Please select your home edition
Edition
upffront 2024 October sale Leaderboard

Sail Melbourne at Royal Brighton Yacht Club Day 2

by Michael Martin 1 Dec 2023 00:58 PST 30 November - 3 December 2023
Mixed 470 fleet at 2024 Sail Melbourne (30 Nov - 3 Dec ) hosted by Royal Brighton Yacht Club © Beau Outteridge

Some of Australia's brightest young sailing stars shone bright on another glamour day of racing at Sail Melbourne today.

A steady nine to sixteen knots of wind ensured the full schedule of racing was completed, with Mara Stransky (ILCA 6), Grae Morris (Men's iQFOiL) and Samantha Costin (Women's iQFOiL) all harnessing it to post straight race wins today.

The Western Australian Mixed 470 team of Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas rode the highs and lows on another dramatic day in their fleet.

They notched a third consecutive win in the first race of the day before an On Course Side (a false start which also gives maximum race points) in the second race dropped them to third overall.

"The breeze was up nice and strong which suits us perfectly," said Nicholas.

"The last race was flawless other than that we were OCS which was pretty frustrating for us. It was a simple mistake that we need to clean up and not do that again."

"The racing has been really fun so far, we've got eleven 470s here and a strong contingent of Futures athletes and teams from New Zealand and Italy here," added Skipper Jerwood. "The racing has been good fun but really intense."

The Australian Sailing Futures program has recently introduced additional support in the form of international regatta coaching and investment into campaign plans. Futures athlete Stefan Elliot-Shircore is one of those prospering from the combination of that additional support combined with the expertise he can access in his state environment in Western Australia. He is currently eighth in a competitive ILCA 7 fleet.

"The blend of Western Australian Institute of Sport and Futures support has given me access to quality technical coaching, squad training, racing, career mapping and benchmarking against people like Matt Wearn who is number one in the world," said Stefan.

Elliot-Shircore is also getting support from former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh AM, who is mentoring the young Perth sailor through the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.

"It is great to see our Futures groups forming an important part of the fleets here at Sail Melbourne," said National Performance Pathways Manager Ken Lynch.

"We've been paying significant attention to these squads over the last two years, introducing a new Futures Plus level and overseas regatta coaching to complement our domestic camps and off-water performance support. We are starting to see the positive impact of this work on athlete progression in daily training environments and international results, with excellent showings at Under 21, Under 23 and open age regattas overseas."

Today was the first day of the 2.4mR class at Sail Melbourne, with local sailor Neil Patterson setting the tone with 2nd, 2nd and 1st in today's three races.

Sail Melbourne is a big operation, as explained by Principal Race Officer Peter Osbourne.

"We've got 170 boats supported by almost 200 volunteers from our partner clubs Mordialloc and Black Rock without whom we couldn't do this," said Osbourne.

"But we've also got volunteers coming in from all around the bay and interstate. We've got a great team of Race Officers including five international race officers out there all out there doing a fantastic job."

Racing resumes for all classes at 1pm AEDT tomorrow.

Sail Melbourne is supported by the Victorian Government.

Visit the Sail Melbourne website for more information on the regatta, and view a full list of results here.

Related Articles

Sail Melbourne overall
Matt Wearn continues winning the ILCA 7 class Yesterday's clouds and rain made way for sun and steady winds as Australia's Olympic sailing stars emerged on the final day of racing at Sail Melbourne. Posted on 3 Dec 2023
Sail Melbourne Day 3
Wind and waves wreak havoc A traditional Melbourne south to southwesterly wind of 16 to 22 knots saw sailors battling whitecaps and an increased sea state of 1-meter waves at a wet and wild Sail Melbourne today. Posted on 2 Dec 2023
Sail Melbourne Day 1
Australia's best Olympic sailing prospects dominate Some of Australia's best Olympic sailing prospects lit up day one of a windy Sail Melbourne on Port Phillip today. Posted on 30 Nov 2023
Sail Melbourne International overall
Matt Wearn wins Laser Oceania Champion title Six months out from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Sail Melbourne International 2020 saw the world's best sailors wrapping up the five-day event with a light wind day on Port Phillip Bay on Tuesday. Posted on 21 Jan 2020
Sail Melbourne International day 4
Multiple storm fronts passing through give a wet and wild penultimate day It was a challenging day for sailors and race management alike with multiple storm fronts passing through Melbourne on the penultimate day of Sail Melbourne International making for another wild and fun day for the majority of the classes. Posted on 20 Jan 2020
Sail Melbourne International day 3
Late rumbles shake up the fleet Despite a huge storm front battering Port Phillip in the early afternoon, most classes were able to complete a full slate of racing on day three of Sail Melbourne International on Sunday. Posted on 19 Jan 2020
Sail Melbourne International day 2
Port Phillip delivered another cracking day On Friday, only one race had been possible in most fleets and Saturday's aim was to get the maximum number of races in. With three and more races on the schedule, leader boards started to take shape. Posted on 18 Jan 2020
Sail Melbourne International day 1
Pushing the limits on day one With wind limits on the edge, conditions on day one of Sail Melbourne International 2020 provided many competitors with a wild, windy and challenging day on Port Phillip Bay. Posted on 17 Jan 2020
Sail Melbourne International starts today
The 2020 Road to Tokyo and Paris 2024 goes via Sail Melbourne The 2020 edition of Melbourne's iconic Sail Melbourne International regatta will kick off today, Friday, 17 January, with racing of the five-day event to start on Port Phillip from 13:00 this afternoon (17 - 21 January 2020). Posted on 17 Jan 2020
One week to go to Sail Melbourne International
Olympic sailors making the most of Melbourne's Summer of Sailing Less than 200 days out from the Tokyo Olympic Games, Australia's iconic Sail Melbourne International regatta will see the world's best sailors from 25 countries and from all around Australia battle it out on Port Phillip Posted on 10 Jan 2020
North Sails Performance 2023 - FOOTER37th AC Store 2024-one-728X90 BOTTOMSavvy Navvy 2024