Volvo Youth Worlds 2010- Australian youth sailors enjoy day off water

by Craig Heydon on 14 Jul 2010 Volvo Youth Worlds 2010 -The OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team has enjoyed a lay day at the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, recharging the batteries after two long, hot, draining days on the water.

The lay day has allowed the Australian team to rest both bodies and minds after two days of racing in light, shifty conditions and the team is now refreshed and ready to get back into racing.

Australia’s multihull crew of Chase Lurati Paul Darmanin lead the SL16 class after the opening three races and are enjoying every minute of their first Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship.

'The regatta has started much better than I could ever have expected given that neither Paul nor I had ever sailed the SL16 before,' said Lurati. 'We’ve been focusing on sailing our race not the other boats and making sure that we get clean air off the start.'

'Yesterday was a real mental challenge for everybody as we didn’t start racing until 7.30pm but we knew what we needed to do and just went about it in our own way,' he said. 'From here on in we’re just going to take it day by day and aim to get some more good results on the board.'

For Paul Darmanin success in the multihull class at the Youth World Championship runs in the family with older sister Lisa, and cousin Jason Waterhouse, winning the Gold medal in Brazil last year and the younger Darmanin is happy with where he and Lurati sit after two days of racing.

'We’re very happy with the results so far, we’re getting off the line well and sailing the boat fast, it seems to be working so far,' said Darmanin. 'From here on we’ll be a bit conservative, take no unnecessary risks and try and keep going the way we are.'

'Yesterday we didn’t get off the water until after 9pm in the dark so it was nice to have day off today to rest and get ready to go again tomorrow,' he said.

In the boys 420 class Angus Galloway and Alex Gough are currently in ninth position after three races and have improved their results in each race.

'We had an average first race with a 24th but have managed to improve in each one since then,' said Galloway. 'I think we were a little shocked at the strength of the fleet in the first race and had a bit of trouble getting off the line but it’s coming together on the water now.'

'Tomorrow we’ll look to get a few more counters on the board and move up, it’s been a pretty high scoring regatta so far,' he said.

Crew Alex Gough is enjoying racing in a highly competitive fleet against the best 420 youth sailors in the world.

'It’s been a great experience for us so far and both Angus and I hope to learn all that we can and bring it all back home with us,' said Gough. 'We had a few issues at the start but we’ve got it all together now and can begin to work our way up the leader board.'

420 girls class entrants Ashley Warlow and Elloise Brake are in 21st position after the opening three races and with just 16 points separating themselves and 12th place the pair will be looking to move up the ladder on Wednesday.

Johnny Rogers is coaching the Australian SL16 crew and two 420 crews in Turkey and is impressed with their performances so far.

'The crews are pretty upbeat, positive and relaxed after the first two days of racing,' said Rogers. 'Yesterday was a really long day out in the sun so it’s been good for them to chill out a bit today and get ready for the remainder of the regatta.'

'So far it’s been a mental game on the water, our crews have done really well at keeping their emotions in check and take all the chances they can get,' he said. 'It’s been a real racing regatta, not a boat speed regatta so far which we don’t really get at home, the guys have had to take the boats out of it as all the equipment is the same and it all comes down to what you can do on the water.'

Byron White and Thomas Koerner are currently 12th in the 29er class and just 10 points off sixth overall.

'We haven’t had the best start to the regatta but we’re chipping away and getting better starts and beginning to move up,' said White. 'It’s been six months since we’ve had any real racing so it’s taken a little while to get use to it all again but there’s still plenty of opportunity for us to get a good result here.'

Joanna Sterling ended day two of the regatta 13th in the RS:X girls class after recording two 12ths, a 14th and a 10th and she will be looking to put to use the experience she gained at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Brazil to move up the ladder.

Western Australian Eamon Robertshaw is 14th in the RS:X boys class but just 14 points off the top 10 with plenty or racing left in the regatta.

David Mann is coaching the 29er and two RS:X crews and said that all the Australians were enjoying the day off the water.

'Yesterday we sat around in the boat park for the best part of two hours and then got out on the water very late so it ended up being a very long day for everyone,' he said. 'All the crews are doing well, they’ve had a couple of good races and a couple that they would have preferred were better but it’s been six months since our racing season so I’m sure they’ll get better as the week moves on.'

'We’re not expecting a whole lot of breeze for the rest of the week and there is a lot of current on the course, most of our guys don’t see these types of conditions so it’s a great challenge for them,' he said.

Alexandra South is currently 16th in the Laser Radial girls class after putting a tough opening two races behind her to storm home with a fighting sixth place finish in Monday evening’s race.

'After the first day I almost felt like booking an express ticket back to Sydney but yesterday was much better and I was sailing as I should be,' said South. 'It was a really good result for me, I looked out for opportunities and sailed my own race, not everyone else’s.'

'It’s going to be a tough end to the regatta but I’m planning to go out there and sail fast and hope for some clean air,' she said.

South’s fellow Laser Radial sailor, Ben Franklin, has had a tough start to the regatta and is currently in 47th position in the boys class but will be keen to put the opening two days behind him and get back to racing on Wednesday and begin climbing up the ladder.

South and Franklin are being coached in Turkey by OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team Leader Kristen Kosmala.