2020 Australian Youth Championships at Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club - Overall
by Australian Sailing 14 Jan 00:30 PST
10-14 January 2020
Australian Youth Championships hosted by Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Cluc © Beau Outteridge
Racing has been abandoned for the final day of the Australian Youth Championships at Sorrento Sailing and Couta Boat Club (SSCBC). The race committee continuously monitored conditions throughout the day in an effort to get the competitors on the water but lack of wind and smoke from the bushfires prevented sailing.
PRO David Brookes said it was disappointing they couldn't get more racing in this regatta. "Unfortunately it was not stable sailing conditions. We don't have enough wind and it's out of our control."
In the Techno 293 Girls Amelia Quinlan (NSW) from Hunters Hill Sailing Club took out the top spot. "Obviously it was a tough regatta with only two days of racing," Amelia said. "It was heavy conditions racing against the boys but it was good to get practice in these conditions and I still have work to do."
Amelia reflected on the class entries, "I really like seeing a surge of girls in the Techno fleet. I'm really excited about that."
Int 420 Boys Linus Talacko and Lachie Grogan (VIC) from Royal Brighton Yacht Club were disappointed but relieved to not get any racing in for the second half of the regatta. "Obviously we're pleased, I'm not going to lie," Linus said immediately after racing was abandoned. "But I think we've worked super hard to get where we are. We are pretty lucky that we didn't sail these two days. We sailed well the first two days."
Lachie added, "The Nationals was a pretty long event and we definitely feel as though we learnt a lot at that regatta. We've been able to carry those lessons over into this regatta. We stayed consistent and thought about the things we needed to work on most."
The Nacra 15 Class was hotly contested with Georgia Payne (WA) from South of Perth Yacht Club and Nathan Bryant (NSW) Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club besting Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown (NSW) from Belmont 16ft Sailing Club on count back. On the regatta, Georgia commented, "We had a good first day with a lot of breeze. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the regatta."
The Int 29er Girls winners, Zoe Dransfield and Madeleine Mcleay (NSW) from Middle Harbour Yacht Club felt they still had room for improvement, "It wasn't as great as we wanted because we were hoping to make the top ten overall. We are happy to have been the top girls. We are a light team and unfortunately we didn't get the light conditions we needed."
VIS State Coach and two time Gold Medallist Malcolm Page offered some perspective on the smoky conditions. "A lot of Australians are having a hard time at the moment and for racing to be [abandoned] for this reason is very minor. It's a sad situation."
To help raise funds for the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery fund, Australian Sailing in conjunction with Sorrento Sailing and Couta Boat Club is hosting a fundraising auction at tonight's closing ceremony. Prizes for the auction include generous donations from the Australian Sailing Team, Australia SailGP Team, Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, Zhik and Ronstan. Prizes can be viewed here.
Full results available here.
For more information visit www.sailingyouth.org.au.