Laser 4.7 World Championships - Young Jock comes home fighting

by Peter Campbell on 3 Aug 2011 Laser 4.7 World Championships were hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco Bay from 28th July.

Jock Calvert, at 13 years of age the youngest sailor in the Australian team, has come home fighting on the final day of competition at the Laser 4.7 world championships on San Francisco bay.

Jock, a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Dinghy Group and a graduate only this year from Sabots, notched up his best results of the regatta, a 13th and an eighth in the 56 boat Silver fleet in the boys championship.

This gave him 16th place overall and fifth placed under 16-sailor in the 56 boat Silver fleet.

Jock comes from a family of prominent sailors on Hobart’s River Derwent, his late father Bruce and his grandfather Don both champion sailors, from dinghies through to keelboats.

Jock’s performance was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing final day for the Australian sailors in the boys and girls world championship fleets, although fellow Hobartian Nelson Brown placed 10th in the last race for the Silver fleet, finishing 21st overall.

In the Gold fleet Nicholas Connor (NSW) finished 23rd overall, Ben Walkemeyer (WA) slipping down the standings to be 24th overall, despite a first and a second in the qualifying heats.

Dylan Gore (Tas) finished 40th overall in the Gold Fleet, Kailas Johnson (Tas) 49th and Max Vos (NSW) 50th, with Spanish sailors placing first and second overall.

Best Australian result overall was the ninth overall by Milly Bennett (NSW) in the girls world championship, finishing the regatta with an impressive last race fifth. She was also the first non-European in the girls, won by an Italian.

Sophie Chesterman (Tas) finished 22nd, Emma Barton (Tas) 30th and Anna Vaughan (Tas) 40th after a last race 31st place. Anna was the only non-European to win a heat of Laser 4.7 girls world championship, taking out heat eight.