New sailors emerge at Noakes Youth Regatta
by Lisa Ratcliff on 20 Jul 2008

Senior Sergeant Craig Matters (middle), Sean Langman (behind) and Hobsons Bay youth resource officer Scott Sutton (far right) with members of the Karen and Chin people from the Hobsons Bay area in Victoria. Photo: Lisa Ratcliff. - Noakes Youth Regatta SW
While Sydney’s attention was focused on World Youth Day activities taking place at Randwick Racecourse in the east, just west of the city the sport of sailing was quietly gathering a new set of followers thanks to a shared vision.
Noakes managing director Sean Langman and police officer Paul Lees, community liaison officer for Hobsons Bay in Victoria, met while conducting their respective youth programs aboard the tall ship Young Endeavour as it shadowed the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet to Tasmania last December. Today their combined foresight culminated in the fourth Noakes Youth Regatta.
The most challenging so far of the series, Noakes sponsored Lees and two fellow police officers to bring five members of the Burmese ethnic groups Karen and Chin, who have been living in the Hobsons Bay area for less than five years, to Sydney for the one day regatta held off Woolwich Dock.
It was a weekend of firsts for the unlikely newcomers to sailing who range in age from 16 to 25. This weekend marked their first trip to Sydney and their first time aboard a sailing boat - and last night they sampled Italian cuisine for the first time at a welcome dinner hosted by Langman.
Three of the five had the added pressure of being non-swimmers but with only a whisper of wind to kick start the regatta plus a sprinkling of trusty hands on board each of the three Magic 25s, including Noakes managers and apprentice shipwrights from Woolwich and North Sydney yards, they eased into the day’s racing with no issues.
The highlight of the day for nineteen year old Tha Lay Paw Cho, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and first tasted freedom when she arrived in Australia just over two years ago, was helming the Magic 25, a role each crewmember willingly took on with confidence. Once the light nor’wester started to build and the boats began to heel over, hiking out became the favoured crew position.
After eight races and a final gold medal race, Aaron’s Aztecs, named after Noakes North Sydney operations manager Aaron Harpham, were declared regatta winners. Harpham’s lucky charm was Noakes apprentice shipwright Tom Denahy who has the perfect scorecard with four wins from four Noakes Youth Regattas.
The five young Victorian sailors who took part in today’s Noakes Youth Regatta were selected for their commitment to the New and Emerging Communities Youth Leadership Program, a local initiative developed by the Migrant Resource Council in conjunction with police, fire brigade and ambulance service in the Hobsons Bay area following a report by the Council that identified new and emerging communities weren’t part of the community engagement process.
The program aims to introduce these communities to the vital services while for the police officers at Hobsons Bay, it gives the force a face and allows them to connect and communicate their role to those recently arrived refugees who may be suspicious of those in uniform.
Senior Sergeant Craig Matters from Altona North Police Station believes the concept of this weekend’s trip to Sydney and today’s outing on the Harbour has plenty of merit for program participants.
'The kids got a lot out of travelling to Sydney and today’s regatta. Any extra opportunities to display leadership and skills, and be taken out of their comfort zone are a bonus for these kids. They are just happy to have been given a chance in Australia,' he added.
Speaking on the far reaching benefits of the program, Matters believes that 'once the kids get to know the local police officers they are more likely to approach them. Potentially this concept could be expanded to other new and emerging groups in our area, and possibly to youth who are getting into trouble.'
Langman also plans to expand his Noakes Youth program by linking up with like-minded organisations, such as the Altona North Police Station, and running Noakes Youth regattas in each state.
'It’s about opportunity and choice as well as social gatherings such as last night’s dinner. The program is designed to bring together people who wouldn’t normally mix through sailing and that includes introducing my apprentices to people from different backgrounds,' said Langman.
Following lunch and a medal presentation, Langman slid back the shed door and revealed his latest project to the group – the hi tech 9m Wot Rocket which has been purpose built from carbon fibre to attempt the current world speed sailing record of 49.09 knots.
For the novice sailors it was a difficult concept to grasp. Besides, a promised glimpse of the Opera House on the drive back to Sydney Airport beckoned.
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