Olympic, World and Australian champion on-board for Hillarys Easter Coaching Regatta

Sail Easter Coaching Regatta 2018 © Greg Jennings

Hillarys Yacht Club's inaugural Sail Easter Coaching Regatta has been given an Olympic boost with the announcement that former 420 gold medallist and WA Institute of Sport Head Sailing Coach Belinda Stowell will coach at the club's inaugural Sail Easter Coaching Regatta.

Belinda will be joined by WAIS coach Ryan Palk as well as members of the WAIS team at the regatta training for which commences at 1.00pm on Good Friday.

Added to Belinda and Ryan will be will be members of the Open Bic Worlds team which is for New Zealand this year. Highlighting the girl power team at Hillarys will be WA's top ranked under-13 Bic sailor and world under-13 champion, Jenna Everett, along with Drina Bucktin and Annabelle Jones.

Registrations for the regatta have now topped the 50 mark with Laser, Optimist, Tasar, Bic, 29er, Mirror and National 125s readying to make the most of the semi-protected waters off Hillarys marina in Perth's northern suburbs.

Club commodore, Neil Harrison, said that Hillarys was delighted that Belinda and Ryan had agreed to coach at the regatta, added to which was the presence of the WAIS team and strong response to event entries.

"Having these two sailing champions and the WAIS team at the regatta is great news and thus a fantastic opportunity for dinghy sailors to get proven top-shelf advice while also sailing in a pristine ocean environment."

Racing is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday mornings with presentations on Sunday afternoon.

"We have a good complement of 4.7, Radial and Standard Lasers as well as the three Optimist classes and therefore expect some solid competition on the water," said Neil.

Coaching and racing will take place on the north and south sides of Hillarys marina to give competitors the greatest breadth of sailing conditions and experiences.

The regatta has attracted sponsorship from MonkeyFist and Hogs Breath Café.

Registration forms and sailing instructions can be downloaded from the club's website.