Bass Strait conquered by Laser sailor

by Rob Kothe on 9 Mar 2005 One of the most ferocious pieces of water in the world was today conquered by an Australian Olympic Bronze medallist in a dinghy.

Michael Blackburn sailed his 4.2 metre Laser dinghy 115 nautical miles from Stanley in Northern Tasmania to Tidal Beach in Norman Bay, near Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria in 13.5 hours.

After standing by for some days until his weatherwman, Roger 'Clouds' Badham gave the go ahead, the perfect weather window opened for the Sydney sailor. Winds of 15-20 knots were just right for his little craft with its pocket-handkerchief 7 square metres of sail.

‘I hoisted sail at 3:30am. The first few hours before dawn were pretty hairy. I was planing downwind doing 8-9 knots, with no moon and no stars. A couple of times I put the bow in the water and came to a sudden stop.

'First light was a little after 6.00am and it was a relief to see the waves were not as big as they seemed in the dark.

'We knew we just had to be patient and wait for the right day and this was it.

'I always knew Lasers were fun downwind, I reckon I caught a wave just about every 10 seconds for 13 and a half hours (4,000 or more waves).

'My average speed was 8.6 knots. Today has just been a blast.’

37-year-old Blackburn, who has sailed the Laser class at the past three Olympics, was a heartbreaking two points out of the medals in Atlanta, but won Bronze in Sydney.

By 2004, he had reached number one in the world rankings and again won selection, but finished ninth.

Blackburn has been freshening up with some big boat sailing. Recently, he has been calling tactics very successfully on the Sydney 38, Estate Master, on which he sailed south in the 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

His aim now?

‘This year's Volvo Round the World race looks interesting.’

Blackburn's sponsors include Estate Master - Hill PDA, The Sailing Scene (supplying the Laser), Ronstan, Queensport Wetsuits, The Wooden Boat Shop and Arthur Brett Sails.

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