Young RSYS members lead Yngling Nationals after 5 races.

by Peter Campbell on 15 Jan 2001 Hamish Jarrett and Hamish Stone, both products of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's highly successful Youth Sail Training
Program, are sharing top place on the leader board after five races in the Australian championship for the International
Yngling keelboat class.

Conducted by the Squadron over the weekend, with two final races next Saturday, the championship has attracted 21 entries,
including entries from Denmark and Victoria.

The event has added significance in that is the first Australian title, and possibly the first national title in the world
since the Yngling was named as the women's three-crew fleet-racing keelboat for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

As a result, the 2001 championship has attracted several all-female crews beginning their program towards Olympic selection
in 2004.

The weekend racing proved very demanding with gusty winds of 22 to 25 knots on Saturday, quite the opposite on Sunday at 7
to 8 knots.

Hamish Jarrett and Hamish Stone are equal on seven points after discarding one race of the five so far sailed.

Jarrett, the defending Australia champion, steered Pourquoi (YAUS8) to placings of 12-3-2-2-1 while Stone, at the helm of
the un-named YAUS44 notched up placings of 1-1-1-4-6.

Both have become regular Yngling sailors since completing the RSYS Youth Sail Training Program with Jarrett winning the
Australian title last season.

In third place on 17 points is Tidy Unit, steered by former 470 sailor Chris Meehan while Botany Bay sailor Steve
Backhouse, skippering Frostbite, on 18 points. Danish helmsman Lars Gottfredsen, steering Borrobil, is fifth on 23 points.

Olympic women sailors, Melanie Dennison and Nicky Bethwaite, head the women competitors, sharing sixth place on 26 points
each.

Melanie, from Melbourne, who represented Australia in the Europe single-handed dinghy class at the Sydney 2000 Olympic
Games, steered Grotty to placings of 4-9-4-9-9 while Nicky skippered Jaws to placings of 6-8-9-8-4 over the weekend.

Sailing with Nicky is Karyn Gojnich, who was her crew when they represented Australia in the women's 470 class at the Seoul
Olympics in 1988.

High profile young women's match-racing sailor Katie Spithill is back in 16th place after five races, her best placing
being a 13th.