Australian Open BIC Cup 2010 - Energised Junior Sailing

by Guy Chester on 27 May 2010 In a weekend, a new style of national level sailing event was born at Lake Tinaroo, North Queensland May 22-23.

The O'pen Bic is a new boat, suitable for sailing 6-7 years olds and up to at least 15-16. However the O'pen Bic Cup did far more than just be the first national event for a new class... it re-positioned kids sailing. Its fun, its wet, its fast, many events...frenetic!

The Weekend
Kids brought their parents along, arriving on the Friday afternoon from Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, NSW, ACT, the Northern Territory and of course from around North Queensland. A true national titles!

O'pen BICs are sailed at a few clubs around Australia and the class is growing in many areas. Overall 96 have been sold to date. It was an amazing achievement to have 45 in the one place... the importer, Glide Industries arranged to have twenty-one brought to Tinaroo for charter. 15 of these boats were generously loaned by The Big Blue Sailing School www.thebigblue.com.au Together with all the local boats this created an amazing fleet. Most kids in the 2010 Cup sail their own or a club's O'pen Bic regularly, however a few jumped classes, with a top sailor from the NT Minnow fleet showing the regular O'pen Bic sailors how it is done (second overall!).

So Friday afternoon involved sailing for the visitors to get to know the boats, then a few get to know you games (with suitable refreshments for the parents) as the sun went down. Saturday morning got off on schedule at 9am, a briefing and then straight out onto the water. The first 'race' a bit of fun, start capsized, sail to that mark, OK, now turn around, now do a 360, and now capsize. Even the newbies to the class soon worked out how to handle these little rockets.

Now to the serious racing, well almost serious, a quick paddle race, three kids to a boat (it takes all of 30 seconds to remove the rig, so making a few paddle boats was instant). Much hilarity and with crews told to mix it up with kids from other States there's camaraderie before anything serious.

So now to the first competitive event... BUT the first serious event wasn't actually racing, its dinghy acrobatics, and 'freestyle'! With not much wind and deep water just off the grassy shoreline the single freestyle was held. A panel of judges and a series of heats of kids doing all sorts of tricks, from bow plants to stern sinks, to capsize tricks and mast climbs, boom walks to handstands. A suitable sound system on the shore, providing the right 'ambience', with 'Mr Music' loudly delineating each heat. Lots of fun, but headaches for the judges when they had to decide who went into each age group's finals.

Hang on its lunchtime; have we had a proper race yet? No! But are we having fun? Yes! Actually no need to ask just check out the grins, smiles, laughter!

So we are at a serious national event lets get racing... BUT wait for it; we have a few differences with the O'pen Bic! There's 'Speed Slalom' (windward, then a reaching slalom to leeward), 'Open Cross' (a square course, of windward, reach, leeward, reach... but with a capsize and a 360 turn required on particular legs), then there's the 'Speed Race' using a Le Mans off the beach start and figure eights around the buoys. Oh yeah, we have 'old fashioned' windward - leeward and triangle courses as well.

A few races, briefing, and a few more races take up the rest of Saturday. A quick evening slideshow then parents fell exhausted to bed whilst the bigger kids watched the embers die around the campfire.

Sunday, Lake Tinaroo put on a beautiful morning, with the calm sparkling lake and Wet Tropics world heritage listed, rainforest clad mountains a backdrop, what a serene landscape. Seems to be just the right time for the tandem freestyle... loud music, two kids to a boat and more mast climbs, hula hoops, pom poms, stern sinks and bow plants, acrobatic capsizes are the order of the morning and more headaches for judges... a few heats some finals and its morning tea time!

The wind has started to fill and the off the beach, Le Mans start Speed Race is on. Parents hold the boats on the shore, the kids line up, windward bias removed by making those kids run farther to their boats... the flag drops and they are off! The wind falters midway and then fills in; clearly the better sailors are doing well and showing that these innovative courses add fun for all as well as a challenge for the experienced racers.

Results
Age is no barrier to performance in the O'pen Bic, under twelve year olds Luc Rosevear achieved a third in one race and Oliver Medd a fourth in another. The O'pen Bic Cup was decided on the basis of eight races with two discards. Twelve races had been planned but the wind gods were a bit slow to get up each morning, so eight races was a full calendar of available windy hours.

Two of the MacGregor clan took out first (Aidan, 18) and third (Angus, 14) whilst the other Tinaroo dynasty family, the Wiltshire's brought in cousin Hamish (12) from Darwin to take out second place overall. Local, but a ring-in to the class who normally crews on a Tasar or sails his 4.7 Laser, Jack Chester (14) took out fourth overall before the rest of the local Wiltshire clan Max (15) placed fifth and Emily (13) sixth. Division winners were spread from across the States with Open Female won by (Aidan MacGregor, 18, QLD), Open Male (Jack Chester, 14, QLD), Under 15 Female (Emily Wiltshire, 12, QLD), Under 15 Male (Hamish Wilshire 12, NT), Under 12 Female (Maya Reid 10, QLD) and Under 12 Male Andrew Briggs (11, WA). Even more important were the results of the freestyle events, with the singles taken out by Max Wiltshire (Open), Nicci Edwards (Under 15) and Maya Reid (under12). The tandem Freestyle was won by Max and Patrick Wiltshire (Open), Elyna and Charlotte Overland (under 15) and Kristin Wadley and Darcy Cant (Under 12).

Serious Fun
For an inaugural national level regatta for a new class, the O'pen Bic presented the future of kids sailing. Actioned packed and dynamic, short sailing courses, novelty and serious events, the program kept interest for all sailors, from the beginners just getting around the course to the leaders. With kids from 7 to 20 competing, the racing won by an 18 year old, second by a 12 year old and almost all the fleet finishing every race, the success of the Bic was fantastic.

The Tinaroo Sailing Club Commodore, Peter MacGregor gave an excellent briefing on the Rules for the weekend. The racing was sailed in accordance with the ISAF rules, but with a proportion of younger and more novice sailors five key rules were outlined at the briefing:

1. Have fun!
2. Starboard > Port
3. Leeward > Windward
4. Mark Room
5. No CRASHING

Another innovative rule, the alternative penalty was set at 1 turn, but a penalty could also be taken as a capsize, get the mast wet, pick up and keep sailing. One sailor who drifted into a mark during a calm was seen to take their penalty mast wetting and be going faster after the penalty!

On water judging was undertaken by three official boats, a red flag and a hailed sailed number used. Often judges would explain the rule and why the penalty to the more novice sailors.

One more rule... 'Coaching is compulsory for those struggling'! One rigid inflatable was specifically tasked with this, helping the more novice sailors and even giving higher performance type advice to the mid fleeter.

At the front of the fleet the racing was as serious as it gets, the lighter and fluky races were won by those that played the shifts, looked for pressure and didn't take gambles. Advice this author remembers Denis Connor giving Lowell North at a demonstration match racing event in the early 1980's! The winners of the event were clearly good sailors, often they needed to sail though the fleet and they showed consistency in getting up to the front. They knew the rules. Having said that, all the leaders showed respect to the younger and more novice sailors, calling for their rights certainly, but early and leaving heaps of room to keep clear.

All sailors had fun, no boat broke, no boat was towed home, even when 'Rule 5' was broken, the polyethylene Bic takes the knocks without damage. As the presentation concluded the only question by the sailors was where is the O'pen Bic Cup next year! Was it fun? Seriously, you don't even have to ask!