Special Olympics Queensland Sailing Regatta

by Drew Hulton-Smith on 4 Nov 2008
Over Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd November 2008, The Southport School Sailing Club hosted the inaugural Special Olympics Queensland Invitational Games Sailing Regatta. Contested on Olympic Triangle Courses on the Paradise Waters arm of the Nerang River, thirteen races were completed for five classes.

The Opening Ceremony held at James Overell Park, Southport was a combined affair between Special Olympics Sailing and Cricket, and brought together athletes from three Australian States and three Queensland Regions. A crowd of supportive coaches, families and friends watched the pageantry of the opening address, the torch relay and lighting of the flame, the national anthem, the taking of the Oath, and finally the official games opening by Gold Coast Councillor Dawn Crichlow OAM.

With the ceremony completed, the sailing athletes gathered for the competitors briefing delivered by Principal Race Officer, Drew Hulton-Smith (TSSSC). The forecast was ominous, with a Strong Wind Warning current and predictions of 20-30 knot southeasterlies. The only casualty of the conditions was the spectators marquee, which was quickly dismantled. The sailors on the other hand reveled in the building breeze. The racing venue was carefully selected for this exact eventuality; and offered just the right degree of protection. Steady 15 knot winds, negligible current, flat water and no powerboat traffic allowed excellent racing conditions, a feat almost unachievable just about anywhere else on the Gold Coast.

The Access 303 doubles took to the water first, for the Unified Level One and Level Two competition with three back-to-back races. In Unified Level One, Alyse Saxby and Allan Jones (NSW) came out strong with two convincing wins, closely followed by Meegan Finn and Chris Ruston (QLD) who, in their first time racing as a team, demonstrated consistent improvement to win the third heat. For Unified Level Two, Katharine Keir and Debbie Boys (ACT) finished the day with a 1, 2, 1 result, after Nat Bagley and Barry Coates (QLD) suffered a rudder failure in heat one and a DNF in heat three.

The crews returned to shore for lunch provided by The TSS Friends of Sailing support group, before the Access 303 Doubles competition began. By now the breeze was a consistent 18 knots with slight outgoing tide, yet the water conditions were are smooth as a pond. The hometown duo of Sonja Gilmore and Tom Nairn (QLD) were unstoppable, with a perfect score of three bullets. The Silver went to Allister Peek and Bronwyn Ibbotsom (ACT) and third was Belinda Hill and Warren Hawkins (QLD). Five of the six podium placing sailors in this Division were all representatives of the Australian Team and all scored medals at the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai last year.

That afternoon, nearly a hundred sailors and cricketers gathered at The Southport School Sailing Club for a BBQ and get together. While some athletes went out on the town to make the most of their stay at the Gold Coast, most opted for an early night in view of the demanding schedule the next day.

By Sunday morning the strong southeasterly change had blown through the region, leaving grey skies and very light easterly breeze. Following the morning competitors briefing the Access 303 Unified Level One and Level Two sailors again dusted the white Gold Coast sand off their boots and took to the boats for the final two heats of their competition.

In Unified Level One, Finn and Ruston (QLD) consolidated their improving form of the previous day to score two bullets in the final heats and earn the Gold Medal. The other podium places ended in a tie on 8 points, broken in favour of Saxby and Jones (NSW) over the father and son combination of Bradley Alderton and Colin Alderton (NSW).

Bagley and Coates (QLD) in Unified Level Two made a late challenge in the final two heats, with only seconds separating them from Keir and Boys (ACT) but the effort was not enough to overcome the talented sailors from Canberra.

The final class of racing, the Access Breeze Singlehanded Division then commenced their round of five heats, using the six identically matched boats recently provided to Special Olympics Queensland Sailing by the Access Dinghy Foundation. During this round there were no less than four rear-ender accidents on the adjacent Sundale Bridge, heavy with Sunday traffic. It is strongly suspected that a couple of these accidents were in some part caused by the distraction of six highly coloured little boats racing along, all within boatlengths of each other the whole time.

Although the conditions were still light, the racing was aggressive, close, and not without incident. A number of pre-start infractions, mark contacts, and ‘Part Two’ incidents on the race course saw more than one hail of ‘Protest’ and penalty turns performed. Mediation of a couple of unresolved incidents back on shore lead to a couple of skippers taking the honourable option of ‘Retiring after Finishing’ for their errors.

In the Womens Division, Belinda Hill (QLD) was almost unbeatable, usually rounding the first weather mark in first or second place then opening up an unassailable lead with outstanding boatspeed off the wind. Hill (QLD) earned the Gold Medal on 8 points ahead of Sonja Gilmore (QLD) with 13 points and just one place clear of Bronwyn Ibbotsom (ACT) on 14.

For the Mens competition, Allister Peek (ACT) rallied from a shaky start to produce consistent medal winning results, to place him on top of the podium. Warren Hawkins (QLD) showed great boatspeed and handling, however missed earning the higher places due to tactical and right-of-way errors. Tom Nairn (QLD) struggled on the windward legs but with some good coaches advice after heat two showed a dramatic improvement, holding second place for the entire last heat to just be overtaken at the finish line.

The Medal Ceremony was held right after racing, presided by Anna-Louise Kassulke and Marion York (Special Olympics Queensland) and attended by Leanne Sanderson (Max Fabre Foundation). While the justly-deserved medal winners were of course ecstatic with their rewards, the Special Olympics Athletes Oath certainly rang true, 'Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt'. Regardless of their placing or performance, all the athletes gathered in a spirit of genuine support and respect for each other, all unified by their commitment and enjoyment of competitive sailboat racing.

The 2008 Special Olympics Queensland Invitational Games Sailing Regatta was the first of a series of qualifying events to select the Australian National Sailing Team which will contest the Special Olympics World Games Sailing Regatta in Athens 2011.

TSS Sailing Club will continue their involvement with Special Olympics Queensland Sailing through facilitation of training, equipment and operational support, and welcomes all eligible sailors who want to train and race. Contact TSSSC or Special Olympics Queensland for further information.

Click on thumbnails below to view more images from this event.