Latitude 28 by Ian Grant


Whitsunday to host Tasar Nationals

Whitsunday Sailing Club Flag Officer Terry Archer has welcomed the opportunity to host the 2010 Australian Tasar championships on Pioneer Bay from July 3-10.The successful submission has strengthened the opportunity for the popular sailing venue to be accepted to host the Tasar World series when an Australian venue is considered.
But first Rear Commodore Terry Archer has plans in place to make the 2010 Nationals are a success for the club and the class association.
He has secured the services of the highly respected Victorian race management team of twin brothers Ross and Kevin Wilson who have already called the Whitsundays their ‘winter address’ in recent years, with official roles in the successful Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week and Audi Hamilton Island Race Week events.
Hosting of the Tasar Nationals is an important step forward; with the event and media awareness promising to further highlight what the local sailors have been boasting for years – that they sail and play in a unique aquatic paradise.

___/) /) /)___

Hong Kong crew win Qld Etchells

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Etchells skipper Mark Thornburrow changed the history of Queensland fleet racing when he won the Wharf Tavern State championship off Pt Cartwright.
Mark Thornburrow and crew mates Greg Farrell, Andy Service and Martin Mok became the first international crew to win the series and proved they are no strangers to Etchells racing over the Mooloolaba Yacht Club courses having previously flown their club’s burgee in the Musto Australian Winter championships on several occasions.
This valuable local knowledge more than compensated the costs of travelling to refine their sailing skills when the Hong Kong crew survived a title tactical challenge over all six races to claim a two point win over veteran Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron skipper Noel Paterson and former State champion and World title Silver medallist Mark Bradford.
Consistency was the key factor with Thornburrow displaying the tactical class in close one-design racing to complete the best five of six races to count with a 1-3-1-3-3 while Noel Paterson completed his best result in several seasons with his 3-2-2-2-4.
Mark Bradford and master one-design racing tactician Adrian Finglas placed their points in damage control with an embarrassing mid-series slump.
They were the only crew to win three heats to clearly show they had the all angle sailing speed but that fell apart when they were forced to add a 5-7 and 12 points to their three ‘Bullets’ to claim third overall.
Bradford, who has been known to back his Etchells class racing experience against the best in the class, trailed Thornburrow by two points after the first two races and held what appeared to be a comfortable two point buffer over the veteran Paterson but their ‘back in the pack’ 11th in the fleet of 14 in heat 3 ended any chance of scoring a result in the top two when Thornburrow and Paterson retained their consistent form.
The popular Brisbane fleet veteran understands that there is no margin for error and he will be hoping to find that marginal speed advantage in Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron racing on Waterloo Bay with the option open to contest the 2010 Australian championship over the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club courses this month.

___/) /) /)___

Tenacious Talent

Angus MacGregor the 14-year-old Atherton High School student, who has cast aside the disability of Cerebral Palsy (Hemiplegic) to record an outstanding year of competition in International regatta racing for the disabled, has been named as the Queensland Sporting Wheelies junior male athlete for 2009.
As expected Angus will spend his school holidays fine tuning his boat handling skills on Tinaroo Dam before heading to Melbourne to contest the Australian championships followed by the World championship in England next June.
Congratulations Angus, keep sailing smart as this award is another rung in the ladder to realising your career ambition of representing Australia at a future Para-Olympics regatta.

___/) /) /)___

Come Back Kid

Klaus Lorenz could very well be described as the come-back kid following his meritorious Optimist class victory in the Yachting Queensland Sail Brisbane regatta on Moreton Bay.
His championship prospects hung in the balance when the talented young Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper trailed his Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron rivals Charlie Wyatt and Hugh Cronin after four races.
All three held a winning chance when they sailed onto a ‘sloppy’ Waterloo Bay for the final; with young Klaus Lorenz needing to produce the tactical strategy of a more mature skipper to protect his ranking as Queensland’s most successful Optimist dinghy sailor.
He only had one purpose in mind and that was to sail safe and fast which became extremely difficult when the north east breeze increased in velocity under the influence of a summer storm.
However, while the notorious ‘Waterloo Slop’ presented a supreme test of steering skill to maintain a dry boat, it soon became evident that Klaus Lorenz not only had the physical stamina but he also capped this with the tactical strategy to successfully match race both Charlie Wyatt and Hugh Cronin.
The combination of his determination, heavy wind sailing technique, and safe tactical sailing eventually allowed him to secure the final heat win; the result he needed to claim the championship on count back over Charlie Wyatt after both skippers finished with 15 points from their best seven races.
Hugh Cronin who set the pace in the first five races finished another point away in third place.
All three young skippers are another example of the emerging talent produced first from club coaching and further refined by the progressive sail training camps hosted by Yachting Queensland.
Both Klaus and his younger sister Eva, who attended the Yachting Queensland camp at the Keppel Bay Sailing Club earlier this year, have continued to improve their individual technique under the Youth development program with the coaching clinics hosted by Ben Callard and Queensland-based Yachting Australia high performance coach Adrian Finglas.
Finglas will have the opportunity to further expose his skill with sailing now officially included in the Queensland Academy of Sport.
This announcement, combined with the support services provided by the modern Yachting Queensland facilities on the shore-side of Brisbane’s Waterloo Bay, has provided a confidence boost for all Queensland sailors including the Youth team who will defend their national team title in the New Year.

___/) /) /)___

Kennedy clan target Laser titles

Teenage Maroochydore Laser dinghy sailors Mitchell and Madison Kennedy were destined to follow their father’s footsteps into the sport.
Father Mark recognised for a successful career from crewing on ocean racing yachts, including the distinction of being a Brisbane to Gladstone line honours winner to claiming a deserved Gold Medal in the Laser Radial class at the recent World Masters Games in Sydney, has personally financed and encouraged his children to enjoy the fellowship of sailing.
Mitchell and Madison have been involved with sailing from the time they learnt to swim and first became involved with competitive racing in Sabot class events on the Sunshine Coast.
Both talented teenagers have received the best possible advice, encouragement and assistance from their parents which has progressively allowed them to develop into respected young sailors.
Their individual dedication to master nature’s elements, including long training sessions on the open ocean off Mooloolaba and club racing on the Maroochy River and Brisbane’s Waterloo Bay, has contributed to their selection in the Yachting Queensland Sailing Team where they receive special coaching from resident Yachting Australia and Beijing Olympic coach Adrian Finglas.
Last month Mitchell claimed a career milestone when he helmed his dinghy to victory in the International Sail Brisbane regatta on a bumpy and wind tormented Waterloo Bay.
He claimed ‘the bragging rites’ at the family meal table when he beat father Mark who finished eighth in the same event.
Following last month’s Sydney International Regatta at Woollahra Sailing Club, Rose Bay, the Kennedy family plan to set up a base camp at Largs Bay (South Australia) where Mitchell and Madison will represent Queensland in the Australian Youth Championship and World Youth title selection trials on January 6-10.