Please select your home edition
Edition
Ovington 2021 - ILCA 1 - LEADERBOARD

Australians ready for Etchells Worlds

by Di Pearson 14 Sep 2017 06:08 BST 22-30 September 2017
Martin Hill at the helm of Lisa Rose on the Solent off Cowes © Australian Etchells

Martin Hill and his crew of Andrew Palfrey, David Chapman and Sasha Ryan are spearheading an Australian assault on the 2017 Etchells World Championship to be held in San Francisco from 22 to 30 September and hosted by the San Francisco Yacht Club.

With registration and weigh-in beforehand, the first two races will take place on 26 September.

So far 51 crews from around the globe are registered to take part. Hill and crew will be joined by nine other Australian crews, including Jeanne-Claude Strong and her crew of Seve Jarvin (whose father Steve will crew for Graeme Taylor), Marcus Burke and Tiana Wittey, who double as Hill's training partners.

Notably, Iain Murray is among the other skippers in a strong Australian line up.

First, though, the Australians will warm-up in the Etchells Pre-Worlds on 16 and 17 September. Hill and crew are ready. They most recently raced at the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego in mid-August, finishing 14th overall, best placed of the Australians.

Heading into the North Americans, Hill said: "I feel I'm flying into a crash course on big fleet regattas. I've dropped 6.5kgs, so I'm comfortable with my weight target and the knowledge that Dog (Palfrey) has prepared the boat as best as anyone can and that Chappo continues to be on fire as a world-class tactician. That puts us on the start line at least in an even position."

Going into the Pre-Worlds, Hill, a capable one-design sailor says: "A little voice in my head keeps reminding me to have patience and persistence - trust in myself and the crew's ability. Well that's the theory. But one quick look at the calibre of the rock stars I am sailing against, one could say 'tell him he's dreaming'.

"Lisa Rose (the boat is named for his wife) is my castle. The key is all in our vibe."

Meanwhile, crew member Chapman says: "It's been a hard slog so far and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"When Martin came to me about his desire to race in this class and to get onto the top step, I had my reservations, given the amount of talent and wealth of experience in this fleet. But we've knuckled down and put a plan together, and with Andrew's help, things are coming together nicely."

Chapman says they put in a lot of hours last summer as a team, but didn't get to see those rewards, "until we won the New Zealand Nationals and finished second at the Europeans."

He says it gave the team a lot of confidence going forward. "Although 14th at the North Americans last month doesn't sound that great, it was a real dogfight, probably my toughest event of the year - and we learnt so much - that was our first hit out as a team.

"We currently have a very strong team, but we don't have much time together, so our response to that is a training camp before the Worlds with some very strong teams," Chapman says.

Sasha Ryan, a talented Olympic class 470 sailor and sister of Rio Olympics 470 Silver medallist, Will, is on the crew for these Championships and they have enlisted past Olympian, Bobby Wilmot (whose nephew Jeremy will race on a USA crew), as the team's coach.

"Sasha complements the team very well with her 470 and Etchells experience. For us, it wasn't a case of let's just find the weight, we had to find the best person," Chapman says.

"I think the Australian fleet has a great chance to take out the Worlds. We are represented by some extremely strong teams, such as Big Fella (Iain Murray), GT (Graeme Taylor), Tango (Chris Hampton) and JC (Jeanne-Claude Strong) to name a few," he says of some of their fellow skippers who have already made names for themselves.

They all agree that it should be a great week of racing.

Related Articles

Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta overall
Perfect Solent conditions and desperately tight racing for the conclusion Picture-perfect conditions of a building 8-18 knots from the south-west, bright sunshine and flat Solent conditions on the flood tide made for a glamorous conclusion to the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta on Sunday. Posted on 16 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 4
Challenging summer Solent conditions test the fleets A brisk south-westerly breeze, with gusts above 20 knots at times, made for challenging top-end conditions for all the fleets on a very busy Solent for the Royal Thames Yacht Club 250th Anniversary Regatta. Posted on 14 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 3
Patience rewarded on light air afternoon Conditions more akin to the Mediterranean greeted the 251 entries on day 3 of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, with bright sunshine and a shut-down of air flow across the Solent racecourses. Posted on 13 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta Day 2
All seasons in one day as the competition gets serious Day two of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta was described by Principal Race Officer, Tim Hancock, in his morning competitors' briefing as a 'transitional' one with a chilly, rain-filled weather system passing over the Solent. Posted on 12 Jun
Inaugural Eastern Asia Offshore Race start
Seasoned sailors beat through the harbour in super light winds 14 boats set off from Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour in the Inaugural Eastern Asia Offshore Race, taking competitors on a 350nm journey to Tainan, the southwestern tip of Taiwan Island. Posted on 29 May
Jura Scottish Series runners and riders
Fleet are mustered in Tarbert Habour, Loch Fyne, ready to race Competitors at the Jura Scottish Series may not be assured of continued sunshine, the like of which has blessed the north of Britain for the last few weeks, but they should be blessed with breezes which seem set to build progressively. Posted on 23 May
Scottish Series champions will be back to defend
Jura Scottish Series on Loch Fyne starts soon Last year's overall winners of the Jura Scottish Series, Allan Manuel's Etchells 22 Bounce Back, are returning to Tarbert, Loch Fyne over the coming days looking to defend the class title which they won with a convincing scoreline. Posted on 20 May
Etchells North American Championship overall
Luke Lawrence and team win at San Diego Yacht Club The competitors for the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego left the dock Sunday morning for the final two races of the regatta with a lot of work still in front of them to determine the winner. Posted on 19 May
Etchells North American Championship day 2
Three more races held on Saturday The 2025 Etchells North American Championship continued with 3 more races on Saturday. Conditions were more favorable for racing today with wind in the 8 - 12 kt range. Posted on 18 May
Etchells North American Championship day 1
A strong day for Masfen, Cooke and Wilkinson give the NZL team top position Day one of the Etchells North American Championship started off under an AP flag with mostly cloudy skies. After an almost 90 minute delay, Race 1 got under way at 12:55 with a course bearing of 235 with 1.2 nm legs. Posted on 17 May