John Bertrand returns to Etchells after Royal Match

by Peter Campbell on 4 Jun 2004 John Bertrand, America’s Cup winner and sailing champion for Tasmanian-born Princess Mary of Denmark, will return from that high profile royal match race in Copenhagen to perhaps more competitive sailing next week when he contests the 2004 Etchells Australian Winter Championships at Mooloolaba on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

The then Mary Donaldson invited Bertrand to helm a Danish yacht in a match race against her future husband, Crown Prince Frederik, as part of the festivities leading up to the Royal Wedding in May.

Prince Frederik, a world ranked Dragon class sailor, took the helm of the Danish boat and, with two-times Olympic gold medallist Jesper Bank as his tactician, took out the first race.

Bertrand won the next two races to give now Princess Mary a winning 2-1 score line over her future royal husband. The Australian has proposed a future re-match, possibly in Australia.

Back to the intense fleet race of the International Etchells class, Bertrand faces a tough line-up in the Australian Winter Championship which run from next Friday, 11 June, through to the following Monday, 14 June.

With entries still being received, more than 60 of these a one-design keelboats sailed by a crew of three (sometimes four, according to weight) have been entered from fleets in all mainland Australian States, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Officials are predicting a final line-up of close to 80 boats.

The Australian Winter Championship is the major series in Australia in the lead-up to the Etchells World Championship 2004, which will be sailed off Mooloolaba from 28 July to 7 August.

Melbourne-based Bertrand, the current New South Wales and New Zealand champion, will skipper Two Saints and a Magpie against a fleet that includes former World champions Cameron Miles (Pacesetter) from the Pittwater fleet and John Savage (Cobra IV) also from the Melbourne fleet, and the top New Zealander Cameron Appleton, sailing Embers from the Gulf Harbour fleet.

Four New Zealand boats are contesting the Winter Championship but as many as 14 Kiwi crews are expected for the Worlds. In addition to Appleton, the NZ boats in the Winters are Waiwera Infinity (J.D.St Clair Brown), Waiwara One (Rob Croft) and Upfront (Lindsay Kennedy).

Other prominent Australian Etchells sailors already entered for the Winters include Julian Plante (Odyssey), Mark Doyle (Miramar) and Rob Brown (Steam Packet V) from the Pittwater fleet, Peter Gardner (Humpback), Robert Weir (Argha Noah) and Michael Bellingham (Queen Ann’s Revenge) from the Sydney fleet, Rob Bird (Moody Blues) and Gary Smith (Tuskany) from the Swan River fleet, Simon Estella (Le Vie Dansante) from Adelaide, Peter McNeil (Tom Pepper XVIII) from Lake Macquarie fleet and Ian Johnson (Bananas in Pyjamas) from Victoria’s Mornington fleet.

Queensland fleets will be strongly represented, including Brisbane fleet champion John Warlow helming Blinky the Three Eyes Fish, former Winter Champion titleholder Mark Bradford (Racer X) and Jason Muir (Racer xy) and Mark Sanders sailing Phantom, from the Gold Coast fleet.

The three Mooloolaba crews who have qualified for the Etchells World Championship 2004, David Turton (1219), Bill Butler (Fury) and Lucas Down (Wooska) are also expected to enter the Winter series along with other local fleet competitors.

Further information:
Peter Campbell – 0419 385 028 or email – peter_campbell@bigpond.com


Etchells World Championship 2004 is proudly sponsored by Maroochy Shire Council,
Maroochy Tourism Industry Advisory Board, Queensland Events, Ken Down Architects,
Australian Currency Exchange, Advanced Sports Sunshine Coast, Mooloolaba Yacht Club, Yamaha Motor Australia P/L,
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