Brass Monkey Regatta sparks big interest

by Glen Stanaway, SFS on 26 Jul 2005 Olympic coaches and Olympians themselves will go head to head at the Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta when the first race of the two day event starts at midday on August 20th.

Sponsored by Dinghy Solutions Sailing School, the event will boast two Olympic coaches; Emmett Lazich and Lea Sitja, both of whom helped gold medal winning 49er campaigns. Two South African’s will join the pair, dual Olympian Bruce Savage and Clynton Wade Lehman.

After competing in the Solings in the Atlanta and Barcelona Olympics, Savage also played a part in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, as coach to the South African 49er team, while Lehman was crew for Savage crew at the Barcelona Olympics.

All of those mentioned have landed in different high performance skiff classes. At the Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta, Lazich and Wade Lehman will be race in the 49ers, representing Woollahra Sailing Club, while Sitja will represent in the 18 footers for the host club; Sydney Flying Squadron and Savage the 16 footers on behalf of Manly 16ft Skiff Club.

This will make for some pretty tough racing at the front of the fleets. Sitja represents in what is arguably the fastest craft, the 18 footer. However, he is very new to the class and will be in the pupil’s role when facing up against consummate professionals like Lazich, or Lehman, who is now part of the Bethwaite Designs team at Woollahara.

Not long ago, the 16 footers represented a new challenge to Savage, just like the 18s do now for Sitja. There was plenty of time sailing at very competitive level in many yacht and dinghy classes, but little exposure to a class with the performance and characteristics of the explosive 16.

When starting in the 16s, the first thing that challenged Savage were the skills needed to sail with the mast head asymmetric kites at 20+ knots, both handling techniques and the all important angles.

Savage’s crew from 1996 Olympics, Lehman, is just as new to the skiff classes, but is part of Bethwaite Designs, creating opportunities for young sailors learn these skills in the Bethwaite designed 29er.

Many schools have adopted the 29er, which was recently announced by ISAF as a class for the 2006 Youth Worlds, as it is a great platform to learn how to handle and tune skiffs, whilst not facing the massive power and speeds of the senior classes.

Learning skills in classes, including the Cherub, 29er or 13 ft skiff, will provide the perfect platform for young sailors to make the step up into the super fast skiffs.

Unlike Sitja and Savage, Lazich is the long time sage of Sydney skiff classes, with a long trail of wins in the 18 footers, 49ers, and, ironically, a Rookies trophy, stemming from his fifth place in the latest 12ft Skiff Interdominion Trophy. All this came after a winning the 1991 world title in the flighty performance driven Moth class.

The Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta is open to all classes, and these Olympians and Olympic Coaches will find themselves up against a lot of new young talent keen to have a crack against the best - or those simply keen to learn something from being on the same course with some of the best in the business.

Others may not be so worried or intimidated by the talent on display, particularly those sailors who already have a few wins under the belt. The latest entry in the regatta is current Moth world title holder, Rohan Veal, a multiple title holder, representing Black Rock YC in Melbourne.

Veal is not looking to sail any other skiff class at this stage, but is looking forward to competing against the skiffs. A flat-water 15-20 knot day would be his choice; giving him the opportunity to close in on the skiffs with his revolutionary Foiler Moth and late August on Sydney Harbour may well give him those conditions.

Young sailors wanting to see the cream of dinghy and skiff sailing on display can come down to the regatta, to check out the classes whilst they are being rigged in the park, or join in by entering the racing.

To enter the Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta: http://nsw.i14australia.org/sfs.

For more information about Dinghy Solution Sailing School’s skiff course: http://www.dinghysolutions.com.au/.