Syd Corser Championship, preview to Etchells Worlds

by Rob Kothe on 11 Oct 2006 The 2006 Audi Etchells Worlds is a little over a month away and it is shaping as one of the best yachting events in Australia this year.

America’s Cup winner John Bertrand will clash, once again, with another America’s Cup legend, Dennis Conner at the Worlds. While Conner has twice won the Etchells World Championship, it is a title that has so far evaded Bertrand and he is hoping to fill a space in his trophy cabinets.

This weekend’s 2006 Syd Corser Championship is the final 2006 Worlds qualifying event for eligible Swan River registered boats and is the first ‘preview event’ for the Australian fleets. The event is being organised by the Swan River Etchells Fleet in conjunction with the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht and the Royal Perth Yacht Club.

Bertrand, Rob Brown, the current Australian Champion and one of Bertrand’s 1983 Australian II crew, and Western Australian Etchells Champion Rob Bird, are expected to lead the strong fleet in the Syd Corser regatta.

Rob Brown is in top form and he is looking to improve on his 12th place at the 2005 Etchells Worlds. The local favourite with strong support for his campaign, is Rob Bird who was fifth behind Brown at the 2006 Audi Etchells National Championship. Bird is a strong supporter of the Etchells Class and his company, Pro Choice Safety Products a leader in Mining, Marine and industrial safety products, is one of the sponsors of the World Championship.

There are plenty of Swan River locals ready to spoil the party. Gordon Lucas and Murray Smith, second and third in the WA titles back in March, are in good form. In fact a host of Swan River sailors could figure over the three day regatta and these include Skip Lissiman, another of Bertrand’s 1983 crew, Michael Manford and Alistair McMichael.

Bertrand leads the Victorian fleet representatives. Others include Mark Bulka, the Australian champion in 2004, who was third in the 2006 Midwinters in Mooloolaba and Melbourne fleet captain Jake Gunther, who sailed into seventh place in the Nationals.

Pittwater (NSW) representatives for this regatta are Rob Brown and Dave Clarke, who finished ninth at the Audi Nationals and eighth in the Midwinters.

The warning signal for the six race Syd Corser Championship is scheduled for 10am on Friday. The forecast is for S/SE winds 10/15 knots increasing to S/SW winds 15/20 knots in the afternoon, a contrast to the Australian east coast (on Friday) where 30-50 knot north easters are likely to cause dangerous bushfire conditions.

This annual regatta provides the Swan River champion and is named in honour of Syd Corser, a veteran sailor and a pioneer in establishing the Etchells Class fleet in Western Australia. Syd Corser was three times national fourteen footer champion in the early 1960’s and he has won club, State and National titles in four different classes and only recently retired, after 48 years, from competitive sailing.

The ‘final preview event’ will be the Australian National titles from November 10th to 12th and the entire Australian and International fleet is expected to assemble for at this event, ahead of the World Championships from November 17th to 26th 2006. All three events are being sailed in the same course area.

The Etchells class is considered by many sailors to be the most competitive one-design class in the world and one of the best international fleets in many years will be fighting to keep the 2006 World titles out of Australian hands.

There are large contingents from the USA and the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Bermuda, Tito Gonzales, the 2005 World Champion, Jud Smith, the North American Champion and a brace of dual Etchells World Champions, legendary Dennis Conner and Britisher Stuart Childerley, will lead 28 international crews.

Syd Corser has been a great supporter of sailing in the West over the years, to a large extent behind the scenes and he has and continues to provide, a lot of financial support to Western Australian yachting. Syd was a member of the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s America’s Cup Organising Committee.

A successful businessman, he was co-founder of one of the State’s leading home building companies, Pacesetter Homes, and has held directorships in public companies, community, charitable, sporting and civic organisations.

Syd was a Director of the Fremantle Football Club and Chairman of the Trustees of the Fremantle Football Foundation. Syd was instrumental in setting up the Fremantle Football Foundation in 2000, whose main focus was to build the headquarters.

In 1977 he was awarded an OBE for services to the housing industry, 1992 WA Citizen of the Year in the category of sport; in 1993 he received a Paul Harris Fellowship for services to the community; in 1996 was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to Ngala Family Resource Centre and helping to establish Australia’s first Urological Research Centre; in 2000 recipient of Australian Sports Medal for service to sport.

The Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) and the Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) are the host clubs, for the 2006 Audi Etchells Worlds with the Fremantle Sailing Club providing the venue.

Major Sponsor: Audi Australia. Premium Sponsors: Maersk Line, Pro Choice Safety Products, Fontys Pool Wines and Events Corp. Support Sponsors: Superdata, Perth Integrated Health Clinic.

More information including Notices of Race for all three events is online now at www.etchellsworlds2006.org.