Perth 29er and 49er Nationals Underway

by Tony Showell on 4 Jan 2009
The 29er and 49er Australian Championships have started in perfect conditions at Mounts Bay Sailing Club in Perth.

New Year’s day saw in the official opening of the regatta with oldest skipper in the fleet, 49er sailor Dennis Jones, firing the gun to set the stage for four days of close racing in the flat waters of Matilda Bay. Assisting Dennis with flag raising on regatta opening were the oldest and youngest competitors in the event, being a 29er father and son combination – local 12 year old Jamie Glaskin as skipper and dad Scott Glaskin (many decades older) as crew.

The National Championships have attracted generous sponsorship, with Mermaid Marine and ASP Ship Management coming on board as major sponsors for the event. Zhik and Bethwaite Design have provided some great prizes, and Jet Torque Marine as well as Ron Tough Yachting Foundation have also assisted in providing RIBS for race management. Clubs WA have sponsored all event promotion and advertising.

At the Welcome Night, which was held on a balmy evening of the 1st January, the Commodore of the Mounts Bay Sailing Club Matt Jahn gave a warm welcome to the interstate and international competitors. Matt provided visitors with some history of the club and explained that although Mounts Bay is a small volunteer club it has produced a string of successful sailors competing both nationally and internationally.

The first four races were held on Friday 2nd January under fantastic conditions with a 10-14 knot south-west sea breeze and flat water. Spectators were treated with some extremely close top mark roundings and spinnaker drops at the bottom gate marks.

In the 49er event after completion of four races the Sorrento boat Bush Pig consisting of Will and Sam Phillips are at the top of the ladder, with Woollahra sailors David O’Connor and Iaian Jensen coming a close second on points.

In the 29ers, local Mounts Bay sailors Daniel Roberts and Leo Showell are tied on points with Royal Yacht Club Victoria’s William Sheers and Justin Zattelman.

With a further ten races to be sailed in both fleets, the close points mean that the event is wide open for many boats in both classes.