Entries are flowing in for 2025 Australian Etchells Championship
by Jeanette Severs 9 Oct 2024 21:52 PDT
1-5 November 2024
2025 Australian Etchells Championship: Ireland Girl with Jack Abbott at the helm won the Victorian championship earlier this year. Abbott returns for the Australian championship but this time on the helm of Lisa Rose © Jeanette Severs
Entries are flowing in for the 2025 Australian Etchells Championship regatta, to be held November 1-5, 2024, on Lake King, at Metung, Victoria (Australia).
The Australian championship regatta is being held in November to fit in with the Etchells World Championship at Brighton in January 2025.
The Notice of Race for the 2025 Australian Etchells Championship regatta is online, at metungyachtclub.com.au/sailing-events/2025-etchells-nationals
An invitational race has been organised for Friday, November 1, with a formal welcome that evening. The four-day regatta gets under way the following day.
There are plenty of outstanding sailors among the line-up of entrants, including veterans of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and previous champions in various sailing categories including the current Victorian titleholder in the Etchells class.
Michael Bellingham, renowned as a navigator in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, is bringing Avalon to Metung. The classy yacht will be crewed by Dean Blatchford and Kyle Dodds.
It's not the first time the trio have sailed Avalon on Lake King. They were among the leaders at the 2022 Australian championship regatta when it was hosted by Metung Yacht Club in March 2022.
Avalon with Bellingham, Blatchford and Dodds on board finished 27th overall at the 2024 Worlds.
Jan Muysken has entered African Queen in the regatta, with Gordon Maguire and Sven Runow, and they'll be bringing global Worlds' experience to tackle Metung's Lake King.
Current International Etchells Class 2024 Victorian Champion, Jack Abbott, has followed up his performance at the 2024 Worlds, on the helm of Lisa Rose, by entering the regatta at Metung.
Abbott is a born-and-bred sailor at Metung, and brought home the championship with local knowledge, a young crew and the tactical experience of his father, Nigel Abbott, on board Kim McKendrick's Ireland Girl in January this year.
Metung Yacht Club hosted the International Etchells Class 2024 Victorian Championship, in January this year. It was also sailed on Lake King.
Abbott brought an edge to his racing that was all about local experience and he'll be using that again in November.
He'll be sailing Martin Hill's Lisa Rose at Metung, a boat he has been helming all year, as part of their campaign to contest the 2025 World championship.
Hill also helmed Lisa Rose on Lake King in the Australian championship in 2022.
Hill's and Abbott's combined tactical and sailing strength gives Lisa Rose a formidable chance on the water.
Chris Hampton's Tango is also on the entry list. Tango was a clear leader on Lake King at the 2022 championship regatta.
Hampton will be sailing in spring conditions this time, and will no doubt be hoping his previous experience can benefit him on Lake King.
Peter Robson is bringing Playing Around 3 back to Lake King, after their outings in the 2023 and 2024 Victorian championships, held at Metung. A two-time national champion in the United Kingdom, Robson has been racing Etchells in Australia since 2019.
Christian Boillot is sailing Tamm Ha Tamm with his regular crew of Phillipe Charret and Esteban Franco. The trio competed in the Australian championship regatta in Sydney in January this year followed by the Victorian championship at Metung, then the World Etchells Championships in March.
Boillot has been French National Champion twice in the International Dragon class, and has been in the top 10 world status. He purchased Tamm Ha Tamm five years ago. Their best result in Metung was a podium finish at Easter 2022.
After a 35th overall placing at this year's Worlds, Great White Hunter will be keen to make waves at Metung. Regular crew Alexander (Sandy) Higgins will be going out strong, alongside Peter Bellingham.
The local fleet will be taking the competition up to the visiting boats.
Stephen Bull (helm), Stuart Loft and Dean Smith will be competing in Come Monday. Bull and Loft both have considerable ocean racing experience, including Sydney to Hobart races, and grew up sailing on the Gippsland Lakes.
Their experience will be added to by Smith, who has been sailing in local races for several years with Bull and earlier this year took up Toby Richardson's invitation to compete at the 2024 Worlds in Jindivik.
Richardson obviously thought highly of Smith, looking at him to replace Sam King, who had other plans leading up to the Paris Olympics.
Richardson, Smith and Oliver Nicholas helped Jindivik to finish top end of the fleet at the 2024 Worlds, with a 15th place at the end of the regatta.
Richardson will have Nicholas to rely on as usual, and is waiting to hear if King is available.
The crew of Peter Wilkinson, Peter Bull and Adrian Seymour in Apres La Mer includes one of the most capable sailors on the Gippsland Lakes, and makes this crew very competitive and tactical.
There is at least one all-woman team competing in the championship regatta. Sarah Clough on the helm with Kate Middleton, Pip Moore and Sarah Pearce, will take out New Wave, owned by Kevan Pearce and Stephen Richardson.
Clough and Middleton have been sailing together since they were children. Clough is a past Australian and Victorian champion in the J24 class and a Victorian champion in the International Dragon class.
Clough and Middleton regularly sail together in women's keelboat regattas and took line honours in Adelaide in 2023, finishing the regatta second on handicap.
Niesje Hees, helming Quandong, will be sailing with her regular crew of Josh Reid and Cliff Gibson.
Second Chance has a very capable and competitive skipper on the helm in Andrew Lethlean, and he is well supported by James Trenberth, Trenberth's daughter Isabella, and Matt Waller.
Izzy at 13 years old is potentially the youngest competitor on Lake King in this regatta, but brings considerable experience, including helming her father's boat to second place in the prestigious Betty Dack race a couple of years ago.
Elusive's skipper Jeff Rose will be sailing with his regular team of Rob Conn and Mark Henger. Henger brings qualification as Australian International Flying Dutchman Champion to the team's considerable experience flying kites. Conn and Rose have decades of experience sailing on Lake King.