice race, probably the windiest day so far with 20-25 knots. It was clear the kiwis will be competitive but the larger Australian crews (combined weights 130kg plus) look to have an advantage at this stage it appears. Interestingly we met up with the third place getter in the ISAF Youth 420 worlds and their combined crew weight of 118kg placed them third in Portugal. So, much to think about for the sailors as they prepared for race day one.

The 29th, start of the regatta, dawned still with clear blue skies but earlier news of a rampant stomach bug that had laid a few of the Australians low around Christmas, finally caught up with the kiwis with Jeremy Mitchell being flattened by it. Somehow he managed to get to the race start and completed the three races but clearly showed signs of not being great and sadly a sail on day 2 looks unlikely for the Haslett/Mitchell team.

Back to the results on Day One - the first of the races saw solid starts by the kiwis and with what appeared to be still a building breeze the Australian sailors took a good, one, to three lead, however the top Hong Kong boat showed promise finishing fourth. Haslett/Mitchell finished a solid ninth with Weston/Balogh hot on their tails in 10th. Mannering/Stoodley finished 12th and Copeland/Stenhouse 15th. Out of a fleet of 36 boats, all things considered, not too bad a start as for some it was their first major regatta.

Race two saw the breeze move left and the kiwis picked it and took advantage of this as the marks were moved Haslett/Mitchell took out a sixth and Weston/Balogh a ninth and Mannering/Stoodley an 11th. Copeland/Stenhouse had a gear issue and dropped off after a great start.

With only two races scheduled it was thought to be an early finish for the day but the RO decided conditions were just too good so put in a third race for - the strongest breeze by now and great sailing conditions. The kiwis were starting to find their groove and managing the tricky chop well and all kept to the left and first mark rounding's were solid. A tight group of 7 boats formed with two kiwis in it and with only 50 meters in it Haslett/Mitchell managed to pull ahead and avoid a very competitive reach to the finish to etch out another sixth. Weston/Balogh tussled with the remaining boats and finished within seconds of the group to take a 12th. The girls fell off a little on their last race and Mannering/Stoodley finished 15th and Copeland/Stenhouse 21st. Still some work to do but overall the team can be well pleased with their efforts - a competitive fleet, new boats to sort out, an interesting sea condition and a stomach bug for Mitchell to boot.

The Australians have organised a great regatta by the looks of it and their willingness to help us, be it with getting boats ready or a ride in a rib (or even lending their rib!) is simply amazing and great to be part of.

Day 1 Results
Haslett/Mitchell eighth (9,6,6)
Weston/Balogh 11th (10,9,12)
Mannering/Stoodley 12th (12,11,15)
Copeland/Stenhouse 18th (15,20,21)

Thanks to North Sails for their support with the sails.