The stuff of fables and children's books

by Rob Lowndes on 1 May 2016 Stemming from the recently completed Laser Radial Masters World Championship there is also another story to be told. Arguably, it is about one of the best little Laser clubs on the planet, the Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club.

There was 138 entries overall for the event, with Australia fielding the largest number, at 28 sailors. Notably, this was more than that of the USA, which is much closer to Nuevo Vallarta. Now 10 of the Aussies were from MHASC and three of them were women. This is an extraordinary level of support, especially when you consider that MHASC only has about 45 members.

Now, on top of all of that, of the five age groups to be crowned World Champions, two of them were from MHASC. There was also one MHASC member who was a runner up. Vanessa Dudley won the Laser Radial Grand Master (55 to 64years) and Jeff Loosemore was second. Rob Lowndes won the Laser Radial Great Grand Master (65 to 75years). This adds nicely to the list of past World Champions, which includes Michael Blackburn, Glenn Bourke and Jacqueline Ellis.

So for the little boatshed tucked away in Sydney’s Middle Harbour this is fantastic achievement, with a very proud and happy membership to boot.

This video was taken from a balloon attached to a powerboat.