RS Regatta coming up- Australia Day

by Jardine Media on 3 Jan 2009 Like many sailing journalists, the Sail-World team spends a lot of time interviewing people who are having considerably more fun than we are. Last night was a case in point: we rang a high profile sailor on his mobile, he’d been a vital part of the team that won the Hobart race on handicap this year and we were determined to interview him. He took the call from on board his yacht, anchored in a secluded bay, drinking champagne and eating lobster with his wife and young son. It’s fair to say that everyone in the office felt so jealous that we all turned a peculiar shade of green.

The reason I’m mentioning the ‘what did you do on the weekend?’ syndrome is that the Australia Day public holiday is coming up, Saturday 24th to Monday 26th January, so it’s a great opportunity to spend a couple of days doing something seriously fun. Over the long weekend the inaugural Australian National RS Classes Championship will be hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club, just after the Australian Olympic Youth Championships. It’s the first time Australian RS Feva, 200, 400 and 800 sailors will have the chance to strut their stuff at a premier event and you should be there.
Instead of spending Tuesday morning listening to some jaded young thing brag about his imaginary weekend exploits from the safety of the office water cooler, why not arrive back at work with a healthy glow and great memories of a fantastic couple of days racing RS boats on one of the world’s most beautiful harbours?

And if you’re a competitive type, you’ll be pleased to hear that the RS Feva is the junior boat at the preceding Olympic Youth Championships, with a fleet of at least 40 Fevas expected. Many of these sailors expected to stick around to race in the RS Nationals meaning it’s a good opportunity to test your skills against the stars of the future.

Woollahra Sailing Club (WSC) is keen to see as many boats on the water as possible so racing will be open to all RS classes. Chris Caldecoat of Performance Sailcraft Australia (PSA), the Australian manufacturers and importers of RS boats, said that the Australia Day regatta is a great chance for RS enthusiasts and those thinking of getting into RS sailing, to compete ahead of the RS Feva World Championships which are going to be hosted by WSC in 2010.

It’s not just the Fevas which will be out on the water in 2010: the RS200s, RS800s and 400s will compete alongside them for the coveted Gold Cup. In an event that is already taking on a strong ‘Ashes on the Water’ flavour, a number of top British sailors are expected to fly to Australia to race what they see as ‘their’ brand on ‘our’ water.

The RS story started in the UK about ten years ago when two guys were sitting on the sea wall at Cornwall talking about boats. It was one of those ‘perfect woman’ conversations, always acknowledged by the participants to be an impossible dream, after all how many seriously fit young women have generous fathers in the brewing industry?

The men, racing mad sailors Nick Peters and Mark Wadhams, were musing about the type of single hander they really wanted. The casual conversation turned into a wad of sketches on a water splattered pad, later followed by a steadily escalating number of phone calls, then they got serious and developed a business plan, started hiring boat building premises, and before you could say ‘more fun than you can poke a stick at…’ the RS legend was born.

What made RS so successful was a combination of factors: launching the right boat in the right market at the right time; an understanding that they were not just selling a boat but something that had the potential to build relationships between people; and designs that were fast, easy to sail and fun. Then there was the RS commitment to using the latest developments in construction and rig technology, which ensured that RS stayed ahead of the pack, both on and off the race course.

Australia got in on the action when PSA began importing, manufacturing and distributing the brand. The first locally built RS400s left PSA’s Central Coast factory just in time to compete in the recent Sail Brisbane event with many more destined to become part of the local sailing scene and shipped off overseas.

PSA are currently doing some great deals to build interest in the class. Clubs interested in building up a RS400 fleet will be pleased to hear about the ‘buy eight boats, get one free’ offer. Chris Caldecoat said that:

‘We want to do an initial package into Australia and New Zealand – we’re happy to do a deal on individual and club basis for the next 12 months if you get the fleet started.’

There’s already been strong interest in the RS400 from clubs in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, all looking ahead to the RS Feva World Championship and the Gold Cup.

If you don’t currently have access to a RS, but are interested in giving the class a try, give PSA a call or flick them an email and see what deals are on offer in the lead up to the Australia Day regatta.

As part of the build up to the regatta, Performance Sailcraft are organising a number of events for RS sailors and people who are just curious about the class. With years of high level Laser event organisation behind them, they’ve got the expertise to do this well. Upcoming RS events include Demo Weekends at a number of clubs with RS Feva, RS Tera, RS Vision and RS 200s and 400s on hand to sail and a BBQ thrown in- free food and a day sailing some seriously fun boats? If you can think of a better, cheaper day out, guaranteed to make your work mates jealous on a Monday morning, Sail-World would like to hear about it.

For more information about either Lasers or RS Feva see the following sites:

http://www.lasersailing.com.au
http://rssailing.com.au

Email Jason at Jason@lasersailing.com.au for more information about the RS Demo Weekends and to book your spot.
Performance Sailcraft contact details:
Performance Sailcraft Pty Ltd
Lot 7 Catamaran Road, Ourimbah NSW 2258
Australia