All documents are now available from the Fremantle Sailing Club Website: http://www.fsc.com.au/3/320/1/documents.pm

Calling all dinghy sailors....

Registrations are now open for the 2010 Huck Scott Winter Series at Fremantle Sailing Club. Come and join the friendly competition as we again anticipate a large fleet. You can expect to see some very competitive racing on the waters off Fremantle.

Entries are welcome from a variety of classes of dinghies but please note a minimum of four (4) boats constitutes a fleet.

To register, please complete the relevant documents which are now available online at http://www.fsc.com.au/3/501/1/documents__sailing_instructions.pm

Over the Easter break, the AUS SKUD team ventured south to Mandurah for the MoFSC Easter regatta. Whilst not technically fitting in with the classes traditionally at the regatta, Kevin Luff and the organising committee were fantastic in accomodating us within the Tasar fleet in preparation for the upcomming IFDS Worlds in Europe. Whilst many of you may have seen the SKUD out training off Fremantle over the last few months, this was Convict's Express first regatta since winning silver at the 2008 Bejing Paralympics.

The week prior to Easter saw no training just the boat and its cradle being packed up and loaded onto a new flatbed trailer. This process was a little daunting however my training partner, Justin Kelleher, made sure the boat was secure and ready for the trip. As Dan Fitzgibbon my usual skipper lives in Sydney, Justin has come onboard to steer the boat during training sessions in Perth, assisting the team with a full training schedual towards the IFDS worlds. Over the past few months there has been a great deal of equipment development on the boat to modify the systems for heavy weather and this regatta was the first serious test of the changes we have made.

Mirsky Racing Team hit the ground running in the opening event for the 2010 World Match Racing Tour, cementing 4 wins from 4 races in adverse conditions at Match Race France.

Match Race France, being held from Marseille, is known to be a tough regatta, with predominately strong Mediterranean winds, which keeps the worlds best match racers on edge.

The Mirsky Racing Team consists of the same members who finished runner up in the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky of Australia (Helm), Kyle Langford of Australia (Main), Kinley Fowler of New Zealand (Trim), Tudur Owen of Wales (Pit) and Graeme Spence of Australia (Bow), whom all have the determination to go one better in 2010.

Photo by Vanessa Cornwall

The 2010 Mandurah Easter Regatta started off on Friday with a training afternoon held at Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club. This was a wonderful afternoon as sailors had access to the coaching services of Multiple Laser World Champion Tom Slingsby and former Australian Sailing Team coach Arthur Brett. Sailors had many questions for this duo and along with Chris Kelly helping out the Laser 4.7’s the experience and lessons learnt were invaluable.
With racing held over three days of the extended Easter long weekend, WAIS sailor Mark Whittington showed a clean pair of heels in the Laser Standard fleet of 18 boats to take the regatta convincingly with five race wins. Local Finn sailor and four time Laser State Champion Tim Castles also showed good form in the stronger conditions scoring three race wins to place second overall. Ki Raphael Sulkowski sailed a very consistent series to round out the podium in third, despite having troubles with a leaking boat. Winning the consistency prize in the Full Rig fleet was local MOFSC sailor Dave Bennett.
In the 14 boat Laser Radial fleet Fremantle Sailing Club & WAIS sailor Matt Wearn sailed an excellent series to be a clear winner on 8 points including six race wins, whilst Tristan Brown also had three race wins and finished in 2nd place overall four points adrift of Wearn. Taking out third place and sailing a consistent series all the way from Esperance was Luke Elliot on his boat “Swift”. Securing the consistency prize was William Elks who also finished fourth overall.
The Laser 4.7 fleet was strong once again with 14 entrants. It was great to see many new comers to the class competing and we hope to see everyone back down in Mandurah in a few weeks time for the WA State Laser Champs. Astrid Hansen sailed an almost perfect series to win all of the races except two and finish clearly out in front. This left Josh Henshaw sailing “Hamma” to secure second place overall just one point ahead of RFBYC sailor Dougal Hanson in third. Arrik Fisk won the consistency prize.
On behalf of all of the competitors I would like to thank the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club for hosting such a great event, Arthur Brett & Chris Kelly for their coaching expertise before and during the event, a special thanks must go to Laser World Champ Tom Slingsby for flying over to coach and finally to all of the volunteers and race management people who made the event possible!

Whilst we wait for the reports to filter in, here is a link to the MoFSC Easter Regatta. It was a very well run regatta and the clubs members and volunteers deserve high praise.

Results Here

NOTE: The Doctor is going for a sail on this beast next week so keep an eye out for the first hand sailing report on the front page. No, he can't take any friends....

The 105 ft Majan is tracing out a new Indian Ocean course ahead of the first official Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race in 2012 with Western Australia’s Cape Leeuwin part of the course and Fremantle a key stopover.

While Perth residents got a taste of destructive storms last Monday, for even the most seasoned sailors the odds of one day getting to the very top of the Beaufort scale are quite low. But due to the Indian Ocean's wrath, Majan's men have been through a hurricane on their way to Cape Leeuwin and the experience of 70+ knots is now something that will stay with the crew for the rest of their lives. The Indian Ocean crossing is set to leave its mark durably on the minds of the Oman Sail team members.

Seasoned Cape Town skipper, Paul Standbridge said it might be hard to imagine the fury when on dry land, but winds that strong with the resulting sea give the term of ‘survival’ its legitimacy, for both men and machine.

Majan's crew includes Sidney Gavignet who will go on to race in the solo Route du Rhum this November on ‘Majan’ and Mohin Al Busaidi the first Arab to sail non-stop round the world.

The Australian Sailing Team has signed a new sponsorship agreement with leading rope manufacturer Liros which will see the team’s boats fitted out with the German brand until 2012.

The deal extends across both Olympic and Paralympic class boats and with Australian Sailing Team crews competing at regattas across the globe the Liros brand will spread with the team.

Yachting Australia High Performance Director Peter Conde said that the sponsorship agreement with Liros was a boost for the team as they head into a crucial period in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Liros to the Australian Sailing Team and look forward to working closely with them over the next few years,” said Mr Conde. “It’s no secret that rope is an important component of our sport and as the competition heats up with our athletes competing in a number of World Championship and World Cup events around the world we need to look for any advantage possible.”

Round One
Yes, the tracker does not lie, I did come in at Albany on Tuesday afternoon after the most challenging sail I have had in my life. I caught the edge of the storms that hit Perth and had it classified a natural disaster zone. My weather forecasting did not predict these conditions, everyone was caught by surprise including me. It certainly tested myself and the boat. I managed to fix a few problems that had arisen. I had to get up on the foredeck three times to sort out knots in the jib sheets, they were that tight I had to pull them apart with my teeth. 

I started to make good ground after passing Cape Leeuwin. Then I found water in the side compartments that was sloshing out over the whole middle of the cabin. It was getting worse and I realised I would have to bite the bullet and go into Albany. And that is when the fun began! Basically I then had a three day slog into a 30 to 40 knot sou easterly, bashing into it all the way. 

 

In a bold move to make an environmentally responsible approach to staging a World Championships more than
mere sentiment, the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships has today partnered with climate change
consultancy Greensense.

Perth 2011 has set an environmental and sustainable target to significantly minimise the environmental impact
of this major Event, by establishing its own extensive Environmental and Sustainability Programme. The
programme incorporates the six elements of greatest consequence to the World Championships – energy,
ocean, venues, recycling, air and water.

Greensense will assist Perth 2011 to implement its comprehensive programme through their own Sustainable
Event Management initiative, which includes recommendations designed to reduce the impacts of events such
as the World Championships. Greensense’s team will monitor and report on various facets of the Event,
including travel, catering, energy use, waste management, recycling and carbon offsets, through their
internationally recognised practices.

Greensense Managing Director Derek Gerrard said: “This approach will enable the organisers of the World
Championships to minimise the negative environmental effects of the Event, while simultaneously maximising
social and economic benefits.”