Brisbane crew win Etchells Aust Champs

by Suellen Hurling on 19 Jan 2008
Brisbane Fleet sailors Jason Muir, Matt Chew, Paul Wyatt and Darren Jones sailing Racer XY are the 2008 Audi Etchells Australian Champions after a count back defeating New Zealand sailor Alistair Gair with David Ridley, Carl Peters and Derek Scott.

The four up crew who have been training on the championship course since early November and are naturally extremely happy with their result.

The win comes after a count back with both Muir and Gair finishing on 18 points. Muir had to finish 4 places or more in Race 7 to secure the win. Muir finished 3rd, with Gair placing 7th.

“What a week! Today was intense. In Race 7 we had the tiller delaminate and both pumps exploded down the first run. We had to do a manual bail the entire race! It looked like everything was against us. We even had an infringement with our mate Mark Bradford. Total miscommunication between the crew, but we fought back.

'We had no idea we won. At the finish we counted numbers. I can’t believe we won on a count back. We just waited for them (Gair) to cross the line trying to keep calm. Talk about INTENSE!

M'y crew are fantastic, we are a great team. Thanks to Matt and Paul for their constant commitment. I have to thank Adrian Finglas as well for this assistance with the whole set up. Darren Jones came in late but we knew from a tactical point of view he was our man to get us over the line.

'We are all going to take a bit of a break now but will be back for the Winter Nationals and then the Worlds in 2009.”

Muir and Gair were the only two crews to finish the regatta with two first places keeping them 12 points ahead of the fleet.

Another Brisbane Fleet sailor Mark Bradford, sailing with Ben Durham and Wade Morgan finish in third position after a challenging week of sailing.

Veteran sailor Rob Brown with Bruce Wookey and Gary Gudmunson took home the Masters crown ahead of fellow veteran Skip Lissiman.

“You know you’ve had a great regatta when you finish in from of Skip and John Bertrand!” laughed Brown. “I have to say congratulations to these outstanding sailors because it’s been a pleasure to sail with and against them for many years,” continued Brown.

The Grand Masters prize went to Sydney sailors Jan Muysken, Ian Audsley and Mark Doyle sailing Etch.

“It’s been a fantastic regatta and we have enjoyed the racing,” said Muysken on accepting the trophy.

The top ranked fleet of the regatta went to Brisbane who with Muir and Bradford had another top 10 placing with Funky Cold Medina sailed by Vaughan Prentice, Darren Hutchison, Will Thompson and Chris Anderson who placed 7th overall. A fantastic achievement to win after competing in the regatta on their home waters.

The regatta saw mixed conditions with today’s races giving the crews the most consistent angles and pressure. The lead changed after every race with the championship coming down to the final race.

Talk amongst the crews now is the Midwinter Championships in Mooloolaba, the Adelaide Australian Championship and the Worlds.

Full results: http://www.rqys.com.au/results/view.php?PHP_Results_5_941sC.htm

http://www.etchellsregattas0708.com/