Etchells Australian Championship at Metung Yacht Club - Invitational Race
by Jeanette Severs 2 Nov 02:59 UTC
1-5 November 2024
The crew of Matilda AUS1488 with spinnaker up, Blake Robertson (helm), Thomas Kelly and William Kelly, keep an eye on where they're going during the invitational race. Matilda is from Royal Geelong Yacht Club © Jeanette Severs
Champagne conditions are promised today for the first day of heats in the International Etchells 2025 Australian Championship.
The rural town of Metung, surrounded by one of the greatest lake systems in the southern hemisphere, is hosting the world-class 2025 Australian Championship.
The Gippsland Lakes is a world-class venue, according to Etchells Australia president, Jan Muysken, and current World and Australian champion, Graeme GT Taylor.
Almost the entire fleet of 33 Etchells contesting the championship, participated in an invitational race on Friday, November 1, 2024.
Race officer Ross Wilson said the invitational race was an ideal opportunity to test the Vakaros computer system in racing conditions.
Two starts were practiced before the invitational race began.
Each time, about a third of the fleet jumped the start line.
"It was most important for the race management team on the committee boat and for the competitors to understand how Vakaros worked in these conditions," Wilson said after the race.
"Vakaros replaces some of the flags that we no longer have to use. That changes what we do on the race management team."
Ross and Kevin Wilson are race officers for the regatta.
"Ian Kingsford-Smith also had to make sure Vakaros was set up properly," Ross Wilson said.
"It worked well."
Wilson said Vakaros showed its value at the start and close of the invitational race, and would be relied upon for the regatta.
At the start of the invitational race, held under a P flag, five boats went over the line set between the pin and start boat and were cleared easily by the system as they returned for their own, individual, re-starts.
Some boats crossed the finish line within half a second of each other.
Wilson said he was happy with the race results recorded by the Vakaros system.
"The feedback from competitors today has been good," he said.
Today's course was set over 1.4 nautical miles, on a 210 degrees tangent, in Lake King in the Gippsland Lakes, in Victoria.
"The breeze held well today, averaging 220 degrees, and there was a tidal influence on the bottom of the course," Wilson said.
The wind was 8-12 knots for the race, falling from 15 knots during the practice starts.
There were short backs on the waves.
"It was beautiful sailing for Etchells," Wilson said.
Racer CC AUS1482, out of Hong Kong, with Mark Thornburrow (helm), Julian Plante (2018 World Champion), Mike Huang and dual Australian Olympian Malcolm Page on board, got a fast start which helped them build a clear lead before the first mark, and they led the fleet during the remainder of the race. But being an invitational race, Racer CC's crew pulled their yacht away from the course before the finish line.
"Julian is fantastic on the speed, and Malcolm is a great tactician," Thornburrow said.
"We were going fast when we started, and we got a great start and were able to hold it.
"The wind's so light it takes a long time to accelerate in today's conditions."
Graeme Taylor said yesterday's racing was a great opportunity to become oriented to racing on Lake King.
He is excited to return to sail at Metung - he was last here in 2016. This year he returns with long time crew Ben Lamb, with James Mayo onboard Magpie AUS1486 for the first time.
"Today we've got champagne sailing conditions, with an ocean breeze coming inland," Taylor said.
"Sailing on the lake has its challenges, the wind is shifty and has a lot of land influences.
"But we're excited to be out there.
"A lot of us haven't sailed here before.
"It's quite refreshing to come to Metung, in a town where people love sailing."
The invitational race was won by Flying High 2 AUS1435, helmed by Jeanne-Claude Strong, with her crew of Max Jameson, Sam Newton and Seve Jarvin. Flying High 2 is out of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
Today's race was a good opportunity for many crews to shake out their boats in the Lake King seas and wind from Bass Strait.
Metung Yacht Club is hosting the regatta and the environment has already impressed Etchells Australia president, Jan Muysken, sailing alongside Gordon Maguire and Sven Runow in African Queen AUS1450. African Queen is normally housed out of Gosford Sailing Club, in NSW.
"The sailing here is incredible," Muysken said.
"It's flat water, the land is low which has minimal impact on the wind, and we're getting true sailing.
"This is a world class track."
Muysken was also impressed with the number of young teams and youth competing in the championship regatta.
A large cohort of sailors are aged in their 30s, with the youngest two crew aged 11 and 13 years old - respectively Max Jameson on Flying High 2 and Isabelle Trenberth on Second Chance AUS621.
Among the fleet crews are numerous World, Australian and state champions as crews and individuals, sailing alongside Olympians, ocean and international inland sailors and weekend sailors - all in mixed crews.
Commodore Peter Kanat said with Metung Yacht Club holding its own substantial fleet of Etchells, with a number of champions among its own membership, it was an honour for the rural club to host the Australian championship for the second time this decade. MYC has also hosted the Victorian championship five times.
"The wind and weather conditions are very promising for an extraordinary four days of racing," Kanat said.
"The Etchells is a classic traditional sail boat, with three to four crew pulling sheets and trimming sails and working together as a team, reading wind shifts, currents and tide.
"It's raw sailing. And the Etchells is affordable for many people to sail."
Ross Wilson said the regatta fleet should expect four days of competition.
"The first day of heats, the wind is expected to be a bit more north, and Kevin and I expect to get two races in; and hopefully three races," he said.