YOUNG GOLD COAST SAILORS WIN CYCA YOUTH INTERCLUB REGATTA

by Peter Campbell on 12 Nov 2000 Three teenage sailors from the Gold Coast Yacht Club at Runaway Bay today won the Cruising
Yacht Club of Australia’s 2000 Interclub Youth Regatta - on the final beat to windward of the
last of 16 races sailed on Sydney Harbour over the past three days.



Sailing in the annual regatta for the first time, the Gold Coast Yacht Club team won by just one
point from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
seven points further back.



Three successive second placings in earlier races today put the Gold Coast team of Shane
Dickson (18), Wayne Odgers-Jewell (19) and Michael Kelly (18) in front of the series leaders,
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, going into the final race.



Nevertheless, the Kiwis, Scott Bailey (18), Edward Rogers (18) and Chris Burgess (17), had
regained the advantage halfway through the final race, holding second place in the fleet of
eight Elliott 5.9 sports boats, with the Gold Coast team back in sixth position.



However, a mainsheet tangle rounding the bottom mark saw the New Zealand pushed to the
right-handside of the course and into light breeze and they dropped from second to finish
seventh while the Gold Coast crew maintained sixth on the final spinnaker run to the finish.



Under the rules of the regatta, the nominated skipper in each crew had to steer in eight races,
with the mainsheet hand and bowman sharing the helm in the other eight races.



“We sailed consistently well throughout the regatta, working well as a team despite the fact that
we had never sailed an Elliott 5.9 before this weekend,” Gold Coast skipper Shane Dickson said
after the final race.



“We all sail Cherubs or 420s but this was the first time together as a crew, but it turned out
well,” he added.



The Gold Coast Yacht Club’s scoreboard for the final day was 2-2-2-6 for 36 points, while the
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron team scored 4-3-3-7 for 37.



The RNZYS crew had led the regatta pointscore on the first two days, sailing consistently in
light to moderate breezes which proved variable in direction and pressure and saw seven
different winners of the 16 races.



The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania crew of Tim Cubit, Jamie Chung-Gon and James O’Reilly
placed 3-7-9-4 today to finish third overall with 44 points while the Royal Sydney Yacht
Squadron team of Richard Ryan, Mark Dorling and Max Wagschall came home with a burst,
6-1-1-1 to finish fourth on 55 points.



Other placings were: 5, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron 59 points, 6 Cruising Yacht Club of
Australia Gold 66, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club 75, CYCA Blue 84.



Further information:



Peter Campbell – 0419 385 028 or email – peter_Campbell@bigpond.com