Hill recruits Belcher for Etchells World Championships 2018
by Nic Douglass 21 Oct 2018 19:33 PDT
18-27 October 2018
2018 Etchells World Championship © Nic Douglass /
www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com
The Etchells World Championship for 2018 kicks off today from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron with a final tally of 94 entries of the highest standard including multiple world champions, Olympic medallists and America's Cup heroes.
Among the starters who will be vying for a place at the top of the leader board is Martin Hill of Hill PDA sailing "Lisa Rose" and his relatively new star-studded crew combination of Mat Belcher (gold and silver medallist in the 470 class), Julian Plante and Sean O'Rourke who finished 12th in extremely tough and rough pre-worlds last week.
"Lisa Rose (the boat is named for his wife) is my castle. The key for me is to really trust the team around me, and have a great time challenging yourself" said Hill of his Etchells campaign.
"My teams have changed over the past few years drawing on Australian sailing talent, but our results are consistently on the rise, even with the fleet of rock stars that we have been up against in the Etchells class".
Last year, with his team of Andrew Palfrey, David Chapman and Sasha Ryan, Martin Hill finished in the top five at the pre-worlds, with a final position of sixth in the World Championship fleet of 51 boats, winning race four of the championship.
In the Etchells class at Lendy Cowes Week earlier this year Martin Hill and Andrew Palfrey's Man's Best Friend held the overall lead at the start of the final day by six points, which proved unbeatable even on the tricky Solent race course known to so many.
To tackle the waters off Brisbane, Martin will be calling on the local knowledge and experience of Mat Belcher, his newest tactician, along with his son-in-law and recent winner of Australian Sailing's "Coach of the Year Award", Michael Blackburn.
"I am relatively new to the Etchells class, but with the sheer enormity of 94 boats and an exceptionally competitive fleet there was no way I could not be a part of the event, especially in my backyard and with such a great team" said Mat Belcher on joining Martin for the World Championship.
"The key to this regatta will be consistency in performance, and I have no doubt that if the team continues to gel the way that it has been, that we will be one of the top Australian teams. It is a pleasure to sail with Martin after all that he has done to support my sailing, and the sailing of so many as his role as patron of the Australian Sailing Team".
Martin Hill and Hill PDA will also be providing coverage of the championship through Nic Douglass and Adventures of a Sailor Girl, including photography, social media updates and live broadcasts from a drone, just another way that he is giving back to the sport.
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