2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship winners

by Craig Heydon on 11 Jan 2010
Sailors from all corners of Australia and from throughout the region have been victorious at the 2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship.

Light winds on the final day of competition kept the competitors on shore and out of the 43 degree heat. Unfortunately the wind remained almost non-existent for the entire day and racing was eventually cancelled.

Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy was victorious in the Laser Radial class, 12 points clear of Queenslander Ben Franklin with Matthew Wearn third.

'The first two days were quite tight but on the third day I managed to get a few points ahead,' said Franklin. 'Once I got ahead I felt quite safe and kept an eye on the competition and made sure I knew where they were at all times.'

'I’ve had a couple of big weeks with the Laser Radial nationals and now this, you could say I’m extremely happy!'

Alexandra South was the first placed girl, finishing on equal points with second placed Ashlie Lane with Martina Ciotti nine points further back.

'My regatta started off well and I was happy after the first day,' said South. 'It got a bit tough after that as the other girls came through but I kept an eye on them and once I got in front it was like I had blinkers on, I didn’t look back.'

It was all Singapore at the top of the 420 standings with Chuan Ko and Andrew Chan taking out the boys class and Rachel Lee and Benita Chua first in the girls class. Angus Golloway and Alex Gough were the second boys crew ahead of Matthew Jerwood and Patrick Vos in third. Queenslands Elloise Brake and Ashley Warlow finished second in the girls class ahead of Singapore’s Daniella Ng and Cheryl Yee.

New South Welshmen Byron White and Thomas Koerner dominated the 29er fleet to win by 11 points ahead of Victorians James Sly and Andrew Gillies.

'Our first day wasn’t great but we came back quite well,' said Koerner. 'We had to get into phase mentally and once we found our groove we managed to pull ahead.'

Tess Lloyd and Rebecca Tuma were the first placed 29er girls crew in fourth overall with Ashlee Holford Ashlee Bulmer second and Phillippa Solly and Katherine Jenkins third.

The Hobie 16 class went right down to the wire with Chase Lurati and Paul Darmanin finishing just one point ahead of Andrew Gough and Grant Jackson. The two crews won all nine races between them and were the standout boats of the fleet.

Mark Spearman is on the top step of the podium in the Laser 4.7 class, ahead of Singapore’s Terence Choo with Stephen Collings third. In the girls class Madison Kennedy took out the title ahead of Phillippa Wood and Isabella Say.

Antoine Aubert was the sailor to beat all week in the Techno 293 class and ended up taking the title by four points from West Australian Eamon Robertshaw with Reece Baillie third. Joanna Sterling was the first place girl, on equal points with Rebecca Wyatt and Kaitlyn Middleton was third.

At the presentation evening the provisional OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team was named to contest the Volvo ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Turkey in July. The provisional team members are Thomas Koerner, Byron White, Alexandra South, Ben Franklin, Chase Lurati, Paul Darmanin, Eamon Robertshaw, Joanna Sterling, Angus Galloway, Alex Gough, Elloise Brake and Ashley Warlow.

For more information visit www.youthchamps.org.au