Sail Brisbane underway - Day 1 summary

by Suellen Hurling on 28 Nov 2008
Sail Brisbane, the first leg of the Sail Down Under Series got underway yesterday racing from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) at Manly. Entrants totalling 143 from seven countries raced on three separate courses to get in the first two races of the regatta.

Rigging in torrential rain it was uncertain to the sailors that they had arrived in Sunny Queensland. Eventually the clouds cleared to a consistent 12 knots from the north east.

The Laser fleets raced on the northern end of the bay with Internationals leading the way. Matias Del Solar from Chili and Matt Coutts from New Zealand share the winning positions from the two races and are now equal on three points. Javier Cebrian from Spain sits on eight points in third position.

Former local but now Far North Queensland resident Kelsey Ormsby is three points clear of Mark Langford from Belmont in NSW. Former Masters World Champion Greg Adams is equal with Langford but is rumoured to be out of the regatta due to a back injury. Another Far North Queenslander, Andrew Torpelund is sitting comfortably in the podium position in the Laser 4.7 fleet after two convincing wins in yesterday’s races.

The southern end of the bay has a great line up of Sabot sailors who are using Sail Brisbane as a final hit out prior to their Australian Championships which are being raced over the Christmas/New Year period at Airlie Beach. Felix Grech from Hunters Hill Sailing Club in Sydney won both races with Matt Graham from Gosford Sailing Club sitting closely behind after racing to second in both races.

Tom Brewer and Will Ryan from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia together with Laura Balwin and Rike Ziegelmayer sailing for Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club and RQYS are leading in the 470 class both sitting on three points.

Two wins in the 420 fleet for RQYS sailors Sean Ott and Adam Lahey has them clear ahead of Byron White and Jay Griffin from the CYCA. Racing in this competitive fleet will be close for the duration of the regatta with both teams excelling in the heavy conditions that are forecast.

Former Laser Radial sailor Kieran Searle from Northern NSW is at the helm of a 29er for Sail Brisbane after teaming up with Sam Phillips from RQYS. They are equal placed with RQYS locals Angus Rankin and James Dahl.

Young Optimist sailor Charlie Wyatt took out the first race of the regatta with Louise Evans winning Race Two. Evans received an OCS in Race One pushing her deep in the results after the first day of racing. Mackenzie Bird from Victoria is on equal points with Wyatt but the results could go any way with these competitive sailors.

The 125 fleet is strong in Queensland, especially within the Brisbane River clubs. Jenny Anderson and Joanne Luscombe from the Brisbane Sailing Squadron are leading the fleet after two wins yesterday ahead of another BSS crew of Tim and Lauren Robba. RQYS 125 sailors Bronwyn and Nigel Seto are equal with the Robba crew after Day One.

The SB3 fleet is using Sail Brisbane to race their first Queensland Championship. Rod Jones who was behind the fleet arriving in Australia is leading after two wins. However Jones is reportedly out of the regatta due to a hamstring/achilles injury suffered during yesterday’s racing.

The Hobie 16 fleet will join the SB3s on the Eastern course from Saturday.

The forecast for Day 2 of racing has conditions increasing to 20/25 knots with a strong wind warning in place for the evening. Saturday is due to bring a 20/30 knots SW breeze.

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